'Irish Inheritance' - the front cover!

Paula considers what front covers should show.

 

Following on from my post last week about bare chests on book covers, and what they seem to suggest about the content of the book… Last week, I had to make some decisions about the cover of my new release, ‘Irish Inheritance’.

 

Emails flew back and forth between my cover artist, my publisher and her assistant, and me, once Katrina (the artist) produced the first draft. It seemed we all had our own views!

 

We all loved the upper half of the cover which reflected the ‘inheritance’ part of the story, but the title font and the lower half of the cover involved more discussion, and more searches of the stock photos online.

 

I was so happy when I found ‘my’ couple. If the hero or heroine are going to appear on the book cover, then I want them to look something like I imagine them! In this case I hit lucky.

 

There are many Irish coastal and/or mountain scenes in the stock photos, and the one we finally chose shows a wonderful rocky Irish coast with the hills in the background – and also a house (which is important in the story). I’m sure someone will eventually tell me where it is! It might not be Connemara (where the story is set) but maybe that doesn’t matter.

 

In the end, I think we got a cover that looks interesting and also reflects the story.

 

Here’s the blurb:

 

English actress Jenna Sutton and American artist Guy Sinclair first meet when they jointly inherit a house on the west coast of Ireland. Curious about their unknown benefactress and why they are considered as ‘family’, they discover surprising links to the original owners of the house.

 

They soon unravel an intriguing tale of a nineteenth century love affair. At the same time, their mutual attraction grows, despite personal reasons for not wanting romantic involvements at this point in their lives.

 

A local property agent appears to have her own agenda concerning the house while other events pull Jenna and Guy back to separate lives in London and America. Friction builds over their decision about the house and its contents.

 

Will their Irish inheritance eventually drive them apart — or bring them together?

 

And here's the cover!