Cover Redesigns ~ The Culper Ring!

Cover Redesigns ~ The Culper Ring!

Earlier in the summer, I tried to order some more copies of Ring of Secrets, only to learn that they’d gone out of print. As in, forever. No more paperbacks would be produced. Noooooo! So naturally, I immediately emailed my agent, and we struck up a conversation with Harvest House. Long story short, two days later I found myself in possession of the rights of the three Culper Ring novels, as well as the two novellas that were actually always mine to begin with. 😉 This wasn’t something I’d planned on, but it’s certainly nice to know I can now keep them available for everyone!

One of the stipulations of the reversion of rights was that I would have to provide new covers for them, as the original files were not available. Shucks, right? A cover designer hates being told she has to make new covers for some of her first books. 😉 So today, I’m super excited to reveal ALL the new covers at once! (Okay, so the novellas only got small tweaks, since I’d been the one to design those to begin with.)

Of course, I still have some of the old covers in stock, but once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. So below each new cover, there are a couple links. One to the book’s new page with the new cover, where you can purchase paperback to ship as soon as I have them in hand, and one to the OLD cover’s page too–those are now on sale so I can clear out my stock. 😉 (Well, except for Ring of Secrets, because I only have 2 of those left anyway.) Please note that the new paperbacks are still in process and not in hand. I’m working on these as quickly as I can and hope to have them here and shippable within 2 weeks. You can order now, and they’ll ship as soon as I get them!

If you’re looking for ebooks, they’ll be back up at retailers soon–or you can grab them now from WhiteFire! Links for those are at the bottom of the page!

So let’s jump right into the cover reveals with…

Ring of Secrets

This first book in the Culper Ring Series is set during the Revolutionary War, in 1780. Winter is a character living a deception in order to stay alive as a Patriot in Loyalist-held New York…and help other Patriots in any way she can. I wanted an image that would capture both the playful, “brainless” image she projects, but also hint at the secrets she was keeping. And of course, a beautiful era gown was called for! I admit that orange had never been my favorite on the original, though the overall design was lovely, and I did like the model they selected. For my design, I also chose a different script for the font, made it larger to cover the whole cover for easier reading in thumbnail, and added a fun wax seal on a corner of old paper for series branding. So all that takes us from this…

to this:

I don’t know about you, but I really love the gown here! The color is just lovely, and I love the little pops of brighter colors in the flowers–especially that it ties in just a bit with the original orange, but redder.

Then of course, we have the only-mildly-updated…

Fairchild’s Lady

which went from this:

to the very similar this:

As you can see, the biggest changes there were to put the new title banner and series corner on it. Otherwise, I just kept my original design.

Moving on. =) When I received the cover for Whipsers from the Shadows, my daughter declared it “Cinderella!” LOL. I always found it funny that the gown they chose (which I love!) was in use on several other Christian novels too–apparently there are a few major design firms in the same city that all rented costuming from the same theater! How funny is that? For my redesign, I played with quite a few different ideas. Maybe I wanted Gwyn to be painting? But painting requires light, and I wanted to get those SHADOWS in there, so I opted for an exterior scene with a lovely, moody gate instead. And of course, an era dress. (Oh, fun note–all the gowns on the new novel covers are ACTUAL historical pieces! The Met has many public domain images from their collection, and that’s where I found all these! I just found models to “wear” them digitally.)

So here we go!

Whispers from the Shadows

The lovely Cinderella original:

and my new version:

The second novella, A Hero’s Promise, actually got a facelift last year, when I put a model on the original cover, which had just been the Capitol building before. So for the new version, all I did was flip her around to better flow with the rest of the series and change the color of the banner for the same reason. Here are both the new-old version, ha ha, and the updated one.

A Hero’s Promise

And that brings us to the final cover!

I always loved the original cover of Circle of Spies, especially because (a) the model was the designer’s niece, and (b) the seamstress who designed and created the costume had emailed me when I did my original cover reveal to introduce herself and say what fun she had working on Marietta’s gown! So it was sad to let this one go, but obviously necessary.

