The Art of Book Cover Design for Historical Fiction

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!)

Cry of the Brethren

Please join me in congratulating John Colwell on the publication of his late mother's historical romance Cry of the Brethren! John is working to publish all of his mother's manuscripts, and I had the honor of helping him design the first cover. Here's the book description:

Jessie Trent, stolen from her wedding altar, finds herself a fugitive from the Brethren and her fate in the hands of a buckskin-clad stranger and his raiding party.

Lucas Wakefield realizes he’s put the frightened young woman in danger when he saved her from the cruel fate as Oram Doud’s latest victim. With the Brethren of the Aaronites cult in angry pursuit, he escapes with his prize over frozen Lake Michigan and deep into the mainland.

Hiding out in an isolated cabin, the couple is forced to spend the bitter winter in close confinement. As the cold nights grow longer, Jessie soon finds herself falling in love with her mysterious kidnapper.

Lucas didn’t plan on becoming enamored of the beautiful woman and fights the growing need to claim her for his own.

Their happiness is threatened by a jealous woman and a cult determined to exact revenge. The winds of fate converge, threatening to destroy everything they’ve built. Against all odds, Lucas must fight to save Jessie from the Cry of the Brethren.

Cry of the Brethren is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords (where you can also read an interview with John about his mother). Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and learn more about Linda and her novels on Facebook.

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

Tears of Sorrow

Please join me in congratulating Dale Swanson on the publication of his third novel, Tears of Sorrow, the sequel to his acclaimed novel The Thirty-Ninth Man! I had the pleasure of helping Dale with a developmental edit and a copyedit, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description:

Anton McAllister leads his Dakota family west to escape the white backlash after the US-Dakota War of 1862. Settling into the Black Hills, they merge with the Miniconjou Lakota band of Lone Horn. Anton’s adopted son, Four Wings, befriends the militant warrior Crazy Horse, and their world is turned upside down as they deal with disingenuous treaties, an illegal war brought on by the Grant Administration, and a deranged bounty hunter no larger than a child.

Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, and powerful men from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Nations make their stand when the army begins to build forts along the Bozeman Trail.

Red Cloud wins his war, the great herds of buffalo are methodically destroyed, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull are murdered, and Wounded Knee Creek becomes the death wail of a free Sioux Nation.

And throughout it all, Four Wings struggles to reconcile the good white men he has known, including the mixed blood who raised him, with those who seek to subdue or destroy the  Sioux Nation.

Tears of Sorrow is available now in ebook and print formats on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Dale's website for info on his books and public appearances.

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

Montana Renegade

Please join me in congratulating Ramona Flightner on the publication of Montana Renegade, Book Four in the Bear Grass Springs Series! I had the pleasure of helping Ramona design the cover. Here's the book description:

A Respected Lawyer. The Town Pariah. A night at the Boudoir. Will love prevail?

Helen Jameson is tired of being Bear Grass Spring’s laughingstock. With little to lose, she flees the only home she’s known, and bargains her future away to an unscrupulous woman. Her experience three years ago with the town lawyer, Warren Clark, cemented her belief that no man is to be trusted. No one will ever care for her. She is on her own.

Warren Clark is a patient man. He has waited years for Helen’s forgiveness. When his dreams for reconciliation are dashed by her rash actions, he must decide if the future he envisioned with her is one worth fighting for. He quickly learns that rescuing her from the Madam is easy. Earning her trust is his greatest challenge. Now, Warren must convince Helen of his love while he battles those in town eager to separate them.

Will Helen and Warren be courageous enough to relinquish the bitterness of the past and discover the joys of loving one another?

Montana Renegade is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes. 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 Greenest Branch

Please join us in congratulating P.K. Adams on the publication of her debut historical novel, The Greenest Branch! Jessica Cale had the pleasure of working with P.K. on a copyedit, and Jenny had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

The year is 1115, and Germany is torn apart by a conflict between the Emperor and the Pope over who should have the right to appoint bishops and control the empire’s vast estates. In that atmosphere, young Hildegard is sent to the Abbey of St. Disibod in the Rhineland as her parents’ gift to the Church in accordance with a custom known as the tithe. 

