Yep, Fanny Newcomb and the Irish Channel Ripper has a new cover.
But W-H-Y?
Here’s what I told fellow crime novelist Vinnie Hansen when she interviewed me for the Sisters in Crime NorCal newsletter earlier this year:
“Last June I was at the Historical Novel Society Conference and saw my book on sale next to all of the other “Gilded Age” novels. My existing cover—which featured turn-of-the-century pornography which ties into my story—really stood out, and not in a good way.
Suddenly, my cover was not at all attractive to me, which meant that it probably wasn’t attractive to other readers either. And if it’s not attractive, it’s not going to sell. I want Fanny to find a home with many readers, and I’m hoping that a new cover will open her to a new market.”
So there you go. I want to share Fanny’s story with more readers and realize now (two years after publication!) how much an attractive front cover helps to, well, attract readers.
What do you think? Doesn’t Fanny’s new cover make you want to read on?
And thanks to cover designer Fiona Jayde for helping me with my dream of an attractive Gilded Age New Orleans cover.