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!)

Unbridled Montana Passion

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

A scandalous past. A long-held secret. Will they trust in their love?

After escaping years of abuse, Fidelia Evans is finally content. She is proud of her job working in her sister’s bakery while tatting highly sought-after lace in her spare time. She finds comfort in knowing she has a safe place to live. Fidelia attempts to forget her past, although her frequent nightmares provide a constant reminder of her past ordeals. As she settles into her new life, her fascination and attraction to Bears grows. Afraid of repeating the mistakes of her past, Fidelia hesitates yet yearns for more than friendship with Bears.

John Runs-From-Bears Renfrew is a patient man. He enjoys his work in the livery with horses for company and accepts his status in town: outcast to some, acceptable to others. However, from the moment he meets Fidelia, Bears knows she is the woman for him. Bears bides his time as she heals after her rescue from the Boudoir. He watches with patient understanding as she shies away from any contact with a man not of her family. Bears admires her desire to rebuild her life as a respectable woman. And yet, the more time he spends with Fidelia, the more he longs for her to trust him. To see him as a man she would marry.

When an unexpected stranger arrives in Bear Grass Springs, Bears and Fidelia are forced to confront long held fears. They must discover what they truly value as they overcome ghosts from their past.

Will the love growing between them be stronger than their fears?

Unbridled Montana Passion 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 Gates of Eden

Please join me in congratulating Nadene LeCheminant on the publication of her debut historical novel, The Gates of Eden! I had the pleasure of helping Nadene design the cover. Here's the book description:

Inspired by a true story ... 

When Josephine Bell discovers how quickly one can descend from middle-class Victorian comfort to the slums of Liverpool, she makes a fateful decision.

Seeking escape from desperate poverty, the sixteen-year-old joins a community of kindly strangers and embarks on an epic journey across a treacherous ocean and into the North American wilderness, pulling a two-wheeled handcart over the Rocky Mountains to a remote desert kingdom.

In her new home, a Mormon settlement in the Utah Territory, Josephine is pressured into a polygamous marriage with a man almost four decades older than herself. She struggles to find her own path amidst a backdrop of rising violence and haunting tragedy. 

The Gates of Eden explores the timeless mysteries of faith and doubt, fear and love through the eyes of a girl on the cusp of adulthood.

The Gates of Eden is available in ebook and print formats on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Nadene's website to read more about the inspiration for the book and her posts on historical research.

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

Antonius: Son of Rome

Please join me in congratulating Brook Allen on the publication of her debut historical novel, Antonius: Son of Rome, first in a definitive and painstakingly researched trilogy about 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:

"​​[The] suspenseful, insightful, and beautifully written story of how the unlikely young Marcus Antonius grew into the Marc Antony of history."  ~Margaret George, bestselling author of The Memoirs of Cleopatra and The Confessions of A Young Nero

For over two-thousand years, Marcus Antonius—Marc Antony—has been one of history’s most controversial men. His story was buried with him and written by his enemies. Now his entire saga is revealed in a compelling trilogy by Brook Allen.   

After young Marcus Antonius’s father dies in disgrace, he yearns to restore his family’s honor during the final days of Rome’s dying Republic. Marcus is rugged, handsome, and owns abundant military talent, but upon entering manhood, he falls prey to the excesses of a violent society. His whoring, gambling, and drinking eventually reap dire consequences. Through a series of personal tragedies, Marcus must come into his own through blood, blades, and death. Once he finally earns a military commission, he faces an uphill battle to earn the respect and admiration of soldiers, proconsuls, and kings. Desperate to redeem his name and carve a legacy for himself, he refuses to let warring rebels, scheming politicians, or even an alluring young Egyptian princess stand in his way.

Antonius: Some of Rome 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

After the Fog

Please join me in congratulating Kathleen Shoop on the re-release of After the Fog with a brand new cover! Originally published in 2012, Kathie wanted a new cover to tie this book into her new Donora Story Collection.

