Behind the Books

Meg and Sylvie's Book Club

In my novel Veiled in Smoke, Meg and Sylvie Townsend manage the family bookshop and care for their father, Stephen, a veteran still suffering in mind and spirit from his time as a POW during the Civil War. But when the Great Fire sweeps through Chicago's business district, they lose much more than just their store. Stephen is accused of a murder that takes place the night of the fire, and committed to the Cook County Insane Asylum. Though homeless and suddenly unemployed, Meg must not only gather the pieces of her shattered life, but prove her father's innocence before the asylum truly drives him mad. As you might imagine for a novel based on a bookshop-owning family, literary references and themes are sprinkled throughout Veiled in Smoke. Meg and Sylvie's Book Club: Heroines Recommend their Favorite Classics As I was researching and writing this novel about book-loving characters, I enjoyed re-reading classics they might have read prior to the novel’s setting in the year 1871. If Veiled in Smoke sisters Meg and Sylvie Townsend could bend your ear with their favorite titles, here is what they’d suggest. Meg recommends: Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Meg says, “This little book had such a powerful impact on the country, including our father, Stephen, who fought in the war and struggled to come all the way home.” North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. Meg says, “Mrs. Gaskell writes a strong heroine with plenty of moral resolve. The love story is sweet without being saccharine.” Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen. Meg says, “By far my favorite story by Jane Austen. I see myself and my own sister sometimes in the Dashwood sisters!” Sylvie recommends: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Sylvie says, “This book was one of my mother’s favorites before she died, which makes it all the more precious to me. But it stands on its own as my favorite novel written by an American woman.” Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Sylvie says, “Jane Eyre is full of spiritual insights and is totally inspiring on a personal level, regardless of the romance with Rochester.” Villette by Charlotte Bronte. Sylvie says, “Villette is the novel that shows me how to find happiness and fulfillment as an individual, and in my own work.” Classic books like these shape my characters in Veiled in Smoke and add layers of depth to their fictional lives. Which classic book has stuck with you?

Veiled in Smoke Travel Guide: Visit the Chicago of 1871’s Great Fire

After the Great Fire of 1871 destroyed Chicago’s business district and rendered 100,000 people homeless, the city lost no time in rebuilding. Within two years, the downtown area was completely reconstructed, and better than ever. But if you visit Chicago today, you’ll still be able to find glimpses of the Chicago my characters in Veiled in Smoke knew well. 1. The Chicago Fire Academy We know for sure the site where the Great Fire began: Catherine O’Leary’s barn. But there was never any proof that she or her cow was to blame for kicking over a lantern. According to the official report of an investigation conducted in 1871: “There is no proof that any person had been in the barn after nightfall that evening. Whether it originated from a spark blown from a chimney on that windy night, or was set on fire by human agency, we are unable to determine. Mr. O'Leary and all his family prove to have been in bed and asleep at the time.” In any case, the site of the blaze’s first sparks is now at the Chicago Fire Academy, at the corner of DeKoven and Jefferson. Visitors are allowed inside to see the spot, and to see antique fire engines as well. 2. Courthouse finial, Lincoln Park My characters, the Townsend family, lived across from Courthouse Square. The night of the fire, the bell in the Courthouse Cupola rang for five hours before it collapsed. Today, an urn-shaped finial from the courthouse’s roof can be seen in front of Lincoln Park Zoo. Thousands of Chicagoans fled north from the flames in October 8-9, 1871, many of them finally finding refuge in Lincoln Park. 3. St. James Cathedral The Great Fire gutted St. James Cathedral at the corner of Wabash and Huron. All that was left were the stone walls, the bell tower, and a Civil War memorial in the narthex. The top of bell tower remains charred from those flames of 1871 as a reminder of what the church survived. 4. Fire relics at the Chicago History Museum In Veiled in Smoke, two Italian boys sell fire relics such as marbles molded together, pieces of charred statues or sculptures, and a mound of washers fused into one form. These relics, and others like them, can be seen today at the Chicago History Museum. 5. Water tower The water tower survived the Great Fire and is open to the public to look around inside. You won’t find any water there—the tower actually holds a huge pump that brings water in from Lake Michigan. After the Great Fire, the water tower was one of the few remaining landmarks in the area which helped orient people to where they were. 6. Prairie Avenue Historic District Historic Prairie Avenue was far south enough that it was not in danger of being burned. One of my characters in Veiled in Smoke lived here, and opened his home as a refuge for those displaced by the fire. See the historic district in the 1800 and 1900 blocks of South Prairie Ave to see the kinds of homes that would have been there at the time. 7. Driehaus Museum The Driehaus Museum at 40 East Erie Street inspired the interior details of the fictional home I placed on Prairie Avenue in the novel. If you visit the museum today, you’ll see that the library, dining room, and reception rooms look familiar. I sincerely hope that Veiled in Smoke brings 1871 Chicago alive for you. But I also hope you can get to Chicago and see some of these sites yourself. If you’d like a personal tour guide for your family or group, I will recommend mine! Kevin Doerksen owns Wild Onion Walks, and guided me through Chicago as part of my two separate research trips I took. He’s a walking encyclopedia of Chicago history! Not only did he prove an excellent resource, he also read my book to make sure I got the history right—and then he even endorsed it. Whether through my book or in person or both, I hope you experience Chicago soon! About Veiled in Smoke Meg and Sylvie Townsend manage the family bookshop and care for their father, Stephen, a veteran still suffering in mind and spirit from his time as a POW during the Civil War. But when the Great Fire sweeps through Chicago's business district, they lose much more than just their store. The sisters become separated from their father, and after Meg burns her hands in an attempt to save a family heirloom, they make a harrowing escape from the flames with the help of Chicago Tribune reporter Nate Pierce. Once the smoke clears away, they reunite with Stephen, only to learn soon after that their family friend not only died during the fire--he was murdered. Even more shocking, Stephen is charged with the crime and committed to the Cook County Insane Asylum. Though homeless, injured, and suddenly unemployed, Meg must not only gather the pieces of her shattered life, but prove her father's innocence before the asylum truly drives him mad. For more information and for purchase links, click here.

