CJ's Desk Diary » It’s All About The Writing

The Story Behind The Book Cover

CJ — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:08:41 +0000

People often ask me if I have input into my book covers, and the answer is, Yes, I do, but I don’t get to see the cover beforehand, nor do I get any sort of final approval. So the unveiling of a new book cover is always a moment of excitement, tinged with anxiety. (What if the cover is terrible? What if I absolutely hate it? What if it doesn’t fit my story at all?)

Luckily, I have loved almost all my book covers and most of them have suited my stories very well. This is not too surprising, as there is a thorough process that is followed for every single book.

Shortly after completing the revisions on a story, I am asked to fill in a questionairre called the “Art Fact Sheet.” This is my opportunity to communicate with the Marketing Department and the Artists who will be designing the cover for my book.

I start by providing a description of my main characters (which is sometimes a challenge as I often don’t know certain details about them myself. Since I focus mainly on my character’s personality and interior thoughts, I may not even have selected an eye color! So at this stage, I may need to retroactively give them one!)

Next I write a synopses of the story (which is always harder than it sounds) and finally I suggest 3 “possible” scenes for the cover. More often than not, my scene suggestions have made it to the final product, and this is the case with the cover for my upcoming release, book one of the Fox & Fisher Detective Agency trilogy–Perfect Partners.

Since the Detective Agency is so central to all the books in this trilogy, when I completed the art sheets, I envisioned showcasing each couple in front of the brownstone where the business is located. Since the stories take place at three different seasons of the year, I suggested we use fall colors for Perfect Partners, spring colors for The P.I. Contest and winter colors for Receptionist Under Cover.

So far it looks as if the artists have agreed with my suggestions and I love the covers they created for book 1 and book 2. Now I’m anxiously awaiting the cover for book 3 which should be available shortly. Will it also showcase the Fox and Fisher Detective Agency? Will they use the winter colors I suggested? More importantly, what will Nadine and Patrick look like?

Check back in a few weeks and we’ll all know the answer then!

Writing Furiously

CJ — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:42:14 +0000

I was doing something dangerous today. Writing in my head while operating a moving vehicle (my car). The advanced arrow was green and I wasn’t turning. Instead I was realizing that my heroine was the kind of woman who would give five thousand dollars to a stranger…a lonely old woman who puts feeding her dog ahead of buying food for herself.

Fortunately, I snapped back to the present, turned the corner and proceeded to buy my groceries like a regular, sane, human being. Now I am back in my office where I can safely tune out reality again.

21 days until deadline… My holiday in Ixtapa seems far away now!

Mary Balogh Is Coming To Town

CJ — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:52:42 +0000

Though I’m in “Deadline Hell” right now (an affectionate term, I assure you…) I am excited about an upcoming workshop being held by our Calgary Chapter this Saturday. Mary Balogh is coming to Calgary! There will be a booksigning at the Dalhousie Station Chapters from 4 – 6 on Friday night. I plan to stock up on some books!

Then on Saturday we have our workshop, and I’m hoping for major inspiration. I have two sets of revisions and a manuscript to complete by May 4. (See aforementioned reference to “Deadline Hell.”)

At any rate, in preparation for the workshop, I bought one of Mary Balogh’s books, which I’m reading bits of every evening. Is anyone else out there a fan of her work? I don’t usually read historicals, but I’m finding this one a lovely escape. I clipped the cover from Amazon, to show you which book I mean. It’s the first of a new series and I’m hoping to get it autographed on Friday!

The Book Is Done!

CJ — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:52:15 +0000

Yay! I just put book 2 of my next trilogy in the mail to my editor. I’m writing about a Detective Agency in New York City. Book One was titled: Her Perfect Parter, Book Two is: The Partner Quest, and Book Three (due to my editor May 1) is: An Unlikely Partner. Anyone spot a theme here?

Anyway, the important thing is that Book 2 is done! What a lovely feeling…now I can catch up with the rest of my life.

I used to try to write 8 – 10 pages a day so that I could meet deadlines without shifting into panic mode, but now I’m finding that the writing seems better when I totally immerse myself into the story and aim for 20 – 30 pages a day. That’s a pace, though, that I can only keep up for so long.

Now it’s time to pay bills, catch up on reading and organize the house!

The View From Up Here

CJ — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:17:44 +0000

A writer’s office is a special place. For me it’s the only place I can actually write. I’ve tried taking my laptop (a) outside to the deck and (b) to my local coffeeshop…but I only end up with (a) a sunburn, and (b) a caffeine high. No pages. No progress on the story.

So…I need my office. Between projects I like to organize, file and dust. The place can look quite lovely. While I’m deep in the writing process though, the clutter mounts and chaos reigns. But one thing I can always count on to look good is the view. Here are a couple photographs I’ve shot from the deck right outside my office.

In the fall all the leaves in Calgary turn gold, with just a few special splashes of red and orange. My office also faces downtown. One morning I caught the moon hanging out with the skyscrapers. This is still one of my favorite photos.

Pretty inspiring huh? But guess what…when the words are flowing, I don’t even look out my window.

When the story is jammed, however, I appreciate something else about my office. It’s right next to the kitchen…