Hildegard has a deep love of nature and a knowledge of herbal healing that might make more than one Church official suspicious of witchery, and she hopes to purse medical studies at St. Disibod. But no sooner does she settle into her new life than she finds out that as a girl she will not be allowed to attend the monastic school or have access to the abbey’s library; instead, she must stay at the women’s convent, isolated from the rest of the community and from the town. 

It might seem that Hildegard’s dreams have quickly come to an end. Yet she refuses to be sidelined. Against fierce opposition from Prior Helenger, the hostile head of the monks’ cloister, she finds another way to learn – by securing an apprenticeship with Brother Wigbert who runs the infirmary and is in dire need of a capable assistant. Under his supervision, she begins to train as the abbey’s first female physician. 

When Hildegard’s reputation starts to spread throughout the Rhineland, Helenger’s persecution escalates as he fears losing control over the women’s community. But that is not the only challenge she must grapple with. She has developed feelings for Volmar, a fellow Benedictine novice, that force Hildegard to re-examine the fundamental assumptions she has made about her life. Is the practice of medicine within the monastic confines her true calling, or is a quiet existence of domestic contentment more desirable? 

With the pressures mounting and threatening to derail her carefully-laid plans, Hildegard becomes locked in a struggle that will either earn her an unprecedented freedom or relegate her to irrevocable oblivion. 

The Greenest Branch is the first in a two-book series based on the true story of Hildegard of Bingen, Germany’s first female physician and one of the few women to attain that position in medieval Europe. Set against the backdrop of the lush oak forests and sparkling rivers of the Rhineland, it is a tale of courage, strength, sacrifice, and love that will appeal to fans of Ken Follett, Umberto Eco, Elizabeth Chadwick, Margaret Frazer, Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden - and to anyone who enjoys strong female protagonists in historical fiction. 

The Greenest Branch is available now in print and ebook format on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit P.K.'s website for more about the book, historical articles, and book reviews!

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

Sisters Three and Love, the Journey Uncovered

Please join me in congratulating Mara Gold on the publication of Sisters Three and Love, the Journey Uncovered! I had the pleasure of helping Mara design the covers. Here are the book descriptions:

Abigail, Bridget, and Cassandra Darby are sisters fallen on hard times. Their mother has worked hard to support them and now it is their turn to earn a living.

Faithful Abigail is approached about a position as parlor maid in London’s fashionable West End. At first she is warmly welcomed by the household, but swiftly they turn against her as she spends more and more time with the master.

Cautious Bridget takes a position in a country home and quickly learns that her growing love for an amiable man is dangerous as she is warned over and over to leave. Her life is at stake. Will she leave for safety, or risk her life and stay for the sake of love?

Capricious Cassandra takes action after her mother informs her of a decision that she has made that she is not a part of. Will Cassandra’s decision break her heart or will love and forgiveness come from it?

In the end, will the three sisters live happily ever after? Or will deception, deceit, hate, and even death come and steal their happiness away?

***

The Lyons are a loyal, tight-knit family bonded by love. They are lifted from poverty to a future seemingly bright with hope. Unexpected loss devastates beautiful sisters Gwendolen and Tressa Lyon. One of the sisters deals with the loss in a healthier way while the other seeks to escape into a marriage with a man she barely knows. Their journey is anything but ordinary as they find a new normal with God sustaining them. Will happiness be theirs, or will death come again through deception and dash their future? Join Gwendolen and Tressa in their journey set in eighteenth-century Devon and Cornwall.

Sisters Three and Love, the Journey Uncovered are available in ebook and print editions on Amazon, and you can add them to your shelves on Goodreads.

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

The Driver's Wife

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

A story of redemption and unconventional love.

Leighlin Plantation offers Edward Ketch a new life, an opportunity to forsake his violent, troubled past and become a man worthy of respect and trust. But when a slave named Isabelle arrives, Ketch is drawn into a turbulent relationship that threatens the very peace he has struggled to attain.