Because Mari is in half-mourning for most of the book, the dress had to stay gray. But I decided to put her in her sitting room instead of having the theater background, and I do quite like the model I found and the expression on her face. She gets to be in profile, to keep the theme of the models turning different directions throughout the series. So here we have our two versions of

Circle of Spies

More small notes from Roseanna-the-designer; I love that the title banners and series seals not only change color but actually do a reverse-rainbow. Fun, huh? And I also made a point of integrating a bit of color from the other books into each one. Maybe no one else in the world will ever notice that, LOL, but I love the way it binds them all together when you view them side by side! And so, I’ll leave you with that image. And you can let me know what you think of the new face of

The Culper Ring Series

(Just a quick note about availability–these WILL be on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc., but I haven’t had a chance to list them there yet. So for now, you can grab them here. They should be available everywhere in the next week or two!)

Cover Reveal ~ New Jewel of Persia

Cover Reveal ~ New Jewel of Persia

This

has been…quite a month. I have this vague recollection of coming home from my writing retreat bursting with ideas for Thoughtful posts and other website work. Super excited about classes and workshops and tea parties and T-shirts and all the many things I have going on over here.

Then…well, then the Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis for my 12-year-old son threw us all for a loop. We’re adjusting, and God is so good! But midnight blood sugar checks and insurance worries and so much thought going into meals and food, plus playing catch-up from all the work I fell behind on have taken their toll on me, LOL. So my big goals of having a fabulous post this Thursday have yet again resulted in it being Wednesday, and here I sit with no ideas. 😉

So…a cover reveal!! Those are always fun, right? I already shared this cover with subscribers to the WhiteFire Publishing newsletter (that’s the small press my husband and I run), but I wanted to share it with you guys too!

Jewel of Persia was my second published book, which released in January of 2011, so we’re coming up fast on its ten year anniversary. I deem that a fine time to refresh the cover. =) I’d had it on my list for quite a while, and I’d played around with different designs, but they all looked so much like the original that there was no point in changing, LOL. Then, on my birthday back in August, I decided that would be a great way to spend my day. 😉 So I decided on a new color scheme (cool colors instead of the warm tones of the orginal), used the same model photo, and got to work.

If you haven’t read Jewel of Persia, it’s my Esther story that’s not about Esther, LOL. You know me–I write historical fiction through the eyes of a fictional character, not the historical ones. 😉 In this case, I focus on Kasia, Esther’s childhood best friend who ends up a wife in Xerxes’ harem before Esther ever arrives there.

My research for this book combined the biblical account with Herodotus’s Histories, the ancient text about the Greco-Persian war. One thing I absolutely LOVED was how the war history fits perfectly into the biblical narrative–have you ever noticed that there are YEARS between the queen being deposed and new brides being brought in so a new queen will be named? I hadn’t! But that was when Xerxes was attacking Greece! And the very personality of this great king is consistent between the two accounts, proving they’re speaking about the same person. (That “I’ll grant you up to half my kingdom” promise was one Xerxes was rather famous for–he was constantly offering people cities if they pleased him, LOL.)

Jewel of Persia is actually one of my two bestselling books of all time, coming in right behind The Lost Heiress. I love that this book has reached so many readers, and I also love that I can now give it a fresh, updated look. =) But I also love that I still had the photos from the original shoot, so I could use the same model. That’s actually a funny story too.

So the girl was, at the time, a college student here from Lebanon, named Perla. My friend, critique partner, and fellow WhiteFire editor, Dina Sleiman has a lot of Lebanese connections due to her husband hailing from there, so when I said I needed a model of Middle Eastern descent for the cover, she said she’d ask around. Hilariously, that very weekend she was at a beach party and saw Perla, who she’d never met. So she thought it would be fun to introduce herself with, “Hey, would you like to be on a book cover?” Poor Perla ran away, terrified. LOL. But later she came back and asked what Dina meant, and a few weeks later, they arranged a photo shoot. I sewed the chiton she’s wearing, Dina added the beautiful striped scarf material, and we ended up with a slew of fabulous images.I love this one best, though, because of the movement in that scarf…

Here’s the original cover, which I still love:

 

And now, the new version! Same Perla shot, new background; I changed the color of her clothing, and I had to reshoot the bracelet–making my daughter model the actual bracelet that I have, courtesy of the amazing owner of the Greek Jewelry Shop, Aris. (A few months after he granted me permission to use this bracelet, his lions’-head torc designs actually found a home in the gift shop of the Louvre!!!! For the original cover, he let us use his photography, but then he actually sent me a sterling silver torc, made to my size!) New title font, bigger name to be more easily read in thumbnail…and voila! Ready??

