** Update! Vote by emailing Snubnose Press (snubnosepress at gmail dot com), tweeting with #snubnosecover in your message, or leave a comment after this post to have your voice heard and be automatically entered to win Harvest of Ruins.
One of the things I’ve heard readers and authors complain about “legacy” publishers is their unwillingness to listen to the public. For example, I know American Rankin fans who grumble because the U.S. publishers insist on Americanizing the language, causing them to boycott U.S. versions of books and order from Canada or the U.K.
We also know that book covers have become something of a pet peeve of readers and authors, with sites like The Rap Sheet (and Spinetingler) posting about copycat covers. One of the reasons we decided to have an award for best cover was to try to encourage publishers to be more inventive and original with cover design.
With Snubnose Press, we want to try to do things differently. That means there will be times when the public gets a voice in our decisions. Our next title will be HARVEST OF RUINS, and readers can vote for their choice of cover by emailing us at snubnosepress at gmail dot com. Put the word “Cover” in the subject line, and tell us which cover you would choose.
Harvest #1 - Red Tinge
Everyone who emails will be automatically entered for a contest to win a free copy of HARVEST OF RUINS.
All of these covers were designed by Boden Steiner, who also designed the cover for SPEEDLOADER.
Harvest 2 - White Text
Detective Sergeant Hunter McKenna is on trial, charged with negligent homicide after her investigation into the suspicious death of a local teenager led to more deaths and personal tragedy.
Hunter faces accusations in the courtroom, and is tormented by her own guilt over personal choices she’s made. The community’s grief demands someone to blame, and Hunter can’t deny she’s haunted by regret.
As her partner, DS Noah Wilmott, continues to investigate, he wonders if the nightmares plaguing his partner are really Hunter’s subconscious, piecing things together, or something more, and when he follows a hunch it leads to answers that will stun a community.
Harvest 3 - Blue
Why do we hurt the ones we love the most?
Vinny Shepherd is a girl with an identity crisis. Her whole life she’s been pulled in different directions, between divorced parents, between her own interests and what her mother wants her to be like. After so many years of being molded and pressured by a controlling mother, she’s lost herself along the way.
Now, with a dominating friend like Ivy Dorn – who bullies and controls those around her to fulfill her whims – Vinny finds herself doing things she could never have imagined.
Like what happened to Jonah at the ruins…
Like what happened the night her best friend died.
When one death leads to another, Vinny’s life is ripped apart. As her mother spearheads the witch hunt against DS McKenna, Vinny struggled with her guilt and grief. What she knows could change the outcome of the trial, but can she find the strength to stand up against a dominating mother who’s controlled her entire life?
Harvest 4
Online Now: Excerpts of HARVEST OF RUINS
Mother’s voice.
Daddy’s.
“No. I won’t put up with this anymore. I’ve given up too much, put up with too much. Vinny wouldn’t be in this state if I’d taken her to live with me.”
“So this is my fault? I’m the one with Evelyn every single day of her life, helping her with school, making her meals, and looking after her but because you think I didn’t do a good job you’re going to take her away?”
“Don’t twist my words, Rose. I just think-”
“Keep your voice down or you’ll wake her up.”
If it was possible to hiss words, then Mother hissed. She didn’t give Daddy a chance to jump in, either. “You think that Evelyn’s problems are all my fault. Because you think you can walk in now and fix everything when you haven’t even been here for years.”
Read More Here
number 3!
#1
If it were mine, I’d prefer #2. Looks most like a crime novel, and the white text jumps off the cover. To be honest, if I didn’t know Sandra’s work, I’d presume the other three covers were for sci-fi novels …
Cheers, Declan
#2. It just jumps out of the screen.
I’m not all that crazy about any of these covers, actually, since they all appear rather murky to my eye. But if asked to make a choice, I would go with No. 2. It offers the most striking combination of type and artwork.
Cheers,
Jeff
#4
I vote for the blue monochrome of #3. Looks more noirish to me.