Here's the before and after:

 

A love story wrapped in historical drama…

In the steel town of Donora, Pennsylvania, site of the infamous 1948 “killing smog,” headstrong nurse Rose Pavlesic tends to her family and neighbors. Efficient and precise, she’s created a life that reflects everything she missed growing up as an orphan. She’s even managed to keep her painful secrets hidden from the love of her life, Henry, her dutiful children, and large extended family.

When a stagnant weather pattern traps poisonous mill gasses in the valley, neighbors grow sicker and Rose’s nursing obligations thrust her into conflict she never could have fathomed. Consequences from her past collide with her present life, making her once clear decisions as gray as the suffocating smog. As pressure mounts, Rose finds she’s not the only one harboring lies.

When the deadly fog finally clears, the loss of trust and faith leaves the Pavlesic family—and the whole town—splintered and shocked. With her new perspective, can Rose finally forgive herself and let her family’s healing begin? Will love be enough?

After the Fog is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Kathleen's website for more information on all of her books, including more in the Donora Story Collection.

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

The Strongman and the Mermaid

 

Please join me in congratulating Kathleen Shoop on the publication of her newest historical novel, The Strongman and the Mermaid! I had the pleasure of helping Kathleen design the cover. Here's the book description:

2019 Donora, Pennsylvania

Ninety-one-year-old Patryk Rusek hides in his attic, hoping the searchers think he’s escaped. When Lucy finally bursts in, she discovers her beloved grandfather clutching a fat, hand-drawn, antique book. In it is the story of Donora, the town that shaped America, its people, and Patryk himself. Before long, Lucy and her son Owen lose track of their goal to get Grandpa Patryk somewhere “safe” as they’re drawn into the book, back in time, into stories that read like real-life fairy tales born of purpose, hard work, and chance.

1910 Donora, Pennsylvania

In the early dawn of Donora, Pennsylvania, the mills make and shape the steel that builds America. Mary Lancos lives in a home on the hill overlooking the town and its mighty Monongahela River. That tiny house bursts with her siblings and boarders. Wind whipping through the walls and windows makes Mary determined to marry well and create a better life.

Shy Pole Lukasz Musial arrives in Donora seeking the clear blue skies, green lawns, and better life he’d seen pictured on a postcard. Settled in Donora’s Polish community, Lukasz secures a coveted job in the wire mill. Life is set on course to achieve the American Dream. All he needs is a wife who believes in him, in his mighty, quiet, strength.

After a series of casual, friendly meetings, fate brings Mary and Lukasz to the river under a snowy, pink moonlit sky, and everything changes. Their attraction is sudden and consuming, turning the pair onto an unexpected path. With mounting disapproval from Mary’s parents, she and Lukasz must decide if love is enough to risk losing everything else that matters.

The Strongman and the Mermaid is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Kathleen's website for more information on all of her books, including more in the Donora Story Collection.

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

The California Immigrant

Please join me in congratulating Barbara Anne King on the publication of her debut historical novel, The California Immigrant! I had the pleasure of helping Barbara design the cover. Here's the book description:

An enthralling historical fiction novel chronicling the events of World War II as experienced in one American small town

Seeking a better life, young Martin Petrovich immigrates from Yugoslavia to San Francisco at the turn of the twentieth century. In just two years, he is on the verge of achieving his American Dream when disaster strikes, forcing him to flee and start over again.

Martin rebuilds his life in a small farming community set on the Monterey Bay, populated with characters as ethnically diverse as Croatians, Mexicans, and Japanese. But unlike Yugoslavia, which had bitter ethnic divides, farming brings the people together in the spirit of cooperation, and friendships form.

When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, everything changes. Martin once again finds himself in a place where racial hatred, in all its ugly guises, runs amok.

