The cover shoot for Turn to Me took place around eight months ago. The novel released last week. And TODAY I get to share behind-the-scenes photos + give away a fun set of gifts!
Here Senior Graphic Designer Jennifer Parker discusses wardrobe options with the Hair and Make-up Stylist. In my cover design questionnaire, I’d explained that Finley dresses with BoHo flair and gravitates toward lots of jewelry. In my experience with Bethany House Publishers, they work diligently to stay true to an author’s vision of her characters. They want to avoid the thing that drives so many readers crazy — people on a cover who don’t match the description of those people the author provides.
The jewelry choices they brought to the set! As you can see, they one again found items with a BoHo vibe.
Bryant, the model portraying Luke on the cover, was hired through a modeling agency. His fiance, Ellie, is a Criminal Analyst who gamely agreed to pose with him!
From the time Bryant and Ellie were booked for the job, the Bethany House staff knew Ellie’s blond hair wouldn’t work on the cover because Finley has long black hair and bangs. A wig to the rescue! The team sent me a photo of this wig before they purchased it, which I appreciated. I was able to say, “Yep! That’s what Finley’s hair looks like.”
I love this shot! The monitor shows how the team is able to check the photos as they’re coming in to determine if they’re achieving the look they want. You can see Paul Higdon, Creative Director (in the hat), in the background. Beyond that, Bryant and Ellie are standing in front of a white backdrop.
Note that Bryant’s wardrobe and appearance is also on point! On my questionnaire, I’d stated that Luke has “scruff” on his cheeks and often wears a black leather jacket.
Bryant and Ellie were boyfriend/girlfriend at the time of the shoot and recently got engaged. (They’re adorable! You can learn more about them and their relationship by reading my interview with them here.)
Their cover turned out beautifully! I’ve been fortunate to have many wonderful covers but this one is among my top favorites. The pose is romantic, just like my books. And the photo captures chemistry between them, just like I tried to do within Turn to Me’s pages.
Here’s the finished cover….
To read the first two chapters and meet Luke and Finley, click here. To order a copy for yourself, click here!
What do you think of the cover shoot photos?
I offered this same giveaway back in the fall, on the day I revealed this cover. This set of prizes was popular, so I thought I’d bring them back (subbing in items with spring colors) to celebrate Turn to Me’s release!
I’m grateful for my readers. Thanks so much for supporting my novels and keeping in touch with me through this blog and social media. 🙂
CONGRATS TO BECKY WESTBERRY — WINNER OF THE THIS GIVEAWAY. MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!
Becky Wade
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Love the behind the scenes info!
What a perfect couple❤
They were so kind to spend time answering my interview questions!
I wonder if they will keep a copy of this book and share it with their children some day!
I so appreciate the artistry of the people who design all these gorgeous covers!
I hope so! It would be so much fun to say to their kids one day, “Mom and Dad posed on the front of a book back in the day.” 🙂
I’m reading Turn to Me now and loving it! The book cover definitely has chemistry between the two models as do the two characters in the book. Great job!
I’m so happy to hear you’re loving it! Thanks for reading Turn to Me, Suzanne!
I love that BHP takes BTS photos at their cover sessions. It’s always fun to see the different options they could have gone with. And like Melissa, I always wonder if the cover models have a copy of your book on their shelves.
They’ve been great about taking BTS photos and forwarding them to me. I’m always fascinated to get a glimpse into the cover creation process!
I would keep one, wouldn’t you, Joy?
Most definitely! I’d probably ask the author to sign it for me too!
This is such a great peek behind the curtain! How exciting it must have been for you to receive these pictures. We’ll done BHP!
So exciting!It’s like getting a peek at my characters coming to life.
Very interesting and informative. Love the pictures. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by, Betty!
I love that you’ve used actual couples on the covers for this series. For some reason this really draws me to this series. And this third book is my favorite cover. I love how much love is super evident in Bryant’s face, but I really love the look Ellie is giving to Bryant. You can tell this couple really likes (loves) each other. So cute!!!
I’m glad to hear this cover is your favorite! I couldn’t agree more about this cover capturing real chemistry. Both their expressions are perfect!
I love seeing how your covers evolve. However, I do like the girl better with blonde hair, even though Finley has dark hair. Just my opinion. But the way he’s looking at her is so precious.
“the way he’s looking at her is so precious.” I think so, too!
I always enjoy your cover model stories and interviews!
Thanks!!
I love your covers and reading about the cover models before the book actually comes out. How the team changes their style to match the characters is really great. Love reading and seeing these pictures of how it happened. Also I LOVED the book1 It was great like all your books! I discovered you via a zoom interview you did with Denise Hunter and author authors during pandemic and have since read all your books and await the new ones!
Jeanne, I’m happy to hear that you discovered my books thanks to a Zoom chat during the pandemic! Those Zoom chats were such a blessing back in those days — a way to “socialize” while isolated. Thanks so much for reading Turn to Me. 🙂
It’s so much fun to see what goes on behind the scenes! I can’t wait to read this latest in the series! Congrats!
Thanks!
It’s a great cover. Makes me all that more excited to read their story.
I think wonderful covers really do give readers a sense of anticipation about a story. I hope you enjoy Turn to Me!
Thank you!
This is so interesting…what love and care was put into the cover.
My daughter will enjoy reading this too. She has always paid particular attention to book covers, even more so than I 🙂. We love when the character (or characters) on the front cover looks like the one described in the book! It’s possible we may have occasionally “judged a book by its cover” 😉.
Thank you for sharing this information…I will appreciate the story even more for having read this 🥰!
“We love when the character (or characters) on the front cover looks like the one described in the book” Amen and amen! An army of readers share that opinion. 😉
What a fun post! I absolutely love the cover, it’s beautiful!
Thanks, Stacy!
Love the cover! I kind of had the opinion at first that the guy had a cocky attitude but in the cover shot he ecudes caring and gentleness
Yes! He does exude caring and gentleness. I agree. 🙂
Wow!
The cover is smokin hot!
I had no idea so much went into making
covers for books.
We have your books in the church library.
Happy Reading!
Yay! Thanks for stopping by, Janet!
What a magnificent gift you also gave to this young couple. They will cherish the memory and the photo forever.