Searching for Novel History in Chicago

Well, it’s starting to feel like fall around here. I’ve packed away our summer clothes, brought out the sweaters and scarves, and my kids are asking for flannel sheets. October also marks the beginning of my intense writing season for the book that’s due to my publisher in February. That’s right—eleven days after Veiled in Smoke releases, the second book in the same series (The Windy City Saga) is due. Book #2 in this series doesn’t have a title yet, but it picks up with the same family introduced in Veiled in Smoke, and is set in 1893, during the World’s Fair. So I don’t have any big book announcements to make right now, but a lot is going on behind the scenes. My family and I just returned from a research trip to Chicago for the book I should start writing this week. Just to be clear, I have been researching with books and online resources for months, but there is really nothing like going to the setting for my novel. Mixed in with family visits to various museums and the Shedd Aquarium, I was able to: spend two hours with my private tour guide, Kevin Doerksen of Wild Onion Walks. He showed me where my characters would have lived and gone to church, along with some of the buildings that would have been part of their lives in 1893. This is the same tour guide who helped me out last summer as I was researching for Veiled in Smoke! tour the historic Auditorium Theatre (pictured below), which is where one of my characters plays the violin in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. take a tour of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, which is where one of my characters serves as a volunteer. spend a few hours in the Research Center of the Chicago Historical Society, looking at guidebooks for the World’s Fair and microfilm of the daily newspaper the Fair produced. (The Chicago Historical Society is housed in the same building as the Chicago History Museum.) spend more hours in the Newberry Library, researching Chicago in the early 1890s visit the Museum of Science & Industry (pictured below), the only building constructed as part of the Fair that still exists today. Of course the inside is completely transformed from its original form, but the size of the building alone was important for me to experience. purchase a few more research books I wouldn’t have known existed if I hadn’t taken the trip. My family and I also managed to enjoy some deep-dish pizza from Giordano’s and gelato from Eataly while we were there. Yum! Now that I’m home, I need to finish reading the books I brought home from Chicago and then begin to write. So if I seem quiet on social media over the next few months, just know it’s because I’m busy working on another Chicago story which I hope will fascinate you as much as the history fascinates me.