As the government turns the town’s airport into a naval facility, conscripts his sons, and begins moving Japanese to internment camps, Martin is forced to make a decision. Should he help a Japanese friend and risk the backlash of his neighbors? Or should he take the safer path of least resistance? 

Whatever his decision, it will lead to his destiny and forever shape his American Dream.

The California Immigrant is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon, and you can add it to your shelves on Goodreads.

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

Montana Wrangler

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

A fiery temper. A smoldering passion. A raging snowstorm. Is their love stronger than their fear?

Frederick Tompkins enjoys his solitude on his ranch. His rare visits to town result in verbal sparring matches with the annoying Sorcha MacKinnon, and he has vowed to avoid her at all costs. When he finds her, wounded and alone, on an isolated part of his ranch, he rushes to her aid. Devastated that anyone would hurt such a vibrant, spirited woman, he must confront his true feelings for her.

Sorcha MacKinnon is convinced she’ll never have what her brothers have: a committed, loving relationship. When she is stranded at Frederick Tompkins’ ranch, she is faced with the prospect of a marriage of convenience. If she is brave, she will discover the love she’s been searching for.

As winter rages, their unconventional courtship blossoms. As they fight pasts that haunt them, will they have the courage to allow the love growing between them to flourish?

Montana Wrangler 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 Life and Times of Lilly Quinn

Please join me in congratulating Carolyn E. Cook on the publication of her newest historical novel, The Life and Times of Lilly Quinn! I had the pleasure of helping Carolyn design the cover. Here's the book description:

Fleeing hazardous circumstances in New Orleans, Lilly Quinn arrives in hardscrabble Minden Springs, a thrown-together town on the dry prairie of 1870s Kansas. She plans to continue her journey onward to San Francisco, but her chance sighting of Barnett Swan, the only lawman for miles around, gives her pause. She chooses to remain, at least for the time being. As Lilly says, “It was only the shortest of encounters, perhaps a minute, but on that much alone, I made the rash decision to retrieve my carpet bag from the stage and extend my stay in this dismal place. That marshal seemed worth investigating.” 

Little does she know that the choice will determine the entire future course of her days.

Told in the voice of feisty and independent Lilly, the story flows through decades and introduces numerous colorful characters. It’s full of life and love, heroes and villains, a page-turning saga. Lilly reveals the western myths, its sometimes brutal realities, and how the landscape captures the imaginations and hopes of those who settle there. 

Set in those legendary, rough and tumble days, The Life and Times of Lilly Quinn presents two strong-willed people who, in spite of their differences, embrace a lasting love that stands the test of time.

The Life and Times of Lilly Quinn is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon! Visit Carolyn's website for more information on all of her books, and check out her guest post on the women of the Wild West on my blog, Let Them Read Books!

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

The Column of Burning Spices

Please join me in congratulating P.K. Adams on the publication of her new historical novel, The Column of Burning Spices, sequel to The Greenest Branch! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

The year is 1143. Hildegard, already a well-known physician, has expanded her work to writing not just about medicine but on theological matters as well. Once again, the monks of St. Disibod are there to stop her, citing the biblical passages that admonish against “women teachers.” Also, Abbot Kuno is aging, and it is only a matter of time before he is succeeded in the post by Prior Helenger, who wants nothing more than to see Hildegard permanently relegated to the convent’s enclosure.

Leaving St. Disibod is Hildegard’s only hope of continuing her mission of healing and writing as she sees fit. She has been saving money from the convent's endowments for years, but in order to establish her own foundation she will need the backing of a powerful man of the Church. There are several who could become her champions - from the famed Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux, to the Archbishop of Mainz, to the newly elected Pope Eugenius III. But will they take up a woman’s cause and subvert centuries of established tradition? And will it be enough to protect Hildegard from a betrayal that lurks closer than she could ever imagine?

Set against the backdrop of the lush oak forests, vineyard-covered hills, and sparkling rivers of the Rhineland, The Column of Burning Spices is a tale of courage, strength, sacrifice, and love that will appeal to fans of Ken Follett, Sharon Kay Penman, Bernard Cornwell, and Conn Iggulden.

