A BOOK COVER DILEMMA: MYSTERY SOLVED

NEW COVER

You’ve heard the mantras often enough:

The cover sells the book

The cover is all important

Poor cover, poor sales 

 

But what happens when the cover you use is something you like, really like, for several reasons, but the cover doesn't translate well to the computer monitor or e-Reader device? For me, it was a mystery with no apparent solution. In fact, it took me two weeks to resolve the dilemma. 

Often, I would awaken in the early morning hours with visions of my original book cover dancing in my head, without the benefit of sugar plums to dress it up. The cover sported my choice of colors, but the layout was too dark to be appealing or easily visible on an electronic device. After spending hours designing a new cover, I would revert to the original. Because, beyond logic, I still liked it. 

Tuesday morning, at 0438 hrs. to be precise, I crawled out of bed, accompanied by those dancing visions again. If I didn’t want to keep losing sleep, I knew it was time to get serious about changing the cover on my latest Pepper Bibeau mystery novel, WITH FIERY VENGEANCE. 

Now, finally, I have a new book cover, all dressed up for the ball, so to speak. No, it won’t be attending any of the parties slated for President and Mrs. Obama’s visit with ʻOhana here in Hawaii (the talk of the beauty parlor on Monday!) but I’d lay bets they would like the new design. 

 

 

The reason this cover is appropriate for the novel is because the through-line focuses on Pepper's fourteen year old son, on circumstances occurring over the years that led to current situations, and how the boy is affected by events unfolding during Pepper's stay in Hawaii.

 

 

All of the Pepper Bibeau mysteries are available in ebook and trade book format at Amazon.com

http://amzn.to/19hzaWH

 

The novels are free-standing, but if you want to start with Book 1, FOR EVERY ACTION in ebook format is available for 99 cents from 12/26/2013 to 1/1/2014.

http://amzn.to/1cohTiA

  

 

PEPPER is back WITH FIERY VENGEANCE

In the third novel of the series, Pepper Bibeau returns to Hawaii to visit her son on the Big Island and attend a wedding. The vacation is meant to be a time of healing for her son’s father, and relaxation for the family. Instead, unfolding events reveal Pepper’s inner strengths, and a guilty weakness.

Insurance Investigator Pepper Bibeau returns to Hawaii in December, 1972, where a vengeful stalker shadows her from Island to Island. While in Hawi on the Big Island, to visit her fourteen-year-old son and attend her cousin's wedding, Pepper discovers a body on the blood-soaked back seat of an abandoned classic Woody. A poorly executed plan of a local police detective fails to trap a suspect, who then flees to Oˋahu. 

When a Wisconsin woman is injured in an accident on Oˋahu, and the husband threatens to sue his insurance company, Pepper's assignment is to get his signature on a medical insurance release form. After the suspect in Hawi flees to the labyrinth of Honolulu's Chinatown, Pepper follows. Her plan is simple: settle the medical insurance claim, and flush out the suspect. 

Personal strife, unexplained deaths, and ghostly events are interwoven with the burning anger of a father who has lost all reason. With the sanity of a killer in question, Pepper must fight to save her family, and herself. 

WITH FIERY VENGEANCE Anger Burns Deep is a soft-boiled Mystery wrapped in a Traditional Cozy, an enjoyable read for those quick breaks between all the holiday activities.

Available today, along with all of the Pepper Bibeau Mystery series, at Amazon: http://amzn.to/1iNbwKU

SETTING AND ACCOMPLISHING GOALS

November was a busy month for me. I participated in NaNoWriMo2013 and am a WINNER; co-published an anthology of stories by 13 authors; and put the finishing touches on the novel I started during last year's NaNoWriMo and will publish at the end of this week, December 7, which is my protagonist’s birth date.

Accomplishing that many projects took some interesting juggling of time. Each morning I was up and writing before six o'clock to get in my quota of words for the NaNoWriMo manuscript. I didn’t always reach my goal, but there was always the Saturday write-ins at Ward Warehouse’s Paina Cafe in Honolulu. The camaraderie, and pasta at The Spaghetti Factory during break, helped me move the story forward and reach my word count of 50,000 words on November 29th.

Several hours each day were spent on editing, revising, and formatting my third novel in the Pepper Bibeau mystery series, WITH FIERY VENGEANCE Anger Burns Deep. With assistance and encouragement from critters, beta readers, and editor, I was able to mold the NaNoWriMo2012 manuscript into an exciting story that I am proud to publish.

The anthology, MYSTERY IN PARADISE 13 Tales of Suspense, was a group project with local writers. The short stories are mysteries set in Hawaii:  

From cozy mystery to classic crime, from gumshoe to urban noir, MYSTERY IN PARADISE is a collection of twisted, heart-pumping tales of suspense in all its guises. These 13 utterly unforgettable stories by 13 of the hottest authors to hit Hawai`i’s literary scene are sure to leave you with chicken skin as they take you on a ride through the seamier side of Paradise.

The e-Book is available NOW on Amazon,

and the trade book is coming soon!

http://amzn.to/1hjXOxo

 

 

Is this mynah bird to die for?

Special thanks go out to contributing author, Laurie Hanan,

for photographing the scenes and designing the cover for

MYSTERY IN PARADISE

13 Tales of Suspense