.

.

.

 

And just for kicks, here are the two side by side. What do you think?

 

The new version will be available in both ebook and print in time for Christmas!
“Classic” cover editions are now on sale for 50% off!

Roseanna for Writers, Coming Soon!

Roseanna for Writers, Coming Soon!

I hear from a lot of you who are also writers … but I know that doesn’t apply to all or even most of my readers. My goal is always to serve all of you as best as I can, and in the past, my “serving other writers” goals have been met by teaching at conferences and doing guest articles on sites like the amazing Go Teen Writers.
 
And I’m still doing those. (Well. You know. COVID + Conferences = Eventually) But I also wanted a way to share about my love of the craft and industry of writing without relying on events. So I’m thrilled to announce a new part of my website that will be coming soon, just for writers!
 
I’ll also be starting a newsletter ONLY for writers, so I won’t bore you readers who aren’t writers with it, but writers who want access to my material but not my weekly newsletter can just receive that. Sign up here!
 
What will my “For Writers” section include? So glad you asked. 😉
 
Classes, Services, and Articles!
 
 
CLASSES:
There will be a series of video classes available for purchase, starting at around $15.  Here’s my current list of classes I’m recording, divided into three man categories:
 
YOU, the Writer (Fiction or Non-Fiction)
“Choose Your Own Writing Adventure”
As writers, we don’t just decide what kind of stories we write; we decide what kind of stories our writing-life will tell. How do we react to edits? Critiques? Reviews? What face do we show the world? These questions are just as important as “what genre do you write?” and should be given just as much attention.
 
“Write Deeply, Read Deeply, Live Deeply”
Want to write stories of depth? First we have to learn how to read stories in ways that pluck the truths from the pages…and most importantly, we need to learn how to examine our lives daily in way that pulls us deeper into our hearts and souls.
 
“The Intuitive Writer”
The class for people who never get much from classes! Some people work well with writing “systems”…and some of us DON’T. That’s because there are two types of minds: the logical and the intuitive. Every class on the planet seems to aim at the logical methods … but this one is for those who create “from the gut.”
 
“No Tears in the Writer”
Every writer has probably heard the saying, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.” Well this non-cryer is calling bull on that theory. We don’t all cry when penning a story…but that doesn’t we can still grab the readers by the heart with these methods.
 
“How to Do It All”
One of the questions I’m asked most often is “How do you do it all? Writing, editing, designing, homeschooling?” Your “all” no doubt looks different from mine, but we all need to learn how to juggle the demands of a writing life…and stay sane in the process.
 
Marketing and Publishing (Fiction or Non-Fiction)
“Spirit-Led Marketing”
Many of view marketing as a monster determined to steal the joy from the writing life. But this session will teach you to focus instead on turning marketing into service that feeds your soul.
 
Two Four Roads Diverged”
You’ve written a book, but now what do you do with it? Shoot for a big publisher? Small press? Vanity or coop press? Self-publishing? Let’s examine the pros and cons of each so you know which path is the one for you and your goals.
 
“What Are You Looking At?”
This fun-filled look at the cover design process not only chats about the theories on what makes a great cover, but looks at covers that work and don’t and why.
 
“Editor’s Pet”
From query to your umpteenth project, how to get an editor’s attention and keep it (in the right way) until you’ve made yourself a house favorite.
 
“Honoring the Inspiration”
Editing isn’t just fixing commas and deleting weasel words. It’s creativity too, and it helps turn our stories into the best books they can be. Here’s how to make sure your edits are doing all you want them to … without stealing your joy or compromising your inspiraiton.
 
The Writing Craft (Mostly Fiction)
“Fiction Rules and When to Break Them”
Great for beginners and intermediate writers, this class examines “The Rules” of modern fiction, why we should learn them, and when we get to chuck them out the window for the sake of our art.
 
“Fiction with a Purpose”
 Let’s examine the pitfalls and strengths of issue-driven fiction and how to make an “issue” book work for you.
 
“You’re History!”
How to do the research for historical fiction and integrate it seamlessly into your novel in a way that brings the past to life without overloading the modern reader.
 