The Column of Burning Spices 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 a cover designer?
Email us anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Entrapped

Please join me in congratulating Barbara Kyle on the re-release of Entrapped! Many of you are familiar with Barbara's historical novels, but she's also written a contemporary environmental thriller, and I had the pleasure of designing its new cover. Here's the book description:

When Liv Gardner arrives in the rural town of Spirit Creek, Alberta, she has nothing but her old car and a temporary job as paralegal with the local attorney. But Liv’s down-market persona is a ruse. She is actually in-house counsel of Falcon Oil, a small oil and gas company she co-owns with her fiancé, CEO Mickey Havelock – and they are facing financial ruin.

Their assets are concentrated around Spirit Creek where farmer Tom Wainwright, convinced that lethal “sour” gas killed his wife, is sabotaging Falcon’s rigs. But Wainwright is clever at hiding his tracks and the police have no evidence to charge him. With the sabotage forcing Falcon toward bankruptcy, Liv has come undercover to befriend Wainwright – and entrap him.

But Liv never dreamed she’d become torn between saving the company she and Mickey built and her feelings for the very man whose sabotage is ruining them.

On a rain-swept night, Spirit Creek is stunned when one of their own is murdered. The evidence does more than point to Tom Wainwright . . . it shatters Liv’s world.

Entrapped is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Barbara'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

The Patricia MacPherson Nautical Adventures Series

Please join me in congratulating Linda Collison on the re-release of her Patrica MacPherson Nautical Adventures series! Linda wanted to update her covers with a more eye-catching and creative style, and I had the pleasure of helping her achieve that goal. Here are the book descriptions:

Portsmouth, England,1760. Patricia Kelley, the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy Barbadian sugarcane planter, falls from her imagined place in the world when her absent father unexpectedly dies. Raised in a Wiltshire boarding school sixteen-year-old Patricia embarks on a desperate crossing on a merchantman bound for Barbados, where she was born, in a brash attempt to claim an unlikely inheritance. Aboard a merchantman under contract with the British Navy to deliver gunpowder to the West Indian forts, young Patricia finds herself pulled between two worlds -- and two identities -- as she charts her own course for survival in the war-torn 18th century.






Patrick MacPherson is a qualified surgeon’s mate; but she’s not the man he claims to be.

It's late October, 1762. After surviving the deadly siege of Havana, Patrick MacPherson and the rest of the ship’s company are looking forward to a well deserved liberty in New York. But what happens in that colonial town will change the surgeon's mate's life in ways she could never have imagined.

Using a dead man’s identity, young Patricia Kelley MacPherson is making her way as Patrick MacPherson, surgeon’s mate aboard His Majesty’s frigate Richmond. She's become adept at bleeding, blistering, and amputating limbs; but if her cover is blown, she’ll lose both her livelihood and her berth aboard the frigate. The ship’s gunner alone knows her secret – or does someone else aboard suspect that Patrick MacPherson is not the man he claims to be?

Patricia MacPherson is not the man she claims to be. The Seven Years War is over but trouble in the American colonies is brewing. Maintaining her disguise as a young man, Patricia is finding success as Patrick MacPherson. Formerly a surgeon’s mate in His Majesty’s Navy, Patrick has lately been employed aboard the colonial merchant schooner Andromeda, smuggling foreign molasses into Rhode Island. Late October, amidst riots against the newly imposed Stamp Act, she leaves Newport bound for the West Indies on her first run as Andromeda’s master. In Havana a chance meeting with a former enemy presents unexpected opportunities while an encounter with a British frigate and an old lover threatens her liberty – and her life. Rhode Island Rendezvous is the third book of the Patricia MacPherson Nautical Adventure Series.


