Book Covers and the artists who create them...

Recently, I bit the bullet and bought another piece of cover art from Eric Battershell, because dayummm...  I can honestly look at his photos all day long (and have).  I know that the cover isn't the end-all-be-all of the book, (ideally the actual story is) but a great cover will make or break a book, and in my experience, when it breaks, it breaks into a zillion pieces.

So far, each one of my Book B!tches books has a cover image from Eric, as well as a Pierce Securities book (Murmur).  I didn't specifically go looking for him, but Eric's pictures are amazing.  They set the tone of my books perfectly, and I haven't regretted using him yet.

The picture I bought last month will go on book #3 of the Book B!tches series, Hunt for Love.  That book is hopefully coming late 2017.  I still have some Pierce Securities books to release first (I know that made some people happy).

And check this out.  I have a cover model for the rest of those, too.

A bartender at my local bar is gorgeous, muscley, and totally willing to be my bitch--er, um, cover model.  I had a shoot with him in early March, and am hoping to finish out the covers for the Pierce Securities series, add a cover for book #4 in the Book B!tches (Fostering Love), and even some extra surprises I have planned for 2018.

Since a good cover is the biggest expense of publishing, and there's a big stink causing lots of drama about stock art happening on facebook (I'm not sure what it's all about, I try to avoid that drama shit), I prefer to use models when possible.  That way, I get original artwork for my covers, and by luck of the draw, most of my models (not all) have busted their book cover cherries with me.

So, I have a model, a photographer who is super excited to not be taking portraits, and more ideas than I know what to do with.

All so I can send some greatness to my designer.  James Price with AEP Book Covers (www.theauthormarket.com) is amazingly good-natured with all my man-candy.  I imagine him in all his bearded glory, after a long day working on airplanes, rolling his eyes at my emails with tales of damsels in distress, the alpha males who save them, and the attached eye candy, all while fighting off four kids and doing stuff for his wife, too.  He really would rather be doing Horror covers, but he's amazing, nonetheless.

Anyway, since I have now either bought or am in the process of buying all my cover art for the foreseeable future, I feel like I've paid off a credit card bill.  I still have to pay for editing and formating services as well as the actual design work for the cover, but the art
work itself is the most expensive if I'm not using stock art.  So I feel golden.

Since this year's sales have been slower than usual, I'm trying to figure out a way to afford stuff.  Now, it's time to cut costs.  I can't cut in the cover department, nor with most of my publishing expenses.  However, I am cutting advertising and other costs, so stay tuned this week for something I'm hoping will tide me over a bit.  :)

Until then...