Cover Up!

There's a lot of talk about book covers. What's hot, what's been overdone, what doesn't work, and so on. Some covers are iconic and recognizable without a single word: a cross and people know it's the Bible. A golden colored bear with a red vest is obviously Winnie the Pooh. And yes, the hands holding the apple on a black background is Twilight.

Have you seen our cover? If not, I'll cry, but let me help you out, here it is:

But that's not the way it looked initially: it looked like this:

Why the change? While we loved the first cover, it was too dark for our humorous book. And we were told that teens didn't like it, hence the second, lighter cover. Which do you like better?

And now, the release of the cover for Sirenz Back in Fashion.

There are two emotions about this change. One is that this is a good thing: it will freshen up the look, maybe increasing sales beyond estimations by drawing in new readers. It's lighter and gives a hint about what's inside; a story with two very different girls, a Greek aspect, and fun. The other is that it won't match the first one and since this is a series, the first fans won't recognize the sequel.

The editor and publisher design the cover and while we're asked what we think would look good, the decision is theirs. That's the industry. I look at it this way: at least there is a second book, the Canadian artist (I will insert her name here, I have to dig through emails to find it) did a beautiful job, and there was a lot of thought put into it. Right now there is a controversy because a number of book covers are finding that their cover model (and sometimes the same dress and pose) was used for another book, making them both so similar, it will confuse readers which book they were looking for. That's a marketing nightmare--like telling which one is the clone, which is the original. We don't have that problem, for which I am immensely grateful.

No matter what, that's our cover and we're sticking with it.

Char

Follow The Yellow Brick Road...

Well, not really. But follow me over to my new blog, www.charlotteebennardo.blogspot.com. (Note the extra 'e' between Charlotte and Bennardo. Yes, it's my middle initial, no, I will not tell you. And it's NOT Esmerelda, no matter what the hubby says.)

Had trouble with this blog, abandoned it, started new one, and that's where the action is, so come on over (especially Anne from the Christmas ornament store, but everyone else too!)

Let's talk!

Char

Good Tidings of Karma

I was scrolling through the notifications on my smart phone and finally realized that I had comments from the other blog (charlottebennardo.blogspot.com, which I don't use anymore because of ISSUES. That's why I'm here.) I'm not ignoring anyone, I'm just technologically impaired.

What was interesting was a comment from Anne. Time travel backward about a year ago. Nat & I are Christmas shopping, excited about Sirenz coming out in just under six months. We're giddy, giggly and definitely doing the girly thing- we're at the mall. I drag her into an ornament store, you know the ones: they're there from right after Halloween until the day after Christmas and have hundreds, maybe thousands of ornaments that can be personalized. Right away, we felt the 'good Karma' because the first ornament we see is a Starbucks coffee cup (looked Venti sized to me--perfect!) with the name "Meg." In Sirenz, Meg and Shar are always drinking hot caffeinated libations. The next ornament that caught my eye was a diamond engagement ring in a Tiffany blue box. What did Hades give Shar? (This will come back to haunt her in Sirenz Back in Fashion...) We found a number of ornaments that fit into Sirenz. So of course I bought a lot of them. My tree is going to fall over under the staggering weight.

Fast forward to a few months ago, and Anne, the saleswoman from the ornament store, comments under the first blog, What Dreams May Come. She remembered us and our book, and was so excited to see the book debut. She hopes we'll find her again and say hello.

Well how mystical is that? A lot of people must come in and tell their Christmas story about what a certain ornament means to them, but she remembered us? It's enough to make you cry with joy. Anne, I hope you find my new blog and say hello here (I will try to find you on the other one and bring you over, but me + technology = nightmares. Look for the debut of our website, www.thesirenz.com). Nat and I will be back--to say hello, thank you for remembering us, bring you some swag, and yes, buy more ornaments. After all, there are 3, maybe 4 books in the series.

And to Katia, I'm not forgetting you! Your comment on my post, I'm Not Laughing about loving the humor of Sirenz and agreeing with my lament that we need more humor in our oft-times depressing society put a smile on my face. We will definitely continue the humor in the rest of the books, so stay tuned for more laughs!

Keep the comments coming, I will get to them. Know that I am reading them and look forward to hearing from my readers (and you don't have to agree!). Sometimes it takes me awhile to remember all the intricacies of blogging and building websites and everything technological, but I will get there!

Char