Tag Archives: Medals in the Attic

February 21, 2010 · 7:09 am

Cover Story

When an author gets that first glimpse of her new book cover, it’s a lot like seeing your new-born baby for the first time. You’ve waited so long for this…anticipating what it will be, wondering how it will look. Will it reflect my vision of the heart of the story?  Will it look like me?

Last month, I received the mock-up of the cover for my second book, a cozy mystery titled Medals in the Attic. There was an immediate bonding of author to cover and a kind of delicious delight overwhelmed me. This cover would represent the story, the reader’s invitation to the drama first played out in my head and later transferred to the page. And it was beautiful! (Stevie Wonder’s song, “Isn’t She Lovely” comes to mind, though that might be overkill.)

Medals in the Attic Cover

Medals in the Attic Cover

As I lingered, looking at the exquisite artwork, why was I surprised by its loveliness? After all, the first book in the Annie’s Attic Mystery Series, Lady in the Attic, was gorgeous. The publishing house, DRG, had done a quality job in every way. Should I expect less for my book?

When I emailed my cover jpg to my agent, she replied, “It’s a stunning cover, Cathy…I’d pick the book up in a millisecond.”

Sah-weet, I thought, a permanent grin fixing itself on my face. She was right. This cover could entice any reader into Annie’s world…in a millisecond. My thanks to the folks at DRG for their amazing effort. If I was wearing a hat, it would be off to you.

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January 14, 2010 · 8:48 am

Filling Up the Cup

Along with missing the January 1st goal on my first blog post, I also was way behind sending out Christmas cards. In fact, it never happened. Again.

This was getting to be a habit, though my excuse this year was a good one. From the end of July until the 16th of December, I was writing (and rewriting) my new cozy mystery – Medals in the Attic – the second book in a continuity series. The time line for the project was incredibly fast and I spent almost every spare non-day-job-minute at my favorite coffee shop, typing on my keyboard, willing a mental growth-hormone into my manuscript.

All that writing…yet no time to write out Christmas cards. That troubled me, because it’s the only time of the year that I contacted some folks. What if I lost touch with some of them? Or maybe they would think I didn’t care about them. Not good. I couldn’t help but view my cup – or maybe that was a mug – as half-empty.

Once the book was completed and Christmas a memory, I decided to write out those pesky cards anyway. Dear ones wanted to know how my 90-year-old Mother was doing, I was sure. And coincidentally, I had a great new picture of my granddaughter to share. So I was really doing them a favor.

I found a couple boxes of cards on sale at T.J. Maxx and got busy. Dropping the completed stack into the mail box was a deep sigh moment for me. Nice! But still, I felt a bit embarrassed since they were so late. And they weren’t even Christmas cards. Would anyone mind? Another deep sigh.

Then, the other day I came home to a phone message from my cousin, Sam. “Got your Season’s Greetings card for next year and I wanted you to know how much I admire you for being so far ahead of everyone else!”

Wow. I hadn’t thought of it that way. But she does make sense, you know. I imagine myself kicking back, relaxing during the next Christmas season, knowing my cards are already sent. It’s a good feeling.

In fact, I think I see that half-empty cup starting to fill.

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