For the past month now, I’ve been getting up early to work on my new mystery novel that has a splash of the supernatural in it.
Well, I was plugging away on the book, that is, until 1) I got a nasty cold, and 2) we had family visit and I got knocked off schedule. But I’d planned for the second option (and we had a great visit with family from in and out of state), and my plan is to be up and running again tomorrow. Typing away in the early hours as usual…
One thing I did in some of my downtime in the past few weeks was work on a couple of covers for the new book, which is still called The Finder Team.
I’d love to get your thoughts on which cover you prefer, so here are your two options (click on a cover to see a bigger version):
NOTE: The first five people to comment with their preferred cover either here or on the UnWrecked Press Facebook page get a coupon code for a free ebook from the UnWrecked Press store! Thanks for your help!
To help you decide which one fits better, here’s the synopsis, which has changed quite a bit from the first version I started back in April:
Sometimes those who can’t be found just might not be lost…
Henry “Hanky J” Johnson and Bim Mayer have spent the past two decades successfully solving mysteries and—almost miraculously, in many instances—finding missing people in the remote mountain town of Boone, North Carolina. Until now.
Their most recent case deals with an outbreak of missing elderly people, all of whom used to teach at nearby Appalachian State University. With the help of Shelby, a sharp new private investigator Hanky J just hired, they soon learn that the absent old folks all have something else in common: they’re all connected to someone with deep, dark ties to both Bim and Hanky J.
The friendship of the two men will be tested, and their lives will be put on the line during the chaotic five days in late winter it takes them—and all the other members of the “finder team”—to try to resolve this mystery, before another life is lost, for good.
So, based on that brief information, which cover do you like best? #1 or #2? Take the poll, above, and let your voice be heard. And thanks!
Michael Jasper 
Mike- I prefer the first cover because I love the fact that the house is hidden behind trees, which makes it more mysterious and a little different than the usual cliched “haunted house” image. However, I think the house needs more of a color contrast or more of a black and white contrast, with the trees so that it is a bit more obvious that it’s there. My other comment is that calling this Book One of a ” New Mystery Series” won’t work very well when Books 2 and 3 are out as the series is no longer “new.” Also, it should be, and is, apparent from the cover art that this is a mystery. Instead, I think you should come up with an overarching series title so this can be Book 1 in the XYZ series, or Book 1 of the XYZ Mysteries. Lastly, I’ve been writing and rewriting my own query letter to agents in the past month, and that’s given me some thoughts on the sort of synopsis you’ve written. I’d be happy to taking a stab at trying to improve it if you’d like. Of course, you’re under no obligation to use what I write and I certainly wouldn’t take offense if you ignored some or all of it. This would be helpful for me as I’d get some practice in writing this sort of thing, which I can use. Anyway, best of luck to you. -Rosie
> On August 16, 2014 at 6:28 PM Michael Jasper > wrote: > > Michael Jasper posted: “For the past month now, I’ve been getting up early to > work on my new mystery novel that has a splash of the supernatural in it. > Well, I was plugging away on the book, that is, until 1) I got a nasty cold, > and 2) we had family visit and I got knocked of” >
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Thanks, Rosie! Great feedback. The covers and the synopsis are all VERY first draft, but I wanted to share, just to get me back in the mindset of the novel again. Any feedback is always great. Thanks again! Also, please send your email to me at mjasper@gmail.com for your coupon!
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I can see why you need help choosing one. BOTH are very good looking covers, but I think I like #2 best.Grampy Leeacwa@netscape.com — comment-reply@wordpress.com wrote:From: Michael Jasper <comment-reply@wordpress.com>To: acwa@netscape.comSubject: [New post] The Finder Team: Take 2Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 22:28:49 +0000
Michael Jasper posted: “For the past month now, I’ve been getting up early to work on my new mystery novel that has a splash of the supernatural in it.
Well, I was plugging away on the book, that is, until 1) I got a nasty cold, and 2) we had family visit and I got knocked of”
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Thanks, Grampy! Check your email for your coupon code.
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