The Art of Book Cover Design for Historical Fiction

*This is an older post, but it remains so popular that I keep it pinned here on the main page.*

I had the pleasure of speaking on The Art of Book Cover Design panel at the Historical Novel Society conference last June with Emily Victorson from Allium Press, Sarah Johnson from Reading the Past, Anna Michels from Sourcebooks, and Kris Waldherr from Art and Words. We each presented on different aspects of designing historical fiction covers, and my task was to discuss my approach and trends in the genre. In case you missed it, or if you attended and would like to have a copy of your own, here is my portion of the presentation!

L to R: Anna, Kris, myself, and Sarah

The first thing I do when working on a cover is determine the genre or subgenre and the target audience, and then I spend some time browsing through the bestsellers to see which covers are selling books and what they look like. It’s important that you pay attention to cover trends when creating yours. You may think your cover is going to stand out because it’s so different from others in the genre, but that approach can often backfire. Cover trends exist in the first place because they sell books. Readers of a genre are used to seeing a certain style of cover, and if your cover doesn’t even come close, they may very well skip over it, thinking it’s not the type of book they like to read. So the trick is crafting a cover that falls within the trends in the genre while standing out and catching the eye of your target reader. 

So with that being said, I want to briefly touch on some popular trends in today’s historical fiction covers. A significant portion of the historical fiction market is targeted toward women, so that’s where we’ll begin.

So let’s start with the trend readers either seem to love or hate: The Headless Woman. This trend is popular because the heroine in a reader’s imagination rarely matches a real-life depiction on the cover. So it gives us a chance to envision what her face looks like and also adds an air of mystery. (Check out Sarah's portion of the presentation for the original headless woman cover that started the trend!)

Promise Thief

Please join me in congratulating Lee Evie on the publication of her new historical novel, Promise Thief, book two in the Promise series! I had the pleasure of helping Lee design the cover. Here's the book description:

SHE HAS NO FUTURE. HE HAS NO PAST. A GAME BEGINS.

Joseon Korea

During the long midwinter, snow drifts through the stark streets of sprawling Hanyang. Within the stifling walls of the Pavilion, a gisaeng slave girl is driven to the edge of her endurance.

Chungjo is ambitious. Beautiful. Cruel. A slave girl who submits to no-one and destroys all who stand in her way. Yet a mysterious stranger thwarts her plans at every turn. Craftier than she could anticipate, he is a young man who is her match.

Soon a dance begins. Who will discover the truth first? Who will destroy the other?

A dark romantic story of old Korea.

Promise Thief is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, visit Lee's website for her blog posts and podcasts about Korean history, and check out book one, Promise Season!

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Antonius: Soldier of Fate

 Please join me in congratulating Brook Allen on the publication of  Antonius: Soldier of Fate, the final book in her definitive and meticulously researched trilogy about the fascinating life of Marc Antony. I had the pleasure of helping Brook with a developmental edit and a copyedit, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description:

"A masterpiece of historical writing in the best traditions of Mary Renault and M.C. Scott." ~Griff Hosker, Author of The Sword of Cartimandua Series

Marcus Antonius has it all—power, prestige, a heroic military reputation, and the love of Queen Cleopatra. But as master of Rome’s Eastern provinces and kingdoms, he must maintain peace, and in so doing, he sacrifices his own happiness, yoked within a loveless marriage and an eroding alliance. As Octavian’s star rises, Marcus must compete with his rival’s success, though it leads to an embittered struggle threatening to end their unity.

Once Marcus finally takes matters into his own hands, his fate becomes tied to the East—and Cleopatra. Far from Rome and his seat of power, a horrific campaign to fulfill Julius Caesar’s vision will forever alter him. He is a man torn between two countries and two families, and ultimately—a soldier fated to be the catalyst transforming Rome from Republic to Empire.

Antonius: Soldier of Fate is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Brook's website for her posts about traveling for research and all things 1st century BC Rome.

Need an editor or cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Midnight Fire

Please join me in congratulating P.K. Adams on the publication of her new historical novel, Midnight Fire, the second book in the Jagiellon Mystery series! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

In the summer of 1545, Caterina Konarska undertakes the long journey from Bari to Kraków in search of a cure for her ailing son Giulio. In Poland, she finds a court far different from the lively, cultured place she remembers from twenty-five years ago. The old king lies on his deathbed, and the once-charming Queen Bona has aged into a bitter, lonely woman—isolated from power and estranged from the heir, Zygmunt August.

