Tuesday, October 30, 2007

A Tale of Two Covers - Your Chariot Awaits by Lorena McCourtney

I've been looking forward to Lorena McCourtney's next novel ever since I read On the Run & Stranded, Book #3 & #4 respectively in her Ivy Malone cozy mystery series. I just loved that LOL! (Little Old Lady.) So when I heard that her next series, this time with Thomas Nelson, was to feature a sixty-year-old protagonist who inherits a limousine (and a dead body), I knew McCourtney was writing just for me. Enter Andi McConnell.

But here's the thing. When I saw the proposed cover for this book I was surprised. It just didn't seem to have the feel a book like this deserved. Apparently I wasn't the only to think this way because the final cover was changed dramatically, and now it looks terrific! Below is a picture of the two covers side-by-side. The one on the left is the first cover I saw, the one on the right is the final. I love seeing the different covers and how they often progress in the process. What do you think about these two? (Click on the picture for a larger view.)

4 comments:

Sheryl said...

Definitely agree with you on the first cover C.J. It looks a bit like a Freddy Kruger book rather than a cozy mystery. :-)

Sheryl

Travis Erwin said...

Cover two all the way. It says so much more to me.

Anonymous said...

I'm so pleased that everyone seems to like the final cover best. But there's more to the story. This started out with a totally different cover, greenish colored, with a drawing of a limo and a Seattle skyline in the background, the kind of cartoon style that was popular for a while. Marketing didn't like it, and so then the progression to the final cover, which was photographed especially for the cover. The publishing world moves in strange and mysterious ways!

C.J. Darlington said...

Thanks so much for stopping by, Lorena, and giving us even more of a sneak peak into the making of this cover.