Isabelle has her own desires for a fresh start, but scurrilous gossip about her past undermines those hopes. She struggles to be accepted by Leighlin’s other slaves and hopes marriage to a popular man will aid her cause. But her situation worsens when her husband becomes abusive. She discovers, however, one unlikely ally—Ketch, who is as much an outcast among Leighlin’s white population as she is among her people.

A stranger to love, Ketch cannot recognize the true feelings that draw him to Isabelle. To rescue her from the dangers of her marriage, he risks losing not only his position at Leighlin but the affections of the woman he strives to save.

Set against the backdrop of 17th century Carolina, The Driver’s Wife explores the lives and relationships, from Big House to slave settlement, of those who labored upon the wilderness plantations near Charles Town. Rice cultivation and the task system of slavery provide a much different landscape from the aristocratic Old South of cotton plantations and gang labor familiar to most modern-day readers. The Driver’s Wife is a tale of the transcendent power of love.

The Driver's Wife 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

Imperial Passions: The Porta Aurea

Please join me in congratulating Eileen Stephenson on the publication of her first full-length novel, Imperial Passions: The Porta Aurea! I had the pleasure of working with Eileen on a developmental edit and a copyedit, and I designed the cover! This first book in a series based on the life of Anna Dalassena, a powerful Byzantine woman instrumental in founding the Komnenian dynasty, has been a long time in the making, and I'm so thrilled to finally be able to share it with you! Here's the book description:

From the author of Tales of Byzantium comes an epic story of love, power, and betrayal in eleventh century Constantinople

At the center of Byzantine society, fifteen-year-old orphaned Anna Dalassena lives with her grandparents among the most powerful men and women in Constantinople until the cutthroat imperial politics of the Great Palace send the family into exile in a distant corner of the empire. Her bleak situation finally turns promising after meeting handsome young soldier John Comnenus and his brother Isaac before they are finally permitted to return to Constantinople.

The vicious power struggles, uprisings, and betrayals at the highest levels of the empire push Anna and John unwillingly into its center as they struggle to deal with their own tragedies. When rebellion puts her life and those of everyone she loves at risk, is the reward - a throne for her family - too big a gamble?

Imperial Passions is available now in ebook and print format on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Eileen's website for her fascinating photos and blog posts on Byzantine history and culture.

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

Wolves of War

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

Killers of kings, destroyers of kingdoms. A fast-moving story of the great Viking army.

Leif Ormson is a Skald, a story-teller, renowned for his witty tales. His brother, Sigurd, is a blacksmith, making knives, scythes and horseshoes. And magnificent weapons of war.

But one day Ivar the Boneless, son of Ragnar Lothbrok, commands the brothers to make him a great sword. And he demands that they accompany his army to England.

Leif and Sigurd are thrown into a maelstrom of war and violence. The great Viking army blazes across England, murdering, plundering, killing kings and setting up puppet-rulers in their place. Until now the Vikings had come only to raid and plunder. Now they have come to conquer.

Leif and Sigurd face an agonising choice. Do they seek to return to their familiar lives? Or do they stay in England and embrace this dreadful new world of war, wealth and glory?

Wolves of War is available in ebook format on Amazon and Amazon UK, and a print edition will be forthcoming. 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.

Need a cover designer?

Email me anytime to chat about your project!

jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Montana Maverick

Please join me in congratulating Ramona Flightner on the publication of Montana Maverick, Book Three in the Bear Grass Springs Series! I had the pleasure of helping Ramona design the cover. Here's the book description:

A curious reporter. A charming gambler. Will they accept the love dealt them?

As the newcomer in town, Jessamine McMahon is determined to forge her own path as a reputable reporter. In order to survive in the small town of Bear Grass Springs, she soon learns that she has to peddle local news and gossip as well as hard news. At turns fascinated and repelled by Ewan MacKinnon, Jessamine writes frequent articles about him, calling him the town’s “most disreputable gentleman.”