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Between Two Shores

Here are five things you might not have known about Between Two Shores, my historical novel set in New France at the height of the Seven Years’ War: 1. Classic film inspiration. My protagonist Catherine’s character is loosely inspired by the character of Rick, played by Humphrey Bogart (pictured at left), in the classic movie Casablanca. Both Catherine and Rick tried remaining neutral during war, both have former loves reappear in their lives, and both are forced to choose a side. (If you read my interview with Allison Pittman on her blog here, you actually already did know this, plus some other cool behind-the-scenes things.) 2. Broadway inspiration. When I was writing a scene with Catherine and her sister Bright Star having a conversation about Catherine’s ex-fiance, Samuel, I could not get the song “A Boy Like That” from West Side Story out of my mind! (Bright Star would be the voice of Anita.) But the only stanza that is completely relevant to the novel is the second one: A boy like that will give you sorrow. You’ll meet another boy tomorrow. One of your own kind, Stick to your own kind! 3. Siberian translator research assistant. Matthew Miller, our church’s missionary to Siberia with Wycliffe Bible Translators, turned out to be a willing research assistant after he broke his rib while home on furlough during the writing of this novel. When I told him that one of my characters breaks a rib, he answered all my questions about what, exactly, the injury felt like, and how the recovery process went so I could better write the story. Astoundingly, when I told him I wanted to know if a person could paddle a canoe three weeks after breaking a rib, he decided to try. With permission from his doctor, three weeks exactly after his injury, he loaded and unloaded a kayak himself, and paddled it himself so he could tell me how it went. I promise I didn’t force him to. Yes, he was sore afterwards, but he did it. Now that’s research! 4. Made to match cover and epilogue. As these things usually go, I didn’t see the cover until after I turned the book in. I just hadn’t written the epilogue yet. So when I saw the cover and didn’t recognize her setting or dress or jewelry, I decided to write all of it into the last portion of the book. So now when you read the epilogue, you can look at the cover and know where she is, and what she is looking at out the window, and even what she is thinking. 5. Great minds think alike. By absolute coincidence, Elizabeth Camden and I both gave the last name of “Duval” to one of our main characters: Catherine Stands-Apart Duval in Between Two Shores, and Alex Duval in her book A Desperate Hope. Our novels released on the same day from the same publisher, and no one noticed this similarity until I saw our books side by side in the Bethany House spring 2019 catalog! Her character Alex, in New York, has an ancestry of French fur-trappers and traders. My character Catherine, in the Montreal area, does too. Elizabeth says: “I clicked in to the French-trapper heritage of the area, and I chose 'Duval' simply because it was French, easy to spell, and still familiar to an American audience.” My reasons exactly! These things happen more often than you might think. Remember last year that Laura Frantz and I both released novels about lacemakers within a month of each other? Hers was The Lacemaker, and mine was A Refuge Assured. In that situation, we had enough time to put our heroines in the same family tree. Eagle-eyed readers could catch the names of the same matriarchs in both novels. What surprised you the most from this list? Between Two Shores was just one of many historical fiction releases on Feb. 5, 2019. Others include Castle on the Rise by Kristy Cambron, The Sky Above Us by Sarah Sundin, The Seamstress by Allison Pittman, and A Desperate Hope by Elizabeth Camden, as mentioned above. Are any of these on your to-read list, or have you read them yet?

Digging Deep for Historical Fiction Gems

The online magazine Books Make a Difference recently included an article about my historical fiction research process for their Beyond the Flap section. Written by Terri Barnes, it gives a pretty thorough description of how I go about it, what the challenges are, and how I stay organized. I'll share the first two paragraphs here, and then you click to read the full article at Books Make a Difference if you'd like to: The authenticity of Jocelyn Green’s historical fiction—plot, character, setting, and period detail—is the product of the author’s extensive research. In her books, history is more than a backdrop for her stories, as she deftly intertwines fictional plots and characters with settings and events from the past. She has won multiple awards for her books, including a 2017 Christy Award for historical fiction for The Mark of the King (Bethany House), a story set in New Orleans in the early 1700s. Jocelyn writes from her home office in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she lives with her husband and two children, or from a favorite local tea shop. However, not all the research she does can be done over a hot cuppa or in the cozy, book-lined office where her cats might drop by to snooze on the couch. As well as spending time in libraries and museums, she often travels to visit locations she describes in her novels. Continue reading the full article here!