Haunted by memories of a crime she solved long ago, Caterina approaches the queen with caution. Bona promises medical assistance for Giulio, but at a price: Caterina must travel with her son to Vilnius, where, in exchange for a medical consultation with a royal physician, she will attempt to dissuade Zygmunt August from marrying his scandal-ridden mistress, Barbara Radziwiłł.

Caterina agrees, but she soon learns that Zygmunt August listens to no one, especially when it comes to his love life. And when a puzzling murder shakes the Vilnius court, the duke immediately suspects his mother’s agents. Caterina is thrust into yet another investigation, but as bodies and clues pile up, she realizes that in trying to clear the queen’s name, she has placed her and Giulio’s lives in grave danger.

The second Jagiellon Mystery, Midnight Fire explores the nature of duty and sacrifice and the unpredictable ways in which personal and political events can trigger buried traumas, with explosive and deadly consequences.

Midnight Fire is available now in print and ebook editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit P.K.'s website for more information on all of her books, historical articles, and book reviews!

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

The Kindness of Thieves

Please join us in congratulating Gail Feeney on the publication of her debut historical novel, The Kindness of Thieves! Jessica Cale had the pleasure of assisting Gail with a copyedit, and Jenny Q designed the cover. Here's the book description:

The Kindness of Thieves, set in 1857 Victorian England, is a story of suspense layered with romantic intrigue.

In the guise of a suave gentleman returned to his native land, Jack Cooper sets out to plan one last scheme to line his pockets before leaving his life of crime and establishing himself in a life of respectability. Jack finds the perfect target, the pampered heiress of a wealthy businessman.

Anne Reed, a country vicar’s daughter, has a life rich in books and lacking in future prospects. To her surprise, she is given the opportunity to visit London. In the company of friends and family, Anne begins to discover her place in the world. One of those friends is Jack’s new target.

Jack insinuates himself into the girls’ social circle and proceeds to stage the last big job of his career, the abduction of the heiress.

Plans never work out as intended.

The Kindness of Thieves is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Gail's website for more information and historical notes on her books.

Need an editor or cover designer?

Email us anytime to chat about your project!

info@historicaleditorial.com

The Boy King

Please join me in congratulating Janet Wertman on the publication of The Boy King, the final book in her highly acclaimed Seymour Saga series! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

The Unsuspecting Reign of Edward Tudor

Motherless since birth and newly bereft of his father, King Henry VIII, nine-year-old Edward Tudor ascends to the throne of England and quickly learns that he cannot trust anyone, even himself. 

Edward is at first relieved that his uncle, the new Duke of Somerset, will act on his behalf as Lord Protector, but this consolation evaporates as jealousy spreads through the court. Challengers arise on all sides to wrest control of the child king, and through him, England.

While Edward can bring frustratingly little direction to the Council's policies, he refuses to abandon his one firm conviction: that Catholicism has no place in England. When Edward falls ill, this steadfast belief threatens England's best hope for a smooth succession: the transfer of the throne to Edward's very Catholic half-sister, Mary Tudor, whose heart's desire is to return the realm to the way it worshipped in her mother's day.

The Boy King is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Jane's website for delicious tidbits from her historical research.

Need a cover designer?

Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

The Winning Score

 Please join me in congratulating G.K. Brady on the publication of The Winning Score, fourth book in the Playmakers Series! I had the pleasure of working with G.K. on a developmental edit and a copyedit, and I designed the cover of this refreshingly realistic and meaningful sports romance! Here's the book description:

She can’t stand him. The feeling is mutual. Can they make it through quarantine together?

Quinn Hadley only does one thing as well as he plays hockey—wheeling the ladies. He’s the envy of his teammates. With puck bunnies on speed dial in every city, he never spends a night alone unless it’s by choice. He has a certain type—hot, blond, and easy. So when he meets Sarah Nelson, bagging her is nowhere on his radar. Not only is she a brunette, but her fiery, take-no-prisoners style is a turn-off. Plus, she’s his teammate’s sister and totally off-limits.