Ewan MacKinnon lives a charmed life. A successful builder, he spends his evenings at the saloons or at other fine establishments in town. He has no interest in a wife. Nor in love. Not again. However, Jessamine intrigues him with her fiery spirit and determination to prove herself capable in a world often merciless to independent women.

As she learns to read his poker face and he reads between the lines in her articles, they realize theirs is no usual courtship. Will they trust in their love or squander the opportunity given to them?

Montana Maverick is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes. 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

St. John's Wood, Grover Square, Mayfair, and Chelsea

Please join me in congratulating Waverly Fitzgerald on the publication of four Victorian historical romance novels! I had the pleasure of working with Waverly on the cover designs. Here are the book descriptions:

High-spirited Thalia Horrocks, desperate to escape from the restrictions of the conventional middle-class life she lives and the loathsome suitor her stepfather and mother have chosen for her, decides to write a novel on a most scandalous subject.

She prevails upon her fast cousin, Lynton, to introduce her to the “pretty horsebreakers,” the courtesans who flaunt their wares in Hyde Park every afternoon. Unexpected complications ensue as Lynton takes Thalia to the notorious Cremorne Gardens and introduces her to the eccentric Lady Guenevere Shallot, a courtesan who changes her name to suit the décor of her home in St. John’s Wood.

Thalia’s curiosity gets her into all sorts of trouble, but her courage, her generous heart and her new friends help her escape from a desperate situation, discover her true identity and find true love.

Arabella Farraday hopes the fortune she inherits will help her find her mother who disappeared when she was just a child. But her father has bound up the money in a trust, administered by her Gorgon-like governess, who is determined to see that Arabella makes a suitable marriage, and by her father’s lawyer, who wants to marry Arabella himself. 

But nothing can stop Arabella from going after what she wants. Every action she takes plunges her deeper into trouble and leads inexorably to the terrible truth about her mother’s fall from grace. Fortunately Arabella is surrounded by those who love her, even at their own expense, and help her to find peace and lasting love.

The two youngest of the seven Merrell sisters, daughters of the Earl and Countess of Corrough, have been looking forward to their debuts in London for many years. It isn’t long before they discover that what goes on in polite society is often neither polite nor social. The machinations of their chaperone, Mrs Pleet, and the scandal that surrounds the disappearance of their older sister, Kitty, dampen their prospects. Sibilla is determined to forge her own destiny while Sophia is all too willing to give in to what convention demands despite the urgings of her heart.

A delightful high-spirited Victorian romp, capturing the spirit and conventions of a colorful, aristocratic set, during the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Cecily Hawthorne, desperate to escape from a dreadful position as a nursery governess, agrees to model for prominent Society portrait painter, Devin Sheridan, despite the opprobrium attached to that occupation. Cecily becomes Devin’s Pandora, his vision of a temptress, and he must paint her if only to shock London society with a tantalizing portrait that makes her the envy of the ladies and the talk of the town.

Set in the colorful salons of Kensington and studios of Chelsea, and graced with eccentric characters , both real (Whistler and Wilder) and imagined (Veracity Flutterby, Chester Thrush), this is a charming romp through the artistic and aesthetic circles of Victorian London.




All four titles are available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add them to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Waverly's website for the scoop on all of her books and her writing workshops.

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

The Lion of the South

Please join me in congratulating Jessica James on the publication of her new historical novel, The Lion of the South! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

The Scarlet Pimpernel meets Gone with the Wind in this suspenseful Civil War novel that leaves the lives of two men—and the destiny of a nation—in one woman's hands.

One woman holds the fate of the country in her hands.
Can she let her brother to die so the Confederacy might live?

As the Civil War grinds into its second year, an audacious and mysterious figure known only as the Lion of the South emerges from the shadows to rekindle the Confederacy's spirit of defiance.

Julia Dandridge returns to the Virginia home where she was raised, only to discover that the war has changed everything—and everyone—once dear to her.