All three books are available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add them to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Linda'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

For Her Honor

Please join me in congratulating Holly Bush on the publication of her newest historical romance, For Her Honor, the fourth book in her Gentrys of Paradise series! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

Virginia 1873. Adam Gentry, heir to the celebrated Paradise Stables, is haunted by the visions of his lost love. Feeling cursed by fate, he slips deeper into grief, shrouded in a cloud of liquor and depression, and neglects his duties and responsibilities. But when Adam is forced to accept that there’s nothing he can do to change his past, he knows he must move on.

And he accepts his own destiny: that he will never love again.

Emmaline Somerset finds herself in the worst possible position any unmarried woman can be in. She will have to abandon all of her plans, hopes, and dreams for an independence using her own talents. The only viable solution is to move to a distant relative’s home and reinvent herself as a widow with an infant. No one will ever be the wiser.

Adam, now determined to secure the Gentry legacy, plans to save longtime family friend Emmaline from her embarrassment with an offer of marriage. But what Adam didn’t plan on was how his unexpected attraction to her would stir something inside of him, something he's kept locked deep within.

Can love find its way between two troubled souls, one driven by duty, the other by honor, both determined to find their way home?

For Her Honor is available now in ebook and print format on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Holly's website for the scoop on all of her historical romances.

Need a cover designer?

Email me anytime to chat about your project!

jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Let the Little Birds Sing

Please join me in congratulating Sandra Fox Murphy on the publication of her newest novel, Let the Little Birds Sing! I had the pleasure of helping Sandra design the cover. Here's the book description:

In 1847, the McCord family, filled with hope for prospects of a better life, packed all their earthly belongings into covered wagons and left their homes in Indiana for Texas. The world beyond was in front of seven-year-old Fidelia, and little did she know, as the wagons traveled down the dusty trail to the southwest, that there would be the need for all the courage she could muster. Her faith would be tested and fortitude found in the most unexpected places.

Let the Little Birds Sing is the beginning of Fidelia McCord’s story, of the hardships she encounters and sees around her, told through the eyes of a precocious and determined girl. It is a tale set in early America inspired by the journey of a girl coming of age amidst the perils of settling in a new and untamed land.

Let the Little Birds Sing is available now in ebook and print formats on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Sandra's website.

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

Jubilant Montana Christmas

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

A resourceful baker. Her resentful husband. Can they rekindle their love in time for Christmas?

Leena Johansen loves her job baking Norwegian treats for the townsfolk of Bear Grass Springs. She only wishes her new marriage were as sweet. When her husband demands she make a choice that will rip her from the life she is creating, she makes a drastic decision.

Karl Johansen is a proud man. He never thought Leena would marry a man like him. When he attempts to bend her to his will, he risks more than he imagined. Now, as Christmas approaches, he must find a way to put their relationship to rights before it is too late.

Will Karl and Leena realize that no one wins in a battle of wills and that compromise fosters great love?

Jubilant Montana Christmas 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

Cyber Sisters

Please join me in congratulating Kelly Clayton on the publication of her newest novel, co-written with Grant Collins, Cyber Sisters! I had the pleasure of working with Kelly on a developmental edit and a copyedit of this suspenseful tale of four women's mission to fight back against online crime, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description:

Do you know who you’re talking to online?

Marianne Sinclair has it all. She’s a self-made woman in a man’s world, rich, well-connected and smart, so she is infuriated when she falls victim to an online scam.

Who can you trust?

Determined never to let it happen again, Marianne enrols in a cybersecurity class and meets other women in the same position. A devastating tragedy draws them together, as they try to make sense of what has happened.

With her business under attack and her darkest secret on the verge of being discovered, Marianne and her fellow victims conceive a plan to turn the tables on their tormentors.

When they’ve taken everything, even your self-respect, do you fall down or fight back?

From London to Bulgaria to Monte Carlo, the ladies go on the attack, but the unexpected appearance of someone from Marianne’s past shakes her confidence and threatens to ruin all they are trying to achieve.

