Hello. Welcome. Let me tell you a little about my journey. I have written as long as I can remember, but in the late 1990’s and a young mother of two little girls and pregnant with my oldest son, I decided that I wanted to write for a living—as a way to stay home with them. I wrote my first novel in 1996 and had I not told everyone and their mamas that I was writing a book, I don’t think I would have ever finished. The following books came more easily and weren’t nearly as ugly or clunky as the first. Unlike the first attempt, I didn’t put every single element about a romance novel that I loved into one story, instead began to focus on developing the skills of storytelling, creating conflicts—both internal and external—and developing characters to be loved or hated and endings that made one cheer or cry.
It took almost a decade, but I finally sold my first novel in 2004. During the next few years, I sold multiple novels, writing for houses like NAL Penguin Putnam, Kensington, Harlequin’s Kimani Press, and Ellora’s Cave. It was a life shake-up when I decided to begin self-publishing after the birth of my youngest son in 2008. Unlike writing for a New York publisher, now I had to do everything and that included commissioning the cover art.
As a novelist, I drew pictures with words, creating imagery and emotion. I wanted the same type of imagery and emotion from my book cover, only I couldn’t find it. I borrowed my sister’s-- a professional photographer-- computer that had Photoshop installed and designed my own. Within a month of first beginning to self-promote my first self-published novel complete with my cover design, I had three author clients and a new business was born—Cover Me Book Covers & Design.
Now Cover Me Book Covers & Design creates covers for a few small publishers and dozens of other self-publishing authors. The more I designed, the more I learned. Like writing, I have found a passion that is allowing me to continue to be there for my children. I even have a couple of grandsons now highlighting how long I have been trekking along this path...
Can’t wait to see where it takes me next.
