Gllian, thanks for the tip about Joel's site and competition. I'm going to look into that! And thanks for your positive reaction to the blog post!

I think you should submit your book cover to the monthly book cover evaluati/competition by Joel Friedlander. I have learned a great deal from him about cover design & fonts that helped me to know what I wanted when I had my covers created. http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2011/08/monthly-e-book-cover-design-awards/

Sorry Rich ... I'd just reread Howard's message and my tired brain put his name in my message to you. Thank you, Rich! My bad.

Howard, we're in the same camp. My designer and I tried to keep the full face, but she was getting lost ... and her face, specifically her eye(s) and the word "Blossom" needed to be the most dominant features on the cover. I'm a HUGE fan of eyes ... so telling, so expressive. I'd love to see the photo you described ... I bet it's a winner! Thanks.

Debbie, I love hearing how people react to Blossom's cover. When I'm doing a signing or simply handing out promotional bookmarks like I did at an antique store today, I'll ask people what they see in the cover before I give them the elevator pitch for the storyline. It's incredible what people see and interpret. And sometimes people see things ... or connect things ... that I didn't intend, but what they see is powerful. I truly appreciate your comments.

Looking back at your cover choices, I might have picked number 2, but I see why the best choice is number 4. The second one evokes more of a historical memoir and the last is more immediate, giving the reader an expectancy of experiencing the story as it happens rather than a recollection of events.

Thanks for sharing these pointers and good luck on your series.

To Howard's point, had the burning city scene been put in the background, over the girl's shoulder, her full face could have been kept, although it would have to be reduced in scale. The contrasts in tone between the two images--the low key, soft, alluring female image and the high key, hot, dangerous fire--would provide the tension desired. I would darken the fire somewhat. This would tend to make it look more distant and reinforce its secondary importance to the story. Sandwiching the images would add the compositional element of depth and eliminate the "slide show" nature of the cover: "here's a lovely lady, and oh! Frisco is burning!" Raising the fan (almost to the eyes) would increase the sense of mystery; lowering it (to reveal some of the mouth) would have the opposite effect. Changing from a full-frontal to an angular view would add mystery or aloofness. One of my most successful portraits had half the subject's face hidden by a raised collar. The viewer had no choice but to focus on the girl's eyes, which were evocative. This is a very thought-provoking post and thank you for sharing it.