Thanks to all who entered the “Capture the Cover” contest. I got what I wanted out of it. Namely, the fact that my cover carries a lot of the right information to readers.
“Storm over Savournon” is a historical novel about the effects of the French Revolution on a small village in the southeast corner of France. The village actually exists; I lived there while I was writing the book. It is the story of Alain, a lawyer’s son who falls in love with the daughter of the local seigneur, who lives most of the time in the high society of Grenoble. So the many responders who caught some kind of distance between the two were correct, it’s just that the distance was more social than spatial. The problem in the story is that Angélique falls in love, not with another man, but with the Revolution.
The winners, the mother-daughter team of Olena and Julia Chemeris, ought to be writers themselves, as their creativity outdid the plot of the book considerably. I think they also got a little help from Google Maps, but I can’t complain. Their entry is reproduced below.
Close runner-up was Candace Williams, who caught the metaphoric significance: storm/war/intrigue. She also put her finger on the Historical Novel/Romance problem I will have with marketing.
Apologies to Melissa Bowersock, who was too smart for her own good. The picture of Angélique is actually about a hundred years more modern than the era of the book, so Melissa’s guess of Regency Romance (early 1800s) should have been accurate. But it wasn’t, because tastes change. It is very difficult to find a portrait of a young woman from earlier eras who would be considered pretty today. The popular style of the 1800s seemed to be all tiny round faces with long noses, rosebud lips, long, slender necks and ghastly hairstyles. This portrait was by far the best I could find, and I hope the few readers who know the difference won’t let it bother them.
So, thanks to all who entered and congratulations to those who made such great analysis. Thanks also to those who trashed me for the artistic style contrast in the original cover. I had been fighting that problem with all the Photoshop resources at my command, but I couldn’t slip it past your eagle eyes.
Everyone who entered can expect a copy of the eBook when it comes out in January. As I write this post, a copy of the paperback is winging its way from Createspace to the Chemeris family.
The Winning Entry:
“This story took place in the late eighteenth century, in a town in the southeast corner of France known as Savournon. As reflected in the darkening sky, unforeseen consequences in the lives of young locals were about to unravel.
These two young people had spent their earlier days growing together. Their wealthy and well-known families around the city would have already pictured this young couple getting married. The young gentleman had dreamt of spending the rest of his days with the young lady. He saw no other future for himself, and the lady shared his vision for their future together until…
While away on a trip to Paris, this young lady met a young military officer and fell for him. His service to the French monarch in Paris would not allow the couple to see each other so only the letters that they wrote to each other every day would let them stay connected. The young gentlemen didn’t want the relationship between the two to continue and he mobilized all his thoughts to getting the lady’s heart back. It is in this book that the fates of these three lovers will be told…”
Julia and Olena Chemeris
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