“Soul Deep Characters”
How to write characters that leap off the page and straight into the heart of the reader by asking yourself questions in ways you haven’t before and evaluating your characters’ spirits. 
 
“More Than An Idea” (Fiction or Non-Fiction)
We all have ideas that might be great books—but the inspiration is only step 1. This class takes you through turning that idea into a workable project, through hard work and even some emotional and spiritual growth.
 
 
Each class purchase will include access to a monthly live Q&A video chat, where any participant can ask questions about the classes they took specifically or writing in general. I’m filming and editing these fifteen classes now, but I will add more as time goes by. So if you’re super excited and want to soak up ALL the workshops, you’ll also have the option of purchasing a lifetime subscription to my courses, which will include every class I ever post ~ these 15 and beyond!
 
SERVICES:
Design – As many of you know, I’m not just a writer, I’m also an editor and a book designer. The “services” portion of the new segment will deal mainly with what I’ve long been offering at Roseanna White Designs, just handily linked here too for a one-stop shop. 😉 And if you need advice on the actual step-by-step process of getting your book for sale, there were will be a few select coaching timeslots available too.
 
Marketing Intensives – My husband and I are working on a marketing intensive specifically geared toward writers. One we’ve been using with my own work and our publishing company, so in addition to philosophy, this comes with the benefit of our hands-on experience!
 
ARTICLES:
I’ve already written many writing-craft articles and have bookmarked many more by some amazing authors! I’ll be curating some of these just to give you a free resource and a handy place to find my favorites in one spot.
Cover Reveal!!!

Cover Reveal!!!

I am so very excited to share his cover with you today! Dreams of Savannah will release in January 2021 and is a stand-alone novel set in Savannah, Georgia during the Civil War.

A quick history–I’ve had this book sitting in my digital drawer for nine long years. I pulled it out about a year ago, wondering what to do with it…and was thrilled when Bethany House offered a contract. I did quite a bit of rewriting this past winter, making sure my Confederate-set story is both accurate to history and yet something that will appeal to readers in today’s climate. More, I pray it’s something that will speak to readers in today’s climate. Because one thing both my hero and heroine learn is that it isn’t enough not to do evil when it comes to the issue of slavery. They have to do good.

So without further ado, here’s an actual description of the book, and then the oh so GORGEOUS cover!!!

About the Book

Cordelia Owens can weave a dream around anything and is well used to winning the hearts of everyone in Savannah with her whimsy. Even when she receives word that her sweetheart has been lost during a raid on a Yankee vessel, she clings to hope and comes up with many a romantic tale of his eventual homecoming to reassure his mother and sister.

But Phineas Dunn finds nothing redemptive in the first horrors of war. Struggling for months to make it home alive, he returns to Savannah injured and cynical, and all too sure that he is not the hero Cordelia seems determined to make him.

As the War Between the States rages ever nearer and Savannah’s slaves start sneaking away to the islands off the coast to join the Yankees, both Phin and Cordelia get caught up in questions they never thought they’d have to ask–questions that threaten the very dreams of a future they’d cherished.

The Cover

.

.

.

Are

.

.

.

You

.

.

.

Ready???

.

.

.

Cover Reveal! A Portrait of Loyalty

Cover Reveal! A Portrait of Loyalty

Happy Valentine’s Day! 

And how better to celebrate love … and love stories … than by putting a face to my next book. 😉 Ahem. Or at any rate, when I was told I could share this week, I decided that doing a Valentine public reveal would be super fun!
I can’t quite believe that The Codebreakers series will be coming to an end already in September, but I’m so excited about how this final book, A Portrait of Loyalty, has turned out. For those of you following along, this is the one that I completely rewrote back in November. As in, totally. But I love how it turned out, and so do my editors, so phew!
If you’ve read On Wings of Devotion, then you’ve already met Lily Blackwell and Zivon Marin, who will be our main characters in A Portrait of Loyalty. Lily is a volunteer at the hospital where Arabelle works…and is also a photographer employed by the Admiralty to alter photographs for the war effort. Zivon Marin is a Russian cryptographer who flees to England in the wake of the revolution in Russia.
Here’s a general idea of the story:
Zivon Marin was one of Russia’s
top cryptographers, until the October Revolution tore apart his world. Forced
to flee after speaking out against Lenin and separated from his brother along
the way, he arrives in England driven by a growing anger and determined to
offer his services to the Brits.
Lily Blackwell sees the world
best through the lens of a camera—and possesses unsurpassed skill when it comes
to retouching and recreating photographs. With her father’s connections in propaganda,
she’s recruited to the intelligence division, even though her mother would disapprove.

