The large-print hardcover (Thorndike Press) edition of my RITA-nominated A Family Forever goes on sale tomorrow. I had nothing to do with the cover design, and I must say I'm a little puzzled by it. Why's Shelby lifting her dress that way? And exactly whose hand is that on her bare belly? I know it can't be Tucker's, because he wears a wedding ring that matches hers.Kidding aside, while I can't say I'm offended by this cover, it does seem unusually sensual for an inspirational romance. Unless Shelby is wearing a very, very long top instead of a dress, that's her underwear we're seeing at the bottom of the picture. And have any of you inspy readers ever seen a man's hand caressing a bare belly (pregnant or not) on the cover of an inspirational romance novel? Just curious.
For those of you who are interested in how these things work, I'll explain: I have assigned rights to my copyrighted work to Steeple Hill Books. They, in turn, have granted reprint rights to Thorndike Press (yes, I will get a piece of that action). But Thorndike didn't (and doesn't usually) buy rights to use the cover image that Steeple Hill created, so they had to design their own cover.
Thorndike Press is the world's largest publisher of large-print hardcover books. They sell mainly to libraries because their big, honkin' books last practically forever. The books are popular not just with readers who need larger print, but also with adult literacy students and ESL classes.
You might have seen Thorndike books for sale in WalMart or Sam's club, but if you really want a copy of A Family Forever in large-print hardcover, your best bet is to order one from your favorite bookstore (just tell 'em it's ISBN 0786297069) or from this page at Amazon.