If You Like THESE Books, You May Like Between Two Shores

In case you’re not sure if Between Two Shores is your cup of tea, allow me to tell you a little more about it. Here is the blurb: The daughter of a Mohawk mother and French father in 1759 Montreal, Catherine Duval would rather remain neutral in a world tearing itself apart. Content to trade with both the French and the British, Catherine is pulled into the Seven Years' War against her wishes when her British ex-fiancé, Samuel Crane, is taken prisoner by her father. Samuel claims he has information that could help end the war, and he asks Catherine to help him escape. Peace appeals to Catherine, even if helping the man who broke her heart does not. But New France is starving, and she and her loved ones may not survive another winter of conflict-induced famine. When the dangers of war arrive on her doorstep, Catherine and Samuel flee by river toward the epicenter of the battle between England and France. She and Samuel may impact history, but she fears the ultimate cost will be higher than she can bear. Important note: this novel is historical fiction, which is different from historical romance. The vast majority of historical novels ARE in fact, historical romance, and when you look at the cover of Between Two Shores and see a woman in a beautiful gown, it’s easy to assume this will be one of those books. It isn’t. When I say it’s a work of historical fiction rather than romance, that means the overarching plot is not how a man and woman get together in the end of the book. It is straight historical, which means there is more freedom to explore other themes. (Authors Susie Finkbeiner, Heather Day Gilbert, and Ann Tatlock are a few authors of straight historical fiction whose plots do not revolve around romance.) Between Two Shores is a character-driven novel of family dynamics and shifting loyalties in a time of war. The heroine, who is half French and half Mohawk, is caught in the middle and must discover where she belongs in all of it, and what her role will cost her. Don’t worry, we still go very deep into interpersonal relationships. Here are a few more ideas to help you decide whether you might enjoy Between Two Shores. If you liked Love's Pursuit by Siri Mitchell, you might like Between Two Shores because neither is a conventional romance, and the heroines have strong character journeys and spiritual arcs. If you liked A Moonbow Night by Laura Frantz, you might like Between Two Shores because both heroines act as guides in the wilderness, and in both books, the landscape is vividly portrayed. If you liked Burning Sky by Lori Benton, you might like Between Two Shores because both heroines have Mohawk and European cultures in their identities. If you liked the way Lynn Austin told the story in Where We Belong, you might like Between Two Shores because both books unfold in a nonlinear way. By that I mean, in the first half of my novel, I insert a handful of scenes that took place years before the story begins in Chapter One, in order to slowly reveal the nuances of relationships between characters. If you liked the classic novel for young readers Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare, you might like Between Two Shores because both novels are set partially in Montreal (or just outside of it) during the Seven Years’ War, and both have characters who were captured from British colonies and held in New France. (In Calico Captive, the main characters are the captives. In Between Two Shores, the main character is a woman who ransomed one.) Of course, you’re also fee to read the reviews already posted on Goodreads. If you do decide to read Between Two Shores, I hope you enjoy it! Have you read any of the books listed above? What did you think? If you've also read Between Two Shores already, did it remind you of any of these, or of other books I didn't mention? *Please note, comments will await moderation. So if yours doesn't show up right away, never fear, I will be checking in and approving them shortly!

Chicago Research Trip

I still have some fine-tune edits to complete for Between Two Shores, but while I wait for my turn doing that, it's time to get cracking on the next novel! This one will be set in Chicago during the time of the Great Fire (1871) and its aftermath. I've been researching for a while, but last week I headed to the city to fill in some gaps. There is really nothing like being on site for research. I was so fortunate that Kevin of Wild Onion Walks gave me a personalized tour based on what I wanted to know specific to the novel I'm working on. (He is so knowledgeable, if you go to Chicago, I highly recommend taking one of his tours!) Here are just a few snapshots from our morning together. One of the first things I wanted to see were houses and neighborhoods that resemble those I'll be writing about. I had to take a picture of these hydrangeas, my favorite flower. It seemed like they were everywhere! This fountain is one of two remaining original fountains in Chicago that was meant to give water to people, horses (the middle section) and dogs (the bottom portion). Of course, back in the day, instead of the modern fountain that has been fitted to the top of it, there was a tin cup tied to it for people to share. (Cholera, anyone?) Kevin also took me to see the actual site of the start of the blaze (pictured below, where I'm standing in front of the Chicago Fire Academy), and a few structures that survived the fire, including the St. James Cathedral (interior pictured). To be clear, the inside of the church was burned away, but the stone structure itself remained standing. Above, in the lower righthand corner, we are pictured in the Chicago History Museum, also the site of the Chicago Historical Society, where I said goodbye to Kevin and rolled up my sleeves to get to work. This doll, pictured below, belonged to a six-year-old girl named Charlotte who fled for her life along with her family. This was the only thing she took with her. Decades later, she donated it to the historical society. Once I was finished looking at the exhibit in the museum, I headed upstairs to the research center and filled out the paperwork that allowed me to get my (clean) hands on primary documents. This is tedious work, but this is where the magic happens, people. This poster hints at the need in Chicago after the fire. The fire burned for two days, and left 100,000 people homeless. The most commonly accepted estimate of those who died in the fire is 300 people. Most of my photos from this trip look like this section from my camera roll, below. With limited time, I had to discipline myself not to read every word, but just to take pictures of the pages and make photocopies of diary entries as necessary. I also looked at microfilm of the Chicago Tribune from Ocotber 1871 until my eyes could stand it no more. After my first full day of research, my four best friends from college joined me for some fun in the city. We had actually planned our reunion in Chicago before I signed the book contract for this novel. After I signed, I tacked on an early day for myself to dig around for research gold. For those of you who enjoy literature (so, all of you, I guess?), I thought you might enjoy these snapshots below, too. We found a coffee shop with literary breakfast and lunch options, and enjoyed dinner at a restaurant named for Oscar Wilde. My photo of the interior of Wilde isn't high quality, but I wanted you to see the cozy, library-like setting. The food was great, too! With not just one, but three Chicago-set books on the horizon, I see more trips to the city in my future! For now, this is a great start.

