I first saw the cover for Stay with Me (which releases in just a week and a half!) back in September of last year. My editor emailed the cover art to me and here’s a quote from the email I sent her in response. “Oh my goodness! I love it! I absolutely adore it. I’m so happy! Bravo, to Jenny and the design team. I really think they nailed this one. The model looks exactly like my heroine. Even her hair is perfect! The photo is light, bright, modern, and very romantic.”
Can you tell that I was a wee bit excited?
My editor shared in my excitement and sent me these wonderful photos, taken the day of the cover shoot. I’m so pleased to have the chance to show them to you today!
L to R: Kristen Larson (Art/Design Coordinator), Hair and Make-up Artist, Jennifer Parker (Senior Graphic Artist)
Cover model, Sami.
For this cover shoot, Bethany House asked the modeling agency if they had a real-life couple who matched the character descriptions I’d submitted. They did! Paul and Sami. I still can’t get over how much Sami resembles my heroine, Genevieve.
The gentleman on the right is Paul Higdon (Creative Director)
Mike Habermann (Photographer) in action
During the shoot, the team took breaks from time to time to study the photographs in order to ensure they were capturing the look and feel they hoped to achieve.
These two are unbelievably cute together!
They moved outdoors for a portion of the shoot.
Happy sigh. This photo does my romance writer’s heart good.
Jennifer Parker went to work on the photographs produced during the shoot and emerged with this final result….
She added washes of pastel color, spots of light, additional highlights to Sami’s hair (so that it matches my character’s hair style), as well as fabulous fonts. I’m still as happy with it as I was the first time I saw it last fall.
If you’d like to pre-order Stay with Me click here! To learn more about the book (including a peek at the back cover copy, a link to an excerpt, a video of me introducing my dog named Sam to my hero named Sam) click here.
What do you think of the cover shoot photos?
Becky Wade
Latest posts by Becky Wade (see all)
- A First! - May 23, 2025
- #LiftMyStack Challenge! - May 9, 2025
- Becky’s Favorites - April 27, 2025
I always enjoy these behind the scenes posts!
I’m glad! It’s become a fun tradition!
Nice cover!
Thank you!
It looks much prettier when the girl turns to the camera. It looks more natural than the couple looking at each other.
Yes, in all of these photos the couple are striking a pose in which they’re looking at each other. I agree with you, the photo they ended up using of her looking directly at the camera is my favorite because it is more natural. It’s striking. And it conveys the emotion behind the title, “stay with me,” very well.
I love your cover, love seeing the process, and especially love that the couple on the cover is also a couple in real life! No wonder the spark between them seems so genuine in the photo.
I know! It’s so sweet to have a real life couple featured. The spark they captured in the photo truly is genuine. 🙂
The words that come to my mind as I look at the cover are “young, fresh, and sweet”! (Keep in mind that I’m 72, so young fits.) I love the cover! Looking forward to reading the book.
“Young, fresh, and sweet” are great descriptors!
Absolutely beautiful!! Can’t wait to read the book!
Thanks, Kathy!
What do I think?? A. Dor. Able! I just finished “Take A Chance On Me” yesterday, and I can’t wait to find out more about the mysterious Sam Turner. And the fact that he’s Australian already has me giddy with anticipation. And THAT shirt the Sam model is wearing…aye yi yi!! Beautiful couple, beautiful cover and know it’ll be a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing.
Writing an Australian hero was a first for me! It proved challenging because I had a hard time overcoming my American-ness enough to make him talk and think like an authentic Australian. Australian blogger Rel Mollet of RelzReviewz stepped in, very graciously read the manuscript, and provided lots of help.
I always look forward to your behind-the scenes posts of your cover photo shoots, and I am so looking forward to this book! The models on your last two books looked just like I imagined the sisters to look like after reading True to You – the team does such a fantastic job . Thank you for sharing!
In my Bradford Sisters series, the model for Falling for You, especially, looked just like Willow. 🙂 I submit inspiration photos for my characters as well as descriptions of the characters’ personalities and appearance. The team at Bethany House is dedicated to bringing those characters to life accurately. I’m grateful!
Its fascinating to see the before, during, and after photos. Love the transformation! The final image is perfect! Congratulations!
Thank you, Angie!
Becky – Your behind-the-scenes-of-the-cover-shoot posts are my absolute favorite! And I adore how so many of your covers feature models who are couple in real life. That chemistry just shines through. This is another winner for sure!
You’re right! Every one of my covers that features a couple (except My Stubborn Heart) features a real life couple. I love that, too. 🙂
Just ordered. The cover is great!
Thanks so much, Betty!
Beautiful! And I love that they are a real life couple. It shows!
I agree! In the final cover image, there’s a sense of closeness and trust between them.
Nice to have a great team backing you up! Congratulations; it looks like a wonderful story.
Thanks! You’re right — it’s so nice to have a great team behind me.
It is always so fun and amazing to see what goes in to a cover shoot! This cover is fabulous!!!!
I love it, too!
Super fun post, friend! And, I ADORE your cover.
Thanks, Dani! 🙂
What a fun post, Becky! I always love seeing behind the scenes for your books. Excited to read your book when it releases. The cover is gorgeous too!
I love seeing behind the scenes of the cover shoot, too! It’s a bit like watching my characters come to life.
Thank you for sharing the process with us. It is so interesting and meaningful when we finally get to see the cover in print.
You’re welcome!
I love hearing about cover shoots! This cover is beautiful!!! Can’t wait to read the book.
Thank you, Anne!
That is so cool they had a real life couple. It’s really neat to see the behind the scenes. Thank you.
My pleasure!
I love it when you share about the making of your covers, Becky! I wholeheartedly agree that this is a fantastic cover! I still love it!