But his disabled mother—who’s just been foisted on him—loves Sarah. And not only is his mom methodically ruining his sweet bachelor lifestyle, but she keeps firing every caregiver Quinn hires for her. So when COVID-19 puts everyone on lockdown, Quinn offers Sarah an opportunity she can’t refuse, despite the warning bells clanging in his head. 

Sarah Nelson is fleeing a devastating breakup and has nowhere to go but to her brother’s place in Denver. An engineer by training, she needs a job pronto so she can yank herself back up on her own two feet. But COVID-19 stops her dead in her tracks. So when Quinn Hadley offers her a temporary job making stupid money, she has a hard time refusing—despite the fact she has to live under the same roof with a guy who turns her stomach. She’s had too much experience with charmers like him, and Quinn Hadley is the biggest charmer of all. With a track record to prove it. But it’s the other side of Quinn she never expects, and it’s far more lethal than his public persona.

When Mr. Smooth and Ms. Prickly shelter in place together, not even his mansion is big enough to contain the fireworks. These two are sparks colliding with gas: combustible and explosive. 

Someone’s bound to get burned.

The Winning Score is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit G.K.'s website for the scoop on her upcoming projects!

Need an editor or cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

The Case of the Spotted Tailor

Please join me in congratulating Anna Castle on the publication of her newest historical mystery, The Case of the Spotted Tailor, first book in the Cunning Woman Mystery series! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

Welcome to Ayreford in 1591, where cats can talk and fairies are real.

Jane Moone leaves her thriving practice as a cunning woman in London to return to Ayreford to care for her father, Amias, who has grown quite peculiar in the years since she left home. Before she can find out what’s troubling him, her only client’s husband is murdered. The tailor is found in his workshop covered in red spots with a bottle of tonic from Moone’s apothecary near at hand. A rival cunning man accuses Amias of poisoning him, and the old man is arrested.

Jane knows her father is innocent. She joins forces with a handsome barrister to study the scene. They find evidence to support Amias, but each item is altered when a blackbird sings. That bird has been following them everywhere. The barrister doesn’t notice, but Jane finds it alarming. How can a bird change the label on a bottle or alter the sketch of a footprint?

Things only get more peculiar. Amias's ginger cat gives Jane wise counsel, a frog-pond fairy claims to know her long-lost mother, and a hedge witch knits hair into spell-stopping nets.

Either Jane is caught in a very strange dream or Ayreford is thickly inhabited by the Fair Folk, playing out their ancient rivalries through the unsuspecting townspeople. But Jane can’t think about that either way. Not yet. She’ll do whatever she must, however bizarre, to save her father from hanging. And then she’ll get the truth from him--or possibly his cat.

The Case of the Spotted Tailor is available now in print and ebook formats on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Anna's website, where she blogs about her research and writing historical fiction set in England.

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Secrets of Greenoak Woods

Please join me in congratulating Brenda Davies on the rerelease of Secrets of Greenoak Woods with a new cover designed by yours truly! Here's the book description:

His secrets could destroy her.

Her secret could save him.

A MAN SCORNED...

Benjamin is haunted by childhood traumas, and he bears the scars on his body and soul. Withdrawn and sullen, he is mistrusted by everyone, including Mary, the woman he secretly loves.

A PROMISE MADE...

Mary will never break the promise made to her dying mother, but she never imagined that promise would leave her with a dark secret. A secret that will deliver her straight to the gallows if discovered.

SECRETS AND BETRAYALS LAID BARE...

When Mary's life is altered forever, Benjamin finds the courage to offer her the protection she needs, but how far will she go to keep her secrets safe? Benjamin must prove his worth to win her love, but someone from his past is intent on seeing him fail.

Set in 1816 against the untamed splendour of the Cornish coast is a passionate story of love, loss and dark secrets.

Secrets of Greenoak Woods is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads and learn more about Brenda's books there!

Need a cover designer?