With no one to turn to and nowhere to run, Julia is caught in a tangled web of secrets and deception. The only way to save her beloved brother from the hangman's noose is to unmask the Lion. But who is he?

When she finally discovers the enigmatic hero's true identity, Julia sets off on a desperate journey to stop the vengeful plot she unknowingly helped set in motion. But time is running out. The elusive Lion is walking straight into the Yankees' trap.

Despite the danger, Julia is determined to save the two men whose lives hang in the balance—and redeem herself from the deadly mistake she has made.

The Lion of the South is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Jessica's website for more information on all of her books.

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

Love and Mutiny: Tales from British India

Anne George has a new cover for her debut historical novel, Love and Mutiny: Tales from British India, designed by yours truly! Anne decided the cover she originally published didn't quite capture the emotional themes of her novel, so she turned to me for help, and I was happy to oblige.

Before & After:

 

Here's the book description:

Reared in India, Edwina Hardingham loves her country and cannot imagine an existence away from it. Equally at home in the vibrant society of members of the East India Company in Calcutta and in the cool clime of Simla, at the foothills of the Himalayas, she enjoys undisturbed calm until confronted with love and mutiny. When the dashing Mr. Grayson rescues her from the hands of brigands in Calcutta, she develops a tenderness for him, which not even the ill-humoured Mr. Davenport can discourage.

All is changed, however, when the long-suffering sepoys of India revolt against the inequitable rule of the East India Company in 1857. Torn between worry for her family, now imperiled by the distraught mutineers, and the man she loves, Edwina must learn to hold her peace until a happy outcome ensues.

Will she find joy with the man she loves? Does her family escape unscathed from the ravages of war? Read this gripping novel—set during real events of the First War of Indian Independence—to find out. 

Love and Mutiny is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Anne's website for more information on her writing and her journeys in publishing.

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

The Keeper's Crown

Please join me in congratulating Nathan Maki on the publication of his newest historical novel, The Keeper's Crown! I had the pleasure of designing the cover of this tale of faith and love during the Great Fire of Rome. Here's the book description:

~Quintus~

As a boy, he dared to fight Nero. Worse, he won.

Stripped of his family, the love of his life, and his self-respect, he sets out on a quest to win a victor's crown, rescue his parents, and restore his family's honor. But his path to glory in the restless province of Judaea is threatened by the corrupt governor Felix, the murderous priest Melechi, and most of all by the rabble-rousing Paul of Tarsus.

When Quintus finds himself in Rome chained to Paul all hope of a crown seems lost, but Paul's example makes him question the true meaning of success. And why does Jael, the mysterious young Jewess who once saved his life, now respond with barely restrained flashes of hate?

~Jael~

The Romans took her father and her brother from her.

Now Jael vows to fight for her father's faith, fulfill her brother's oath, and avenge their deaths. But the further she travels with Paul and Quintus the more she feels torn. Can she follow her heart and still keep her vow?

~Paul~

He turned the world upside down.

Paul never expected to end his ministry in chains, but even still, he is determined to carry the gospel to Rome and the Emperor Nero himself. But what if those who need the gospel most are those closest to him?

As the Great Fire strikes Rome, fanning Nero's persecution of the Christians to a white-hot fury, murderous secrets, impossible choices, and steadfast faith will lead to tragedy and triumph.

The Keeper's Crown is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Nathan's website for more information on all of his books and his posts on faith and fiction.

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

Forsaking All Other

Please join me in congratulating Catherine Meyrick on the publication of her debut historical novel, Forsaking All Other! I had the pleasure of helping Catherine design the cover. Here's the book description:

England 1585. Bess Stoughton, waiting woman to the well-connected Lady Allingbourne, has discovered that her father is arranging for her to marry an elderly neighbour. Normally obedient Bess rebels and wrests from her father a year’s grace to find a husband more to her liking.

Edmund Wyard, a taciturn and scarred veteran of England’s campaign in Ireland, is attempting to ignore the pressure from his family to find a suitable wife as he prepares to join the Earl of Leicester’s army in the Netherlands.

