Behind the Scenes: Original Cover

Prelude for a Lord (the extended version) releases on Amazon on December 2! You can buy it early at a discount from my website.

The current cover is actually the second version of the cover for this book. Here’s what the original cover from my publisher, Zondervan, looked like.

The original stock photo was of a blonde woman, and when I pointed out the error, the graphic designer at Zondervan did a nice job coloring her hair brown.

For the new cover, I kept the orange and blue colors but chose a model in profile rather than with her entire face hidden.

This new re-release is an extended version of the original book. Zondervan had a strict word count of 100,000 words, but my original manuscript was 120,000 words, so I had to cut 20,000 words.

But when I got my rights back and started planning to re-release it, I realized I could release the original manuscript before it was cut. So the version coming out is the uncut, extended version.

Here’s the back cover description:

Book One in the Gentlemen Quartet series

An awkward young woman. A haunted young man. A forbidden instrument. Can the love of music bring them together . . . or will it tear them apart?

Bath, England—1811

At twenty-eight, Alethea Sutherton is past her prime for courtship; but social mores have never been her forté. She might be a lady, but she is first and foremost a musician.

In Regency England, however, the violin is considered an inappropriate instrument for a lady. Ostracized by society for her passion, Alethea practices in secret and waits for her chance to flee to the Continent, where she can play without scandal.

But when a thief’s interest in her violin endangers her and her family, Alethea is determined to discover the enigmatic origins of her instrument . . . with the help of the dark, brooding Lord Dommick.

Scarred by war, Dommick finds solace only in playing his violin. He is persuaded to help Alethea, and discovers an entirely new yearning in his soul.

Alethea finds her reluctant heart drawn to Dommick in the sweetest of duets . . . just as the thief’s desperation builds to a tragic crescendo . . .

Buy Prelude for a Lord

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I’m done

Captain’s Log, Stardate 05.17.2006 Blog book giveaway: My Thursday book giveaway is THE PREACHER’S DAUGHER by Lyn Cote My Monday book giveaway is BLIND DATES CAN BE MURDER by Mindy Starns Clark . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for THE PREACHER’S DAUGHTER and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned. I’m done. At the beginning of the year, I made a goal of three books this year. That’s four months per book. I started this manuscript January 15th. I finished in the wee hours of May 17th, so it took me about four months, a day and a few hours. Yay me. I’m going to bed now. Yes, this is the espresso maker on the right, and a professional coffee grinder on the left. By the espresso maker, I mean the one I promised to my long-suffering husband if I got a book contract, as a reward for letting me quit my biotech job and write full-time.

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