Email me anytime to chat about your project!

jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

The Heart of a Hussar

 Please join me in congratulating Griffin Brady on the publication of her debut historical novel, The Heart of a Hussar! I had the pleasure of working with Griffin on a developmental edit and a copyedit, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description:

A tale of chivalry, love, and conflicted loyalty set in 17th century Poland

Exploiting Muscovy’s Time of Troubles, Poland has invaded the chaotic country. Twenty-two-year-old Jacek Dąbrowski is an honorable, ferocious warrior in a company of winged hussars—an unrivaled, lethal cavalry. When his lieutenant dies in battle, Jacek is promoted to replace him, against the wishes of his superior, Mateusz, who now has more reason to eliminate him. 

Jacek dedicates his life to gaining the king’s recognition and manor lands of his own. Consequently, he closely guards his heart, avoiding lasting romantic entanglements. Unscathed on the battlefield, undefeated in tournaments, and adored by women eager to share his bed, Jacek has never lost at anything he sets out to conquer. So when he charges toward his goals, he believes nothing stands in his way. 

Upon his return from battle, Jacek deviates from his ordinarily unemotional mindset and rescues enemy siblings, fifteen-year-old Oliwia and her younger brother, Filip, from their devastated Muscovite village. His act of mercy sets into motion unstoppable consequences that ripple through his well-ordered life for years to come—and causes him to irretrievably lose his heart. 

Oliwia has her own single-minded drive: to protect her young brother. Her determination and self-sacrifice lead her to adopt a new country, a new religion, and a new way of life. But it’s not the first time the resilient beauty has had to remake herself, for she is not what she appears to be.
 
As Jacek battles the Muscovites and Tatars threatening Poland’s borders for months at a time, Oliwia is groomed for a purpose concealed from her. All the while, Mateusz’s treachery and a mysterious enemy looming on the horizon threaten to destroy everything Jacek holds dear.

The Heart of a Hussar is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Griffin's website for more information about the winged hussars and her contemporary romance series!

Need an editor or cover designer?

Email me anytime to chat about your project!

jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

A Maiden's Prayer

Please join me in congratulating Srianthi Perera on the publication of her debut novel, A Maiden's Prayer! I had the pleasure of helping Srianthi design the cover. Here's the book description:

Berty Uncle must have a wife! 

  

In 1970s Sri Lanka, matchmakers performed family introductions, and families placed advertisements in newspapers when young people could not find partners on their own. Using the ancient study of celestial bodies—Vedic Hindu Astrology—astrologers paired men and women for lifelong companionship. 

  

In A MAIDEN’S PRAYER, precocious Tamara de Silva narrates her handsome uncle’s story through the romantic lens of youth, and comically highlights the wild machinations of her extended family in their efforts to marry him off.  

  

However, the successful engineer ignores all matchmaking efforts and proceeds recklessly according to his fancy. His rejection of family tradition brings startling and unexpected results. 

A Maiden's Prayer is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Srianthi's website for more information on the book, including photos and music, and Srianthi's nonfiction articles.

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Lassoing a Montana Heart

Please join me in congratulating Ramona Flightner on the publication of her newest historical romance, Lassoing a Montana Heart, book ten in the Bear Grass Springs series! I had the pleasure of helping Ramona design the cover. Here's the book description:

A desperate journey to an unknown land. A selfless act of kindness. A marriage of convenience.

Davina MacQueen yearns for a loving family. After fleeing from her conniving father in Scotland, she arrives in Bear Grass Springs, Montana Territory, with hope and determination. Soon, she is an integral part of daily life on Sorcha and Frederick’s ranch. Unfortunately, the giant of a man, Slims, is to be her tutor in the kitchen. He’s intolerable. Insufferable. And all too attractive for her liking.

Slims has no time for teaching Miss Sorcha’s cousin. Against his will, he begins to yearn for the time alone with her, even if it’s obvious she loathes him. What he wouldn’t give to trace his fingers through her silky, golden hair and hear her laugh.

When they are stranded in the middle of a blizzard, he is shocked by her dedication to his wellbeing. Upon arrival in town, she is threatened by vicious gossips, and he realizes he will do anything in his power to protect her. If only she would accept his love as readily as she accepts his proposal.

Will Davina learn to trust in a Slims’s love again, or will she allow the fears from her past to keep her alone?

Lassoing a Montana heart is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Ramona's website for the scoop on all of her books!

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

The Edge of Hell

Please join me in congratulating S.K. Keogh on the publication of her newest historical novel, The Edge of Hell. I had the pleasure of helping Susan design the cover. Here's the book description:

Thirteen thousand Union soldiers will lose their lives at Andersonville prison. James Keenan is determined Nate Calhoun will not be one of them.