Although Bess and Edmund are drawn to each other, they are aware that they can have nothing more than friendship. Bess knows that Edmund’s wealth and family connections place him beyond her reach. And Edmund, with his well-honed sense of duty, has never considered that he could follow his own wishes. 

With England on the brink of war and fear of Catholic plots extending even into Lady Allingbourne’s household, time is running out for both of them.

Forsaking All Other is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Catherine's website for more info on this book, her historical research, and her works-in-progress!

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

The Study of Murder and The Death of a Falcon

Please join me in congratulating Susan McDuffie on the publication of The Death of a Falcon and the re-release of The Study of Murder! I had the pleasure of working with Susan to design the covers. Here are the book descriptions:

Oxford, 1374: At the command of the Lord of the Isles, Muirteach and his wife Mariota accompany Donald, the lord’s surly thirteen-year-old son, to Oxford. Shortly after their arrival a winsome tavern maid disappears. Muirteach attempts to help Undersheriff Grymbaud with the investigation, as well as keep Donald at his studies and out of the taverns. He has little success with either venture. Mariota thirsts to attend medical lectures at the schools and seeks a way to gain admittance to these classes. 

An Oxford master is brutally bludgeoned to death, and Grymbaud asks Muirteach to investigate the slaying. The arrest of an aged servant for the murder stirs the ever-simmering discord between townsfolk and university students. Then Mariota vanishes. 

Gleaning clues from a cryptic manuscript and desperate to save his wife, a determined Muirteach tracks a wily killer through a dark and twisted labyrinth of deceit.

Scotland, 1375: Muirteach MacPhee and his wife Mariota visit Edinburgh Castle, assisting the Lord of the Isles in his negotiations with King Robert II. A trading vessel arrives at the nearby port of Leith from the far away Norse settlement in Greenland. The ship brings unexpected diversion and carries coveted wares: gyrfalcons, unicorn’s horns, and fine furs. Both King Robert and the Lord of the Isles desire the rare birds, easily worth a king’s ransom.

Muirteach and Mariota, unaccustomed to the sophistication of castle life, initially find pleasure in the heady and flirtatious glamor of the royal court. Then sudden and unexpected cruelty, followed by the senseless death of a beautiful young girl, plunge the couple into a murky sea of alliances and intrigue that stretches from Scotland across the icy western ocean to the far northern lands of the Norse, leaving trails of treachery and murder in its wake.

A Study of Murder and The Death of a Falcon are available in ebook and print formats on Amazon. Add them to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Susan'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

Simple Truth

Please join me in congratulating Carol Bodensteiner on the publication of her newest novel, Simple Truth! I had the pleasure of offering Carol some developmental assistance on this tale of one woman's fight against corporate misconduct in a small-town community, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description:

Angela Darrah is a pro when it comes to pitching client stories to the media. But when she suspects her client is exploiting immigrant workers, she's forced to face her own prejudices and to examine herself in ways she never imagined.

Having landed a career-making assignment at one of Iowa’s largest poultry packing plants, Angela is stymied when the CEO who hired her resists her advice. Worse, he defers her to his right-hand man who keeps Angela off balance as he alternately supports and obstructs her efforts. When Angela finds an unexpected ally in a handsome Salvadoran plant supervisor, her professionalism wavers in the face of undeniable attraction.

As Angela immerses herself in the company and the town, she is faced with challenges similar to those of the company’s immigrant workers. How will she navigate a new system and succeed in the face of obstacles and injustices she doesn’t understand? Then, when she discovers corporate actions that are unethical, possibly illegal, Angela must confront the conflict between her duty to her client and her growing passion to fight injustice. Ultimately, she must decide: What is she willing to sacrifice to help someone else? Simple Truth is a thought-provoking story intertwined with risk, retaliation, and reward.

Simple Truth is on sale now in ebook and print format on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and stop by Carol's website to check out her posts on writing historical fiction! 

