Cover Love . . . With Maddie Please

This week I am delighted to welcome Maddie Please to my blog. Maddie lives in Devon, where she writes contemporary romantic comedies. Reviews mention her "engaging writing style and page-turning plots peopled by wonderfully memorable characters" and her "deft touch and great turn of phrase, making you chuckle at every turn of the page."

Today she is here to share her Cover Love for one of her books.

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I’ve had lovely book covers on all four of my published books. The first three were a cute, distinctive style and I was happy with all of them, although I did have slight doubts about the second one, where the heroine was depicted riding a bicycle. And there isn’t a bicycle anywhere in the story.

I queried this with my editor and was told it was a metaphorical bicycle. So I left it there.

Then for the 4^th book, Harper Collins decided to change the house style and came up with a striking design that initially I liked and then had doubts about.

The story focussed on two successful writer sisters, Lulu Darling and her sister Jassy Sutton who decide to take a mini-break in the depths of Dartmoor in order to stimulate their writing mojo. Unfortunately, it quickly becomes apparent that neither of them is in the slightest way equipped to deal with the reality of life in the country; poor internet connection, solitude and mud.

The first cover Harper Collins offered seemed to me to belong on a story about a beach holiday. Beach bag, flip flops, sunglasses. It didn’t work for me although I loved the idea and particularly the colour scheme which I thought was ideal. I’ve always liked pink!

Lulu begins to realise there is more to life than an endless round of parties and socialising with other celebrities, a U-turn which is in part prompted by her growing friendship with local farmer Joe Field.

The turning point is when Lulu buys some chickens, so it seemed to me that there should be a chicken on the cover and happily Harper Collins agreed. The result was everything I could have hoped for. It adds such a touch of humour and I love how the chicken is pecking curiously at the book on which it’s standing.

Spot the difference!

Some readers commented that it was more ‘grown-up’ than the previous ones, others that they didn’t like how the style had changed! You can’t please everyone!

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Book blurb:

Lulu has it all; a romance writer at the height of her career, she can often be found attending glittering parties or spending time with her good-looking, health-fanatic boyfriend Benedict.

When writer’s block strikes, she welcomes a mini-break to Devon which proves just the tonic she needs. But on her return to London, she finds Benedict has been up to no good, and her perfect life is suddenly no more.

Will escaping back to the countryside be the answer? Or will life become even more complicated when Lulu runs into handsome, brooding farmer Joe?

A funny, feel-good read that will take you on a trip you never knew you needed.

Have you packed?

Perfect for fans of Zara Stonely and Heidi Swain.

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Maddie Please's links:

Her author page on Amazon   

Her Twitter page  

Maddie's website  

Her author page on Facebook

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