James and Nate have nothing more in common than their rural hometown. In Burr Oak, class distinction and petty jealousies pit the two young men against each other. Their combative relationship carries over into the ranks of the Eleventh Michigan Infantry, where Nate struggles to live up to the reputation left behind by his brother, and James contends with an abusive sergeant, Robert Langdon. Once a preacher in Burr Oak, Langdon seeks retribution for James’s part in his fall from grace.

The bloody battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga wipe away past differences and forge a deep bond between James and Nate. As Sherman’s armies march inexorably toward Atlanta, Nate’s capture puts that bond to the test. Determined to rescue his friend from notorious Andersonville prison, James risks desertion to embark on a dangerous journey through the wilderness of war-torn Georgia, pursued by Langdon, bent on revenge.

The Edge of Hell tells the story of the rank and file from small-town America—farmers and shop-owners who made up the nucleus of the Federal army and, through extraordinary valor, preserved the Union.

The Edge of Hell is available now in ebook and print formats on Amazon! Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Susan's website for the scoop on all of her books and articles of historical interest.

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

The Murderess of Bayou Rosa

Please join me in congratulating Ramona DeFelice Long on the publication of her debut novel, The Murderess of Bayou Rosa! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

In the summer of 1920, the town of Bayou Rosa, Louisiana, is in its twilight, but hope arrives with the construction of a new railroad depot. The brighter future is imperiled when a free-spirited local woman shoots her lover in the back, but won't say why. Now, the town is faced with a legal and moral dilemma. With rows of new graves in the cemetery from a devastating world war and influenza epidemic, can a jury of twelve men vote to hang a woman they’ve seen grow up since birth?

Joelle Amais was a willful child, an unwed teenage mother, and now an accused murderess. As the weeks stretch between her arrest and a delayed trial, her defiant silence threatens to blow Bayou Rosa apart. Joelle’s only ally is her daughter, Geneva, the town schoolteacher, whose demure demeanor hides the stubbornness she inherited from her mother. Geneva is determined to see her mother get a fair trial, even after Joelle’s enemies turn their ire, violently, toward her.

The Murderess of Bayou Rosa is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Ramona's website for more information about the book and her writing inspiration.

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

The Drive in '65

Please join me in congratulating Sandra Lynne Reed on the publication of her memoir, The Drive in '65! I had the pleasure of helping Sandra design the cover. Here's the book description:

In 1965, two sisters packed up their five children and their mother--eight people--in a nine-passenger van and traveled North America for fourteen weeks. After living in Alaska twenty years, they wanted to see more of the world and show their children what lay beyond Alaska's borders.

Sandra Lynne Reed was thirteen that summer. The tiny town of Moose Pass, and the southern edges of Anchorage, one hundred miles north, defined Reed's provincial childhood and left her curious about the world she saw in magazines and on television--strange places that were her own country. In a summer of "firsts" she and her siblings discovered the magic of fireflies, natural wonders, and treasures of history. On their tinny transistor radio, they followed news of the space race, the Civil Rights movement, and the escalating war in Vietnam. The musical sound track of the British invasion and the rising rock-and-roll era followed them as they circled North America, traveling as far south as Mexico City.

The courage of her mother and aunt, undertaking an international adventure in a day when women could not obtain a credit card or serve on a jury, provided an example to all their children.

Like the Good Friday earthquake had done in 1964, the Drive in '65 shook up her world, exposing shocking poverty and racial divides and lighting a fire in her for further travel but also weakening fault lines in her family that no one had predicted. Using a trove of letters and memorabilia, and her own memories, Reed has recreated the adventure of a lifetime in The Drive in '65.

The Drive in '65 is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-a-Million. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Sandra's website for more information about her books and her blog posts on history and inspiration.

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Shiloh Valley

Please join us in congratulating Doris Dumrauf on the publication of Shiloh Valley! Anna had the pleasure of assisting Doris with a developmental edit and a copyedit, and Jenny designed the cover. Here's the book description:

A powerful depiction of the choices we make in pursuit of our dreams and the sacrifices we bear to make them a reality

Rhenish-Bavaria, 1849: Revolution is sweeping across the province, changing the lives of three young people from different social classes forever.

