I’ve been mooching recently and some of my mooches have been arriving and finding spots in my bookshelves. I’m still waiting on a couple of others so I’ll tell you about those later but want to hear what I got?

• The Sound of Us by Sarah Willis. I’m not sure when/how this book ended up on my wish list but I do like the sound of it. Here’s a bit from the synopsis: Alice Marlowe accepts her life the way it is. She is single, in her late forties, lives with a cat named Sampson, and has imaginary conversations with her dead twin brother. As a sign-language interpreter for the deaf, she is used to standing between people, facilitating their conversations with each other. But then a late-night phone call brings a beautiful, scared six-year-old girl into her life. And seeing herself through a child’s eyes for the first time, she discovers that love is a universal language.
• Mendocino and Other Stories by Ann Packer. After listening to Ann Packer at the Texas Book Festival a couple of weeks ago I knew I had to read something else by her. I thought her book The Dive From Clausen’s Pier was thought-provoking so I’m curious how this book will compare.
• Booked to Die by John Dunning. A series featuring a tough homicide detective who also happens to be a booklover. Oh this sounds very good already. I may just have to bump this one up and choose it as one of my reads for the First in a Series challenge.

And, you know what else arrived in the mail recently? Half Price Books coupons. Good times ahead!

One series I’ve gotten quite hooked on is Karen Olson’s Annie Seymour series. Annie is a sassy and smart New Haven journalist who gets up to a lot of antics in this mystery series. I started reading this series last year when Karen was doing a blog tour and have really enjoyed getting to know her characters. I’m excited that Karen is stopping by my blog today as part of her latest blog tour. Her newest book, SHOT GIRL, is just out and it’s another exciting entry in the series. Watch for my review soon. In the meantime, read up on how Karen’s latest book got its cover:

On more than one occasion, I’ve visited this blog and seen Iliana’s beautiful books that she creates. The pages inside are blank, but it is the cover that makes me want to open one and see what I can put inside.

Book covers are so important. An author will write a book and then will be on pins and needles wondering just what sort of cover the publisher will decide on for it. A reader will wander a bookstore and covers, not the words, will catch their eye. The covers must “pop,” as my editor so aptly puts it, so someone will reach up and take the book off the shelf.

I remember getting that first book cover from my editor. I saw the subject line in my email and quickly clicked on the attachment. The cover for SACRED COWS was so perfect, so simply perfect, with its cow and gun and beautiful typestyle against the palest of yellow. I fell in love with it immediately.

Because publishers like to keep the book covers in a series looking the same so readers will be able to distinguish it from another, SECONDHAND SMOKE’s cover followed suit with blue this time and the flames. Again, I loved it.

But I was faced with something different for DEAD OF THE DAY. I was with a new publisher, even though I was still working with the same editor on the same series, and the publisher wanted to give the series a new look. The first cover that I received just wasn’t right. It didn’t convey the feeling of the book in the right way, and my editor was kind enough to humor me. The cover that they came up with the second time around was exactly right, better than the other two, in my opinion.

And now there’s SHOT GIRL, Annie Seymour’s fourth adventure. And this cover is my favorite. It is in keeping with DEAD OF THE DAY, and the bullet hole in glass is the best touch. I love that the girl on the cover is mysteriously pretty, that the man behind her has his back to her. When you read the book, you’ll be able to tell right away why this cover is perfect for this story.

I know people who buy books based on the covers. I like a nice cover, but I’ve only really bought one book because the cover grabbed me. It was ONE RED PAPERCLIP, and it was a plain white cover with a small, raised red paperclip on the cover. That was it. Simple and intriguing. I bought the book and loved it.

Have you ever bought a book based on the cover?

Karen

** Thank you Karen for stopping by my blog and telling us about the whole book cover experience. I know, I can definitely be lured to a book by a pretty cover. And, yes, I think SHOT GIRL’s cover is just right!

**SHOT GIRL is the fourth book in the Annie Seymour series. You can also find out more about Karen’s upcoming blog tour stops and other projects by checking out her website, www.kareneolson.com and her blog www.firstoffenders.typepad.com.