As her secret fears become reality, Marianne will have to decide how far she is willing to go, and what she’s ready to risk, not only to save her business but to save her life and the lives of those she’s come to love.

Cyber Sisters is available now in ebook format on Amazon and Amazon UK, and the print edition will be available soon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, visit Kelly's website for the scoop on her upcoming releases and writing and publishing tips, and check out her feature on ITV!

Need some help with your WIP?
Email Jenny anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

To the Death

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

The Viking army is about to face its greatest challenge, the Kingdom of Wessex. King Æthelred and his brother Alfred are determined to wage war to the death. 

An epic tale of the great war for England.

The Great Viking Army has conquered Northumbria and East Anglia. Two English kingdoms remain independent, Mercia and Wessex. The sons of Ragnar, leaders of the army, must decide which to attack next.

Leif Ormson, once Skald to Ivar the Boneless, has now been made a jarl. He is a reluctant warrior and is grateful and relieved when he is given rich lands in which to live in peace and prosperity.

But the Vikings’ relentless lust for conquest sweeps him and his family into peril and war. As the army marches towards Wessex, he wonders if he will again have dealings with Prince Alfred and his dangerous friends.

He wonders if he will even survive.

To the Death 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

Distant Hills

Please join me in congratulating Nora Ryell on the publication of her debut historical novel, Distant Hills! I had the pleasure of helping Nora design the cover of this adventurous tale of a woman wrongly convicted of murder and her fight to take back her life. Here's the book description:

Dear Reader,

Distant Hills is the first in a series of historical novels featuring brainy and feisty women. The novel begins in England in 1734. My heroine, Kate Hardy longs for adventure and escape from the small town she lives in. She thinks her life is dull but she is unaware that malign forces are at work to destroy her life.

Convicted of a murder she did not commit, she is exiled to the exotic island of Jamaica as a prisoner. She believes her life is over, but it is just about to begin. She is rescued from her plight by Marcus Huntley, Earl of Cairnmore. A friend has written to him with the unwanted plea to protect Kate, and at first, Marcus sees this as a burden, but then an audacious idea strikes him that Kate may be the solution to a problem of his own. Marcus makes an outrageous proposal – a marriage of convenience in exchange for his assistance to help prove Kate’s innocence.

What begins as a business arrangement quickly develops into a powerful attraction, but before her life can be complete, Kate must bury the past in order to look to the future. Then an unexpected visitor from England brings amazing news which sends Kate back to England and puts her in great jeopardy. For even though she is now more determined than ever to find a killer and clear her name, the killer is equally determined to remain in the shadows and will do anything to stop Kate. 

Distant Hills reminds me of the romances I read and loved while growing up. I enjoyed Harlequin romances by Violet Winspear, Anne Hampson and Margaret Way. Another favourite author was the Australian writer Lucy Walker and I also read everything D.E. Stevenson wrote. I hope you will enjoy this novel in the same way. 

Distant Hills is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Visit Nora's website to read an excerpt!

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

Let Your Heart Be Light

Please join me in congratulating Pat Wahler on the publication of Let Your Heart Be Light: A Celebration of Christmas! I had the pleasure of helping Pat design the cover of this collection of stories, essays, and poetry. Here's the book description:

What Do You Love About Christmas?

The scent of pine. A crackle and snap from the fireplace. Warm cinnamon-and-sugar cookies.

Pour yourself a cup of cheer and savor the journey back to memories of childhood, when you schemed to get that perfect present.

Find out whether one little dog can heal a broken heart and spark the possibility of new love.

Treasure memorable moments steeped in the joy of family and friends.

Rediscover the humor of the holiday season--courtesy of a white goose.

Readers who love the magic of Christmas will devour these and other bite-sized stories written in the timeless yuletide tradition.