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

Chasing the Wind

Please join me in congratulating Paula Scott on the publication of the final book in her California Rising series, Chasing the Wind! I had the privilege of helping Paula with a copyedit and the cover design for this emotional tale of faith and love in Gold Rush California. Here's the book description:

A beautiful, half-Indian girl raised by the Californios finds her fate intertwined with an American frontiersman haunted by his past in 1850 California.

As California comes to statehood amidst the madness of the gold rush, Isabella Vasquez must wed a buckskin-clad American who wins her in a card game. Though their union is passionate, Isabella soon finds herself abandoned in a brothel, where she rises to fame as a singer known as the Bluebird. Yet because of her Indian blood, the Bluebird will always be bought and sold in the white man’s world. When more is demanded of the Bluebird than just singing, Isabella flees to Fort Ross in search of her Russian father and her own race of people.

Peter Brondi has battled Indians all his life. The last thing he wants is a half-Indian wife. While taming the West with Kit Carson and John C. Fremont, Peter has fought the Mexican War and lost his beloved fiancée, Maggie, to his half-Indian brother, Paul. To satisfy his father’s dying wish, Peter vows to find his brother and put an end to the hate that’s between them. But when history repeats itself and Paul steals Isabella away, Peter must come to terms with his past and the animosity he holds against all Indians, including his half-brother and the wife he has forsaken.

Chasing the Wind is the final story in the sweeping saga of California Rising, a tale of love, betrayal, and the ties that bind brothers together and California to the nation.

Chasing the Wind is available now in ebook and print format on Amazon and will soon be available at other online retailers. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Paula's website for her inspirational posts about writing, family, and farm life.

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

Montana Grit

Please join me in congratulating Ramona Flightner on the publication of Montana Grit, the second book in her Bear Grass Springs series! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

An interrupted wedding. A deceitful bride. A devastated groom. Will they forgive each other and allow their love to rekindle?

After fleeing her past and settling in Bear Grass Springs as the schoolteacher, Leticia Browne has no intention of falling in love with the charming liveryman, Alistair MacKinnon. The pioneer town was to be her refuge. Survival and peace were her goals, not love. She never thought to marry. Never again.

Alistair MacKinnon is a patient man, slow to anger and quick to forgive. He’s waited three years to marry Leticia and his wedding day is upon him. When the door to the church bursts open, interrupting his wedding, he realizes nothing is as it appears. Now, he must face his worst fears , the town’s ridicule, and his hardest challenge yet.

Battling despair at her treachery, Alistair must fight to regain his trust in Leticia while fending off the courtship of a desperate woman. Leticia, now a shunned woman in town, must find a way to survive by her wits alone while evading an unwanted suitor. Will Alistair allow the interloper to destroy his dreams or will he fight for Leticia and their love?

Montana Grit is available for preorder on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes in ebook and print format. 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

Isabella and Margaret

Please join me in congratulating Mara Gold on the publication of her inspirational historical romance novellas, Isabella and Margaret, the Bond Trilogy Books One and Two! I had the pleasure of helping Mara design the covers. Here are the book descriptions:

Newbury, Berkshire England

Beautiful, willful Isabella Martin is being raised as a lady by her doting parents at their bustling inn, the Jolly George. Life is full of learning ladylike accomplishments for her and her cousin Caroline. After an embarrassing family loss, security is more important to her than love, and she aspires to marry up out of her social class. Will her dreams come true as she seeks to socially climb, or will she die a slow, ghastly death at the hands of an adversary just when her life began to have new meaning? 





Newbury, Berkshire England

Beautiful Margaret Hufton is the daughter of the parishes’ good and caring doctor. She dearly loves to help her father on his rounds, especially if there is a baby to hold. Margaret and her mother are welcome at every home in the area because they always have good gossip to share. A change in financial circumstance leads to a mission to reveal the secret that an inconvenient man has threatened to release. If the secret is revealed, Margaret’s hopes of marriage will dissolve. Will the secret be revealed, and if it is, will the threat of gossip turning on her and her family be too much to bear?

Isabella and Margaret are on available now in ebook format on Amazon, and you can add them to your shelves on Goodreads.

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