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March 31, 2008

Cover Model for DEEP IN THE HEART OF TROUBLE

We had so much fun interviewing the cover model for Courting Trouble, that I thought it would be fun to do it again for Deep in the Heart of Trouble. But, unless the model emails me to tell me she's on my book, I have no way of contacting her.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I found out last month that Carissa Points, the afternoon receptionist at Bethany House, was the cover model! (I'm sure you can see from her photo why the Art Designer, Jennifer Parker, asked her if she'd model--she's beautiful! And sweet, too!)

Anyhoo, I immediately contacted her and asked her if she would be game for an interview. She very graciously said she would. So ... may I introduce you to Carissa Points.

How did the opportunity for you to model for the cover of DEEP IN THE HEART OF TROUBLE come about?
Well, I actually work for Bethany House Publishers. I’m the Rights Assistant and I’m also the afternoon Receptionist. One afternoon Jenny came up to me and asked me if I would be up for helping them with a book cover by possibly being on it. I said sure and a few days later Jenny had everything set up, and just like that I was balancing on a bike getting my picture taken!

Have you been on the cover of other books or is this your first?
This was my first book cover. However, after shooting the cover for Deep in the Heart of Trouble, Jenny asked me to help her out with another cover, the repackage of A Searching Heart by Janette Oke. So I’m on one other cover as well.

What was involved with this shooting? Can you walk us through it?
Well, we shot the photos at a studio in downtown Minneapolis. As soon as we got there I went through the process putting the dress on, and we did finishing touches with hair, make-up, jewelry… Then I got to observe as Jenny [the designer], Paul [the art director] and the photographer decided how the bike should be positioned, how I should be positioned and so on. Once they had that figured out, they had to devise a way to get me (in the very full, very heavy dress and heels) up onto the high seat of the bike.

They ended up putting a wooden crate next to the bike and, with the help of several people, I managed to get seated on the bike. Finally up there, I had to balance for quite awhile as Paul and Jenny (and a few assistants) pinned the dress just so, positioned the veil, and set my feet on the pedals, my hands on the handlebars … After they had everything to their liking, they started taking the photos. It took a few hours, but eventually they got all the shots they wanted.

When you modeled for this cover, had you already read Courting Trouble?
Yes, and it was great!

Anything funny or out of the ordinary happen while shooting this cover?
One moment more than any other really sticks out in my mind, and I’m pretty sure this would qualify as a funny moment! We were in the middle of the shoot, actually taking pictures when the photographer asked me to lean forward a little more and turn so that I was looking back. I was already precariously perched on that bike, but when I tried to follow the photographer’s directions, the bike (and me on it!) tipped right over! Luckily, I was able to unearth my foot from beneath all those skirts to stop my descent before I would have face-planted on the studio floor. lol. Let’s just say that I was a little shaky after that and someone had to physically hold up the bike from the front for me!

How did you ride a bicycle during the shoot?
The bike was actually stationary the entire time of the shoot. There was a stand that the front tire was put in to hold it up and to keep it from moving. Apparently back when this bike was made (late nineteenth- early twentieth century, I think?) kick stands weren’t invented yet!

Tell us about the wedding dress.
Warm. Heavy. Beautiful. It was a very intricate dress. There were layers and layers of underskirts, and the top layers were a satin underlay and a lace overlay. You can see on the cover that the lace had some beautiful detail and flower patterns, especially on the front, the sleeves and the bottom of the skirt. And WOW, the skirt on that thing was HUGE! I remember at one point during the pinning up process, people actually disappeared beneath it! That was a little awkward! lol

How many different poses were there?
There were quite a few different poses on the bike that were minimally different. Looking forward or back, and leaning certain ways. They did totally mix it up at the end by having me get off the bike and stand next to it, like I was walking along with it.

Anything else you’d like to add?
Not really, just that it was a great experience!

Thanks to Carissa for this wonderful insight into the world of cover-making! She may be lurking, so if you have any questions, perhaps she'll come out of hiding and answer them for you (if she has time).

Within the next couple of weeks we will be interviewing Jennifer Parker--the gal who actually designed the cover. So, stay tuned.

DON'T FORGET: Anyone who leaves a comment on our blog this week has a chance to win an Advanced Reading Copy of DEEP IN THE HEART OF TROUBLE. We will hold a drawing on Friday, then start all over again. (See all the details on the previous post.)

***

THE CHAT ROOM IS BACK! IT IS UP! AND IT IS WORKING PROPERLY!