Desperate for freedom and adventure, and trapped in a profession he hates, nineteen-year-old Martin Dupree eagerly joins the rebels. When his own father causes the revolution to flounder, Martin turns to America for deliverance.

Katrin Weber, adored by Martin but betrothed to a man she does not love, boldly leaves home to strike out on her own until a tragedy suddenly ends her hard-won independence.

Drafted into the rebel army, Katrin’s brother Nikolaus wants nothing more than to return to the comfort of his small family farm. But life has other plans, forcing him and Katrin to likewise seek their destiny in America. It isn’t all milk and honey, as the America of the 1850s is breaking apart over the question of slavery, forcing the young immigrants to make difficult choices.

From the vineyards of the Rhine Valley to the banks of the Mississippi, from rebel skirmishes to the battlefields of the Civil War, Shiloh Valley follows their quest for freedom and struggle for survival.

Shiloh Valley is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Doris's website for more information on her books and her photography.

Need an editor or cover designer?
Email us anytime to chat about your project!
info@historicaleditorial.com

Bacon's Dozen

Please join me in congratulating Anna Castle on the publication of Bacon's Dozen: Thirteen Historical Fiction Short Stories! I had the pleasure of assisting Anna with a copyedit, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description:

This collection of short stories ranges through time and space from the Yucatán peninsula in the early years of the Spanish conquest (The Broken Circle) to a bank office in late Victorian London with Professor & Mrs. Moriarty (The Stockbroker’s Wife).

Most stories feature Francis Bacon and other characters from his milieu. You’ll read about Bacon’s first case (For Want of a Book) and Tom’s first solo investigation (In Walked a Lady). You’ll find out how Trumpet wangled her year at Gray’s Inn (Artful Bargains) and what really happened to Captain Valentine Clarady (All Englishmen Look Alike). Sir Walter Ralegh and two friends trade ghost stories on a stormy night (Dark Tales from the School of Night).

You’ll even travel through time by a most unusual method (The Sneeze). A bonus story brings you into the present, but not quite the present you’re used to (Extinction).

Bacon's Dozen is available now in print and ebook formats on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Anna's website, where she blogs about her research and writing historical fiction set in England.

Need an editor or cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Pioneer Yearning

Please join me in congratulating Ramona Flightner on the publication of Pioneer Yearning, the third book in the The O'Rourke Family Montana Saga series! I had the pleasure of helping Ramona design the cover. Here's the book description:

A dangerous love. A shameful secret. Is their love cursed?

Niamh O’Rourke Ahern knows she should feel shame. Regret. Remorse. Anything but the deep relief filling her to the depths of her soul. What kind of woman is she to rejoice at the death of her husband? What woman yearns for another’s touch as her husband’s casket is being lowered into the ground? In the end, she knows it doesn’t matter for she will always be alone. No man will ever fully earn her trust again.

Cormac Ahern watches his brother’s widow with covetous eyes. Niamh should have been his. From the moment they met, she should have been his. Now, his brother is dead, and he finally has his chance to right the wrongs of the previous few years. However, even from the grave, his brother exerts influence over Cormac’s future.

Will Cormac overcome his resentment and grief to fully accept the past and love Niamh, as he’s always dreamed? Or will Niamh use her guilt and fear as a shield, preventing her from truly loving again?

Discover the O’Rourke Family Montana Saga set in the frontier town of Fort, Benton, Montana Territory! Follow as each sibling forgives childhood heartbreak, discovers love, and finds their happily ever after!

Pioneer Yearning is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, and Kobo. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Ramona's website for the scoop on all of her books!

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Dawn Empress

Please join me in congratulating Faith Justice on the publication of her newest historical novel, Dawn Empress! I had the pleasure of designing the cover of this second book in her Theodosian Women trilogy, this one about Pulcheria. Here's the book description:

As Rome reels under barbarian assaults, a young girl must step up. After the Emperor’s unexpected death, ambitious men eye the Eastern Roman throne occupied by seven-year-old Theodosius II. His older sister Pulcheria faces a stark choice: she must find allies and take control of the Eastern court or doom the imperial children to a life of obscurity—or worse! Beloved by the people and respected by the Church, Pulcheria forges her own path to power. Can her piety and steely will protect her brother from military assassins, heretic bishops, scheming eunuchs and—most insidious of all—a beautiful, intelligent bride? Or will she lose all in the trying?