Let Your Heart Be Light is available now in ebook and print formats on Amazon! Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Pat'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

Ocean Rhythms, Kindred Spirits

Please join me in congratulating Sheree K. Nielsen on the publication of her newest book, Ocean Rhythms, Kindred Spirits: An Emerson-Inspired Essay Collection on Travel, Nature, Family and Pets. I had the pleasure of helping Sheree design the cover using a photo from her own collection. Here's the book description:

Ocean Rhythms, Kindred Spirits is a reminder to be present in the moment, live life with abandon, invariably respecting nature, animals, and people.

Join Sheree K. Nielsen, 2015 Da Vinci Eye Award Winner (Folly Beach Dances), on a journey as she awakens the wanderlust in her soul, defines moments of clarity while walking on the beach, finds solitude diving with sharks and dolphins, and befriends sea-loving dogs. She'll reveal her strong connection to family and beloved pets, the beauty in a mimosa tree, and the kindred spirit that lives in all of us. A unique essay collection of all things warm and good, inspired by the author's love for Emerson. Complementary photographs by Sheree are included at the end of each essay, with a few seafaring friends' photographs as well.

Locations of essays include the Carolinas, Florida, the Caribbean, and the Midwest.

Ocean Rhythms, Kindred Spirits is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Sheree's website to read excerpts and learn more about her inspiration for this collection of essays.

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The Guinevere's Tale Trilogy Box Set

Now that all three books in the Guinevere's Tale Trilogy by Nicole Evelina have been published, they are also available in a box set! I had the pleasure of designing the covers. Here are the book descriptions:

Guinevere is remembered for her role as King Arthur’s wife and for her adulterous affair with Lancelot. But there is so much more to her story…

Priestess. Queen. Warrior. Experience the world of King Arthur through Guinevere’s eyes as she matures from a young priestess who never dreamed of becoming queen to the stalwart defender of a nation and a mistress whose sin would go down in history. Throughout it all, Guinevere faces threats from both foreign powers and within her own court that lead her to place her very life on the line to protect the dream of Camelot and save her people. 

This compendium of Nicole Evelina’s two-time Book of the Year award-winning trilogy – Daughter of Destiny, Camelot’s Queen, and Mistress of Legend – gives fresh life to an age-old tale by adding historical context and emotional depth. Spanning more than three decades, it presents Guinevere as an equal to the famous men she is remembered for loving, while providing context for her controversial decisions and visiting little-known aspects of her life before and after her marriage to King Arthur. 

Book One: Daughter of Destiny
Before queenship and Camelot, Guinevere was a priestess of Avalon. She loved another before Arthur, a warrior who would one day betray her. Learn the true story of her early life.

•Book of the Year – Chanticleer Reviews 
•Best New Voice, (Silver Award), IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards 
•Winner – North Street Book Prize

"Rich and stunning, easily comparable to novels by other bestselling historical fiction authors." - Chanticleer Book Reviews 

Book Two: Camelot’s Queen
Guinevere is now High Queen and Arthur’s top strategist. But when she is feared dead, Arthur installs a new woman in her place, one who will poison his affections, threatening Guinevere’s fragile sanity and driving her into the arms of her champion. Can the Grail’s promise of peace set things right or will peace prove as dangerous as war?

•Fiction Book of the Year – Author’s Circle
•Best Second Book – Next Generation Indie Book Awards

“Historical fantasy at its finest!" - InD'Tale Magazine

Book Three: Mistress of Legend

Legend says Guinevere spent her final days in penance in a convent, but that is far from the truth. Not one to quietly cede power, she fights for her ancestral homeland against an invasion that threatens both her people and her life.

The Guinevere's Tale Trilogy is available now in ebook and print format on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Nicole's website for the scoop on all of her books and articles on writing and Arthurian lore. And check out Nicole's article for the Huffington Post on traveling in the footsteps of Arthur and Guinevere!