Cover Reveal: Between Two Shores

It's cover reveal time! I shared the cover for Between Two Shores in my latest e-newsletter, but in today's Facebook Live video, I shared the story behind it. You're welcome to take a peek here in case you missed it! During the first minute or so while people are tuning in, I’ll be sharing some books in my to-read pile because we all love books and these make me very happy. Then I’ll show you the input I gave the design team at Bethany House as they were preparing to work on the cover. Last, you’ll see the finished design! Between Two Shores releases Feb. 5, 2019, and is available for pre-order at Amazon here. As other retailers list it, I’ll add those pre-order links as well. You can also add the book to your Goodreads shelf here. P.S. For the rest of June, The Mark of the King and A Refuge Assured are both only $1.99 (or less) as ebooks wherever they area sold!

Mission Accomplished: My Research Trip to Canada

When it comes to writing historical fiction, I can research using books and Web sites until the cows come home, but there is something so special about on site research. Going to museums, historical sites, and local archives makes the history come alive to me, which makes it so much easier to breathe life into it when I portray it to you in my books. My recent trip to Montreal and Quebec City was no exception. I already turned in the manuscript of Between Two Shores (releasing spring 2019), but there were still some details that were fuzzy to me. So while my editors are reading the book for the first time, I flew north to get my facts straight. There will be plenty of time to make corrections and rewrites in the coming months. So, what did I gain in person that I hadn't already learned through months of book research? I walked the land myself, and felt the incline sloping up and away from the harbor, toward Mount Royal, for which Montreal is named. I saw the architecture of the time period with my own eyes. At the Pointe-a-Calliere museum, I even saw stones from the original stone wall of the first fort in Montreal. Walking uphill in Montreal! This church was built between 1687 and 1723 in Quebec City. At Chateau Ramezay, I saw rooms set up with period furniture, and learned details about daily life that were not included in the history books, from alcohol consumption to hygiene habits. I saw dishes they would have used, learned herbal remedies available for common illnesses, saw the tools they used for chores. Outside Chateau Ramezay with Ann-Margret Hovsepian, my traveling companion! The kitchen inside Chateau Ramezay Other details I learned that will help me build the storyworld: Unpaved streets were muddy. (I always want to know what my characters are walking on - it makes a big difference!) Churches had glass windows but not stained with colors yet. If they didn't have enough candles, they filled glass flasks with fireflies. No outhouses; chamber pots were emptied into the street gutters. (Another important detail of daily life!) The weather would have been very humid in the timeframe of my story. I'll need to have my characters sweat more. haha Larger-than-life maps and artistic renditions of the time period were hugely helpful to me, too! I also took pictures of dozens of book pages I found in local archives. The information will help me color in my story with better shading and brighter colors. This is what most of my camera roll looks like! Plus lots of museum placard snapshots. In Quebec City, we had a wonderful guide for a walking tour. She had been doing this for 24 years, and was willing to answer all my obscure questions afterward. What a gift! Touring Old Quebec City before we are turned loose for free time to explore I was incredibly blessed on this particular trip to be able to stay with my writer friend Ann-Margret, who lives in Montreal. She was my companion and research assistant, helping me snap pictures of books and museum displays! I was only there for a few days, but we certainly packed a lot in. Can't wait to rewrite Between Two Shores with my new discoveries! For more photos from this trip, visit my Facebook photo album here.

