Judging a book by its cover.

The old saying .... don't judge a book by it's cover. Raise your hand if you do this. I know it happens all the time.  I know I've done it before. I'm sure you've done it before as well. BUT, I have bought some books with some pretty bad covers and they turned out to be some of my favorite books! I try really hard to read a blurb and judge by that rather than the cover. Do I think a good cover brings you in…hell yeah I do. But I try to keep an open mind always!

One of my favorite parts of the process of publishing a book is doing the cover. It may be a photo that I bought from a photographer or it may be a photo that I had a photo shoot done just for that book. Both processes are equally fun and second to writing, is my favorite step of publishing a book.

When the cover reveal for Predestined Hearts came out everyone loved the photo. Looking back now, I wish I had known then what I know now. Not very many people like historical books ... therefore they will totally skip over a cover that has any sort of historical feel to it.

Predestined Hearts is a contemporary novel with a historical story weaved through out the book. I wrote the historical part and it changed my way of thinking. Truly it did. The story of Sophia and Daniel is by far my favorite story I've ever written. It made me laugh, it made me cry, but most importantly, it made me stop and go wow. This story changed me. Just how it changed me I don't think I could ever put into words. I was destroyed when I finished writing it. I see the change in my writing since writing PH.

Kristin and I were SO EXCITED to publish Predestined Hearts. It was a story we couldn't wait to share with the world.

You can imagine my surprise when I started getting emails and messages on Facebook from readers. They said things like, "I saw your new release but I hate historical so I'm going to pass." Or ... "I don't do historical. Please tell me you are not changing genres because I'll be very upset." Another one was,  "I normally buy everything you release, but this one is historical so I won't be buying it."

I was stunned that people would actually email and tell me they wouldn't buy the book without even taking the time to read the blurb. Yes. There is historical in this book, but it is not your traditional historical book. And while we are on that...OMG y'all. Historical books ROCK! They are my favorite genre by far!!! I dare you to read at least one. Sylvia Day's historical books…OMG. Rachel Van Dyken's Historical books…Raine Miller! I could go on!

Okay where was I? Oh yes...so Predestined Hearts has been getting AMAZING feedback from people. I mean the messages Kristin and I have been getting have brought me to tears. People are saying things like, "This is the best book I've ever read." "Best book of 2015!" "This is a must read for everyone."The reviews truly make my heart sore.

BUT… my heart broke a little with each message I got from people stating they would not even give the book a try. I even offered to gift it to them and they refused.

With as many messages and emails regarding the cover, Kristin and I had to make a very difficult decision. The cover of Predestined Hearts will be changed. We both fell in love with the current cover, but we also see how it is confusing people.

So this Friday, April 17, 2015 we will be revealing the NEW cover of Predestined Hearts. 

There are several people who have fallen in love with the story as well as the current cover. The historical cover on the paperback and the eBook will be left up until the evening of Thursday April 16, 2015.

Meanwhile, I say to those of you who truly do judge a book by it's cover, I dare you to pick a few books you would normally pass over and read the blurbs! You might be pleasantly surprised by the gem you stumble upon.

Happy reading y'all!

Kel

CURRENT COVER