Dawn Empress tells Pulcheria’s little-known and remarkable story. Her accomplishments rival those of Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great as she sets the stage for the dawn of the Byzantine Empire.

Dawn Empress is available now in ebook and print formats on Amazon! Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Faith's website for the scoop on all of her historical fiction novels!

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Leaving Lonesome

Please join me in congratulating Paula Scott on the publication of her new book, Leaving Lonesome! I had the privilege of helping Paula with a copyedit, and I helped design the cover for this emotional tale of love and redemption in the years following the Vietnam War. Here's the book description:

A family torn apart by war. A love affair that reaches to the sky. And a secret with the power to redeem or destroy them…

Sutter County, California, 1972

John Reno returns from Vietnam a disgraced army helicopter pilot wracked by guilt and grief. Homeless and alone he makes his way from one crop-dusting job to the next until he reaches the woman who can grant him redemption or ensure his damnation.

Swampy Callohan is a young widow barely holding on to her crop-dusting company. She flies her trusty old Stearmans from dawn until dusk, desperate to make it in a man’s world of faster, more efficient ag cat planes, but time, technology, and a family on the brink threaten to destroy her.

When John Reno—the best pilot she’s ever seen—arrives one fateful afternoon, she believes Callohan Dusters can be saved. And maybe her heart will be reborn as well. Reno becomes her saving grace until the day she discovers he harbors a secret that just might shatter her whole world.

Leaving Lonesome is available now in ebook and print format on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Paula's website for her inspirational posts about writing, family, and farm life.

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Wings of Fire

Please join me in congratulating Martin Lake on the publication of his new historical novel, Wings of Fire! I had the pleasure of helping Martin design the cover. Here's the book description:

A life and death struggle for control of the skies

Claire Lamb believes she is as good as any man and being a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force gives her the opportunity to prove it. Harry Smith joins the Royal Air Force because he wants to fly. Frank Trent, an American pilot, risks prison to join the fight against Nazi Germany.

When Hitler invades Poland, he begins a conflict which eventually engulfs the whole world. Within eight months his army and air force conquer most of Europe.

Only one adversary remains. Great Britain, led by Winston Churchill, refuses to surrender. Yet people fear that, in the coming weeks, the German Luftwaffe will bomb British cities to rubble and strew the country with poison gas.

Worse yet. A huge German army prepares to cross the English Channel to conquer its last remaining enemy.

One foe stands in their way. The Royal Air Force remains defiant. Hitler is reluctant to attempt an invasion while the RAF controls the skies above England. He unleashes the hitherto all-conquering Luftwaffe against it.

Throughout the summer and autumn of 1940, three thousand RAF pilots, the men Churchill called the Few, fight a grim life and death struggle for command of the skies. They are supported by the courageous and unstinting effort of thousands of others, many of them women.

The Battle of Britain will decide the fate of the world.

Wings of Fire is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon and Amazon UK. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Martin's website for information on all of his books and his interviews with fellow historical fiction writers.

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The Cross of Ciaran

Please join me congratulating Andrea Matthews on the publication of her newest romance, The Cross of Ciaran! I had the pleasure of working with Andrea on a copyedit, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description:

When a fifth-century pagan priest is unearthed in Ireland fifteen hundred years after being entombed, archaeologist Caitlin O’Connell is convinced it’s the find of the century. The body is in perfect condition, right down to the intricate tattoos adorning the Celt’s skin. In fact, if scientific data hadn’t proved otherwise, she would swear he hadn’t been interred more than a few hours.

Eager to discover more about the mysterious Celt, Caitlin accompanies the body back to the New York museum where she’s employed, but before she has time to study him, the priest disappears without a trace. Rumors surrounding the event begin to circulate and result in the excavation’s benefactor pulling the plug on the entire expedition.

