It’s been a while since I last blogged (after my one and only post), and I should explain the reasoning for that before I get to the heart of this post’s intention. I need to acknowledge one important thing about myself:
I am a chicken.
My first post was so enthusiastic in tone, right? I was ecstatic to finally be embarking on this journey of publishing – creating a website, preparing my author social media, and finally getting ready to publish the book that’s been in progress (on and off) for four years. I was determined and incredibly excited.
And then… I panicked. In part, I panicked because of my disappointment over some cover design that I’d paid for (more on that in a minute). I got discouraged, irritated, and deflated about the whole self-publishing process. And then I had a bit of an identity crisis.
I haven’t spoken yet about my other work-in-progress, but I am currently working on a nonfiction biography of King Edward VI – a commissioned request by the UK publishing company Pen & Sword Books. This is a project I started back in February, and it’s something I’m tremendously excited about (despite how much work it is). I’ve been an established blogger of Tudor history for ten years. That period of time is a huge passion of mine, and writing Tudor books – both fiction and nonfiction – has been a dream for many years.
But now that I am contractually-bound to write this biography of Edward VI, and I am trying to self-publish a contemporary romance/suspense novel, I’ve worried myself. What are readers going to think of me? Is it going to turn history people off that I am also writing romance/suspense? Is it going to make my Tudor writing appear less credible? Will I appear silly, flighty, random (a jack of all trades, master of none)? Since I am legally required now to publish this Edward VI biography (there’s no going back!), it made me wonder if I should halt progress on WILD HEARTS. Maybe it isn’t meant to be published, I thought. Maybe I’m supposed to only focus on my history writing.
And so, I dropped WILD HEARTS publishing progress entirely. I abandoned my website, avoided thinking about that disastrous cover situation, and decided to throw myself wholeheartedly into Tudor writing. I started writing a novel set in 16th-century England (which I’m really excited about), and decided that WILD HEARTS would be no more than writing practice – saved on my desktop, never to be read by anyone other than myself (and the kind woman who helped me proofread/edit it).
But not only am I a chicken…
I am indecisive.
I can’t let WILD HEARTS go. I love this story. I love my characters, my setting, and the feeling I get when I consider that other people might also read it and love it. I’m nervous to publish it – afraid of criticism, of failure – but also really proud of what I’ve already accomplished just by writing it. And while I’m incredibly disappointed by the amount of money I spent on the original cover design (by a designer who shall remain nameless), I didn’t quit there.
Which brings me to the main point of this blog post. WILD HEARTS officially has a cover! Thanks to the incredible design services of Natalie Keller Reinert (a fabulous author of several equestrian fiction books), I’m so pleased and proud to share with you the cover artwork for my novel:
This is exactly what I had envisioned. The Rocky Mountain vista, the beautiful image of a woman and (what I’m choosing to believe is a) mustang, the typography… it all screams exactly what I want the cover of WILD HEARTS to scream. It transports you to the gorgeous landscape of the Rocky Mountain foothills of Montana, and the soft silhouette below gives a romantic and tranquil quality, juxtaposed by the font that doesn’t necessarily shout ‘romance’. This story has layers, and they’re captured here in this cover. I’m so excited, and so so thankful to Natalie for her great work on this!
Natalie is also kindly working on some promotional materials and images to use around the website and on social media, which I’m really looking forward to seeing. I’ll be sharing more soon, and in the meantime I will be actively working to finish formatting my WILD HEARTS manuscript for publication. Let’s hope I don’t have another identity crisis or panic attack about setting this novel loose into the world. (Just kidding… I am determined this time that I will really do it!)
It will be worth it once it’s out there, right? 🙂
Thanks for reading and following along with me. More to come soon.
-Stephanie
STEPHANIE KLINE 