The Making of a Book Cover

Today I'm so excited to take you behind the scenes, into the making of a book cover! There's more than one way to go about the process, of course. I will just share with you the most recent one in my experience: A Refuge Assured, published by Bethany House. Even before we landed on a title, they asked for my input on the art direction. This is a great opportunity, and I was happy to put together an 8-page document for them. It included notes and images on period dress, location, book covers I like, and any other ideas or strong feelings I had about the cover. (For instance, I may have told them I'd like to stay away from the color pink, just as I normally say during title discussions to avoid the words "heart," "love," or "bride" because I don't want to give the impression that I write romance. I write straight historicals, which may have a romantic element, but it's not the entire plot.) Oh! BTW, do you see any familiar images below? That gorgeous blue sleeve and lace detail graced the cover of The Lacemaker by Laura Frantz! Laura and I have many of the same 18th-century fashion pins on Pinterest. She's a master pinner! Once I've sent in my input document, my job is done! The designer takes over, and I know the cover-to-be is in excellent hands. Today I've asked my cover designer, Jenny Parker, to answer some questions for us. What would you say are the most important elements of a book cover—or are they all equally important? Jenny: When the author of a book is well known, that name is probably the most important element on a book cover. Otherwise, I believe that—at least for fiction books—the art and title should work together to be the most impactful elements. This means the art must represent the story and it’s genre and draw in the reader. It also should indicate a place or time or even evoke a mood or an emotion. The AIGA (The American Institute of Graphic Arts) said in their opening statement of the 2013 Book Cover Design Competition Results that a strong cover “somehow summarizes in a split second a work that may have taken its author months or even years to create.” It’s also really important these days when people are buying books online for the title and author’s name to be readable even at a small size. What aspect of designing a book cover is the most enjoyable for you? Which is the most stressful? Jenny: It’s always fun to get my assignment and learn about the storyline and read all the research and little-known historical facts our authors have gathered. It gets me excited to do my own research focusing on clothing, architecture, or settings and then start brainstorming different ideas. I enjoy trying to recreate a believable scene from history. The most stressful part is hearing all the differing opinions about what the right image is for the book and trying to come up with a cover that will satisfy everyone including editors, marketing, and sales. I’m so relieved after all that when the author is happy and when I personally feel the cover is strong. Me with Creative Director Paul Higdon and Jenny Parker at the BHP offices in the spring of 2016. What part of your job as a book cover designer would surprise readers? Jenny: I don’t think it would surprise readers that my job is extremely fun: from learning about the great storylines to researching historical settings, costumes and other details to choosing models and costumes to creating the final product and seeing it in print. What might surprise readers is the amount of work that goes into creating each cover, especially when a photo shoot is needed. They are so much fun but they require a lot of prep work in order to ensure that we capture just the right image (with the right emotion, lighting, angle, etc.) in the few short hours we have the model, photographer, and hair and makeup artist. We take literally hundreds of photos of the models (usually around 700) that we have to go through to find the one perfect image for the front cover. From the photo shoot for A Refuge Assured! How do you decide whether to show the model’s entire face, part of her face (as in ARA) or none of her face (as in The Mark of the King)? Jenny: The decision of how much face to show can be already decided by the editors and marketing staff before I even get the assignment. The general consensus here at Bethany House is that not showing a face conveys a literary tone and showing one gives it a Christian fiction tone. When this hasn’t been decided, I try to show concepts for both options and let the group choose. Once you have several options to choose from, who weighs in on them before you choose the final cover? Jenny: We have a Creative Team headed by Creative Director Paul Higdon and comprised of seven or eight others including editors and marketing staff that meet together to discuss the options. Once they come to an agreement, the chosen cover is shown to our Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing Dave Lewis and the author. Thank you Jenny and company! I fully agree with your final decision on the winning cover for A Refuge Assured! (Novel releases Feb. 6: Available for pre-order now!) The Winning Cover! Readers, did anything surprise you from this process?

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