The rumors are not far off the mark though. After being buried alive for betraying his goddess and his priesthood in the dawning age of Christianity, Ciarán wakes to a strange new world. Alone and frightened in an unforgiving city, he stumbles upon the only thing familiar to him and seeks sanctuary within the church walls. With the help of the parish’s pastor, Father Mike, Ciarán slowly grows accustomed to his surroundings, though he’s plagued by dark dreams and the disturbing sensation that an evil from his past has followed him into the future. But a more immediate danger lurks on his doorstep.

Caitlin is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery concerning her missing Celt, and when she meets her Uncle Mike’s new handyman, Ciarán Donnelly, she’s convinced the handsome Irishman knows more about the theft than he’s letting on. Yet even she can’t deny the attraction between them, simmering below the surface and blurring the lines between her personal and professional life. But will Ciarán’s secrets draw them together or shatter their future forever?

The Cross of Ciaran is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Andrea's website for tons of great historical information and a peek behind the scenes of her books.

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Private Lives

Please join me in congratulating J.G. Harlond on the publication of her new historical mystery, Private Lives! I had the pleasure of helping her design the cover. Here's the book description:

While reluctant wartime detective Bob Robbins is enjoying a few days' holiday he becomes involved in a shooting incident on a derelict farm. An elderly farmer lies injured, then disappears. A young man is found dead in the barn. Bob reports the incident to the local police but they are so over-stretched with Home Front duties he finds himself in charge of the case.

In urgent need of assistance, Bob requests the help of the young police recruit Laurie Oliver. They take rooms at Peony Villas, an unusual sort of guest house where a troupe of London actors are in residence, and where Bob soon finds himself involved in yet another peculiar mystery.

Private Lives is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit J.G.'s website for more information on all of her books.

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The Daring Mrs. Kent

Please join me in congratulating Michelle Morrison on the publication of her newest historical romance, The Daring Mrs. Kent! I had the pleasure of designing the cover! Here's the book description:

She was not always daring…

Josephine Kent risked everything to escape an abusive husband: a perilous sea voyage, a new life in the Caribbean, and the constant worry that Mr. Kent would find her. She settles into a safe new life in her brother’s house, content to avoid society and serve as her brother’s housekeeper…until her identity is discovered by one of her husband’s henchmen.

Hungerford Spooner walks a careful line among the residents of St Kitts’ capital. As the son of a wealthy English landowner, he has holdings and a successful shipping business. But he is also the son of a former slave, a combination that puts him on the fringes of Basseterre’s high society. When he rescues a young woman fleeing a pursuer, he finds himself drawn to her beauty and spirit. And he recognizes in her a fellow soul carrying a heavy burden.

To save her, he hides her aboard his ship. In such close quarters, their feelings intensify. But just when happiness seems in their grasp, their journey is cut short by a rogue slave ship and now Josephine must overcome her past fears to save the man she loves.

The Daring Mrs. Kent is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon! Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Michelle's website for more information on all of her books!

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Shame the Devil

Please join me in congratulating Donna Scott on the publication of her debut historical novel, Shame the Devil! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

England, 1643. The Civil War has created a great divide between those who support King Charles and those who would rather see his head on the block. Young Scot Colin Blackburne finds himself caught in the middle when he witnesses Parliamentarians murder his mother because of his father’s allegiance to the king. As further punishment, the family is sent to Yorkshire as indentured servants.

Mistreated by his master and tormented by a Parliamentarian soldier, Colin vows to take up arms for the king and seek vengeance against the men who killed his mother. The only bright spot in his life is his unexpected, and forbidden, friendship with his master’s daughter, Emma Hardcastle.

With her father constantly away on campaign and her mother plagued by madness, Emma is drawn to Colin and his brother, Roddy.  She introduces them to her troubled neighbor Alston Egerton, who has a clandestine relationship with Stephen Kitts, the soldier out for Colin’s blood.

As they all become entangled in a twisted web of love, jealousy, desire, and betrayal, the war rages on around them. Resentful at being forced into servitude and forbidden from being with the woman he loves, Colin puts his plan for vengeance into motion, though it will have disastrous consequences for all of them.

Secrets are revealed and relationships are torn apart. With the country teetering on the brink of ruin, Emma fights to survive, Alston is forced to confront his demons, and Colin must decide whether his burning desire to fight for justice is worth sacrificing a future with the woman he loves.

Shame the Devil is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Donna's website for the scoop on her forthcoming novels!

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jennyq@historicaleditorial.com