After Captain Blackwell invites
Zivon to dinner one evening, a friendship blooms between him and Lily. He sees
patterns in what she deems chaos; she sees beauty in a world he thought
destroyed. But both have secrets they’re unwilling to share, and no one is quite certain where Zivon’s loyalties really lie—until his enemies are discovered to be far closer than he’d
feared, and only Lily’s skills can save him.

Now the moment you’ve been waiting for. The cover! 
Ready?
.
.
.
Set!
.
.
.
Voila! 


Don’t Forget to Enter the Valentine’s Day Giveaway!!!

Enter via the Rafflecopter link below!
Cover Reveal! On Wings of Devotion

Cover Reveal! On Wings of Devotion

Well, this is the first time this has happened–I have a new cover to show you, and the “reveal” date was the same as the release date of my previous book! So I’ve sat on this one for a week while The Number of Love launches. Not hard to do, because I am so excited about introducing Margot and Drake to the world!
But at the same time, THIS COVER! On Wings of Devotion is book 2 in The Codebreakers, picking up right where The Number of Love drops off chronologically–actually, it begins somewhere before the epilogue of TNoL takes place, but after the main part of the story ends.
If you’ve read The Number of Love already, then you know who the hero is going to be in book two–Phillip Camden, a pilot in the Royal Flying Corp and school chum of our current hero, Drake. In the course of the story, we see that Camden has landed in some serious hot water. Thanks to Drake, he ends up working in Room 40…but he isn’t happy about it–or anything. He’s reeling from the loss of his squadron and doesn’t mind taking it out (rather hilariously, I think) on everyone around him. But he still can’t quite overcome his instincts–loyalty and selflessness. Made for SUCH a fun hero to write in this new one!
But I’ve been getting a lot of questions asking who the heroine is going to be, which make me giggle. She’s there in book 1…but you won’t know it, necessarily. Her name is Arabelle Denler, and she’s a nurse in Charing Cross Hospital. And of course, this being one of my covers, she’s the one we see there on the front of the book–and though it may seem like this book is all about Camden since we know him already, trust me–Ara deserves to be pictured!
Let me tell you just a little bit about her, and then I’ll show you the cover!
Arabelle isn’t beautiful. But, as Cam thinks upon meeting her, “she does a good job of hiding it” behind a quick wit and fashionable clothes. She’s tall–around 6 feet in height–and frequently described as “gangly.” But Ara is also the kind of girl who will sacrifice anything if it will help someone heal. After a heartbreaking childhood (her mother dies and her father is lost in the wilds of South America for years), she feels God saying to her, If you want to heal, then heal others. This is why she’s a nurse…and why she does some things at the start of the story that baffle and intrigue Cam.
And now… THE COVER! Are you ready???

Isn’t it GORGEOUS!!!!!!???????
I’m so in love with this. Here’s why:
The golden colors are just breathtaking–and that DRESS! (Pass it over here, please. Right over here.)
The model they chose for Arabelle is perfect. I mean, still too pretty, but you’ll have that. 😉 I love that she has heavy brows, though, as Ara does, and her hair isn’t quite perfect. She somehow gives off a vibe of “I’m not really as pretty as I look,” which is spot-on.
Next–THE GLOBE! Until y’all read the story, you won’t know exactly how important this is, but a quick explanation: Arabelle’s father is an explorer, “stranded” in London during the war. She’s getting to know him for the first time in her life. In his study, he has maps and globes everywhere, and this is where she and Cam really get to know each other. I’d suggested a globe for the cover and LOVE that they put it in! 
And finally, if you look on her chest, you’ll see she’s wearing a pilot’s wing pin. This is SO IMPORTANT. Just like “18” had to be on the cover of The Number of Love because it IS the number of Margot’s love, so did this pin have to be on this cover.

So what do you think? Do you like the colors? Are you intrigued? Which cover of the series is your favorite so far? (I’d be hard pressed to pick. They nailed both of them!)