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

Mistress of Legend

Please join me in congratulating Nicole Evelina on the publication of the third and final book in the award-winning Guinevere's Tale Trilogy, Mistress of Legend! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

Legend says Guinevere spent her final days in penance in a convent, but that is far from the truth.

Having escaped death at the stake, Guinevere longs to live a peaceful life in Brittany with Lancelot, but the threat of Arthur’s wrath quickly separates the lovers. Guinevere finds herself back in Camelot, but it is not the peaceful capital she once knew; the loyalty of the people is divided over Arthur’s role in her death sentence. When war draws Arthur away from Britain, Mordred is named acting king. With Morgan at his side and a Saxon in his bed, Mordred’s thirst for power becomes his undoing and the cause of Guinevere’s greatest heartache.

In the wake of the deadly battle that leaves the country in civil war, Guinevere’s power as the former queen is sought by everyone who seeks to ascend the throne. Heartbroken and refusing to take sides in the conflict, she flees north to her mother’s Votadini homeland, where she is at long last reunited with Lancelot. The quiet life she desires is just beginning when warring tribal factions once again thrust her into an unexpected position of power. Now charged with ending an invasion that could bring an end to the Votadini tribe and put the whole island in the hands of the Saxons, Guinevere must draw upon decades of experience to try to save the people she loves and is sworn to protect. 

Mistress of Legend is available now in ebook and print format on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Nicole's website for the scoop on all of her books and articles on writing and Arthurian lore. And check out Nicole's article for the Huffington Post on traveling in the footsteps of Arthur and Guinevere!

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

The Path to Somerset

Please join me in congratulating Janet Wertman on the publication of The Path to Somerset, sequel to her highly acclaimed debut, Jane the Quene! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

After the tragic romance of Jane the Quene, the second book in the Seymour Saga trilogy, The Path to Somerset, takes a dark turn through an era in which King Henry VIII descends into cynicism, suspicion and fits of madness – and in which mistakes mean death. 

Edward Seymour’s future is uncertain. Although his sister Jane bore Henry the son he’d sought for twenty years, when she died in childbirth, Henry’s good nature died with her. Now the fiercely ambitious Edward must carve a difficult path through Henry’s shifting principles and wives. Challenged at every turn by his nemesis, Bishop Stephen Gardiner, Edward must embrace ruthlessness in order to safeguard not only his own future but England’s as well. 

This is the account of Henry’s tumultuous reign, as seen through the eyes of two opponents whose fierce disagreements over religion and common decency fuel epic struggles for the soul of the nation. And for power.

The Path to Somerset is available now in ebook and print format 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

Let Slip the Dogs

Please join me in congratulating Anna Castle on the newest installment in her Francis Bacon mystery series, Let Slip the Dogs! I had the pleasure of helping Anna with a copyedit, and I designed the cover. If you're a fan of historical mysteries with a touch of humor and tongue-in-cheekiness along with fun and memorable characters, this series is for you! Here's the book description:

Secret trysts, daring dalliances, and a body in the orchard...

It’s Midsummer, 1591, at Richmond Palace, and love is in the air. Gallant courtiers sport with great ladies while Tom and Trumpet bring their long-laid plans to fruition at last. Everybody’s doing it—even Francis Bacon enjoys a private liaison with the secretary to the new French ambassador. But the Queen loathes scandal and will punish anyone rash enough to get caught.

Still, it’s all in a summer day until a man is found dead in the orchard. The youth had few talents beyond a keen nose for gossip. He was doubtless murdered to protect a secret, but what sort? Romantic, or political? They carried different penalties—banishment from court or a traitor’s death. Either way, worth killing to protect.

Bacon wants nothing more than to leave things alone. He has no position and no patron; in fact, he’s being discouraged from investigating. But could he live with himself if another innocent person dies?

Let Slip the Dogs is available now in print and ebook formats on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes. 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.

**Right now all of the books in this series are on sale for $2.99 or less, and you can download a copy of the first book in the series, Murder by Misrule, for free on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes!**

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