PRAISE THE LORD!!

posted by Deeanne on 03/31/2008 - 44 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

March 28, 2008

Technical Difficulites & Your Chance To Win

This seems to be our week for technical difficulties. The podcast I mentioned on Monday is still defunct and in addition to that, hackers tried to get into some sites that our server hosts. To stop them, our host shut down all sites on their server--including the Chat Room.

We were hoping we'd be up and running by now. Maybe by the end of the day?

In the meanwhile, the Advance Reading Copies (ARCs) for Deep in the Heart of Trouble have come in. These ARCs have two major purposes:

They are sent to bookstore owners in the hopes that they will read it and like what they read. Then, when they receive boxes of the actual book, they will recognize it and give it good store placement and recommend it to their customers.

They are also sent to reviewers. These reviewers read the ARCs and write reviews--which, Lord willing, will create some buzz and encourage readers to buy the book.

As a courtesy, the publisher sends a handful of these ARCs to the author for her to use for promotional purposes. When I receive them, I do two things:

I send an ARC to the Chat Room moderators (Barb, Jenster, Angela & Deb).

I institute a contest on my blog where anyone who leaves a comment of any kind has a chance to win an ARC.

So, from now until DEEP is released (or until I run out of ARCs--whichever comes first), we will be having a contest:

Leave a comment on my blog and at the end of 7 days, the computer will randomly pick a winner from all the commenters. We will email that winner and ask them for their mailing address, announce them on the blog and then send them an ARC of Deep in the Heart of Trouble. (Only those living in the Continental US are eligible to win.   Sorry. I just don't have the funds to send to places like Mozambique.)

Our contest starts today. Winners will be picked next Friday, then we'll wipe the slate clean and start all over again. So, leave a comment and ... Good luck!

posted by Deeanne on 03/28/2008 - 47 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

March 24, 2008

Podcast

KTRH in the Houston area has posted a podcast with me and the "Bookmark This!" host, Tracee Evans. We talked about Courting Trouble, Deep in the Heart of Trouble and the reaction to both. To listen to the interview, click here.

P.S. They were having technical difficulties this morning. I'll erase this "P.S." when all is in working order.

posted by Deeanne on 03/24/2008 - 14 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

March 17, 2008

New Prologue to DEEP IN THE HEART OF TROUBLE

Well, the manuscript for DEEP IN THE HEART OF TROUBLE is in and typeset and ready for the printing press. Back in May when I was first working on it, I posted a rough draft of the prologue in the Chat Room.

Y'all gave your thoughts and suggestions. I also gave it to my sister--who hated it. Said she felt like I was keeping her at arm's length. She also wanted me to set the scene up before launching into the heart of the matter.

So, I took all that feedback, tweaked it, then asked my editor at BHP for her help. She had me do some fine tunings, and wal-la. I have a new and improved Prologue ready for publication.

Come to the Chat Room to have a sneak peek at the real Prologue that will appear in the book (now that it's all spit-and-polished).

Hint: Once you get to the Chat Room, find the topic:"Prologue for DEEP IN THE HEART OF TROUBLE" and click on it.

posted by Deeanne on 03/17/2008 - 7 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

March 10, 2008

Cute Tools

This Christmas I went to Home Depot in search of some "cute" tools. You know, something pink or flowery or something. The man I asked snorted and said, "We don't have anything like that."

I've been on the lookout ever since and mentioned it last month in the comment section of "If Women Controlled the World." I should have known to ask you first! Because one of our regulars, Katybug, posted a link where I could order not only pink tools, but a pink toolbox to go with it.

I did so right away and they have arrived. They aren't as heavy duty as the tools they sell at Home Depot, but they are perfectly acceptable for my purposes. And not only are they pretty, but no one else in the house has any desire to be seen using them. So, I won't have any trouble keeping up with them.

Thanks, Katybug! I love them.

posted by Deeanne on 03/10/2008 - 10 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

March 03, 2008

The Nonfiction Side of Me

I'm not too sure how many of you know this, but when my kids were little I invented a chore system that would help them do their chores without being reminded or reprimanded. It worked so well all the kids on the block wanted one (along with their mothers).

So, I ended up packaging it and selling it.

What an adventure that was. I started by looking up "plastic" in the phonebook (I needed plastic cards, kind of like credit cards without anything printed on them). By the time it was all said and done, my project was being made in China!

When I signed a contract with Bethany House to write a book a year, I licensed my project to a third-party who now manufactures, sells, packs & ships them.

If you want to check it out, you can do so by going to www.IDidMyChores.com.

posted by Deeanne on 03/03/2008 - 9 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

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