Cover and Title Reveal: A Southern Drama by A.M. Heath

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably scrolling right past my words so you can see the new cover. Lol But if you can control yourself just a little longer, I’d like to explain some things about this story first.

I grew up hearing about how a riot in the 30s had burnt our county’s courthouse. Even at a young age, the historian in me was drawn to the story and the many unanswered questions. But it wasn’t until I ran across some pictures I had never seen before of the riot that a story idea was born.

I’m using a fictional town, 100% fictional characters, and a 100% fictional crime. However, I want to use the intense climate surrounding the accusation.

The making of the cover:
I normally design my front covers, but I knew from the start that this would need more than I was capable of creating. I sent some suggestions and scraps of photos to Krista Noorman and out popped this beauty!

From the beginning, I knew that this story would be different from anything else I’ve written. It’s still a work in progress, so it’s not easy to nail down the specific ways this story differs from my other works but I knew I wanted to strike a cord that I’ve not yet touched. But at the same time, I knew that I always wanted hope and romance to play a role in this. Our first attempt at a cover was darker with a muted yellow/brown backdrop. It was lovely but it just wasn’t right. I thought it was exactly what I wanted but when I saw it, I knew that it was lacking something vital. It needed a stronger presence of hope. And the moment I saw these brighter colors, that’s exactly what it said to me: Hope. And that’s what this story is really about. It doesn’t matter what our current circumstances look like; there is a hope found only in Christ that can never be matched here on earth.

The floating flowers! I had only shown this image to a few select people who were tasked with giving me some feedback during the creation process. I had some mixed results concerning the flowers. But for me, it was a no-brainer. They were the icing on the cake. They were the piece that tied all the other elements on the cover in together like a bow on a present. It was definitely a sort of signature touch for me. As well as the pink font. My heart gushes every time I see it.

The making of a title: God of the Chestnut Flower
I wanted to hit more of the Southern drama elements with this one so I purposely chose a title that would reflect that.
The chestnut flower actually means justice or seeks justice. So the title translates: God of Justice.

Publication Goal:
I’m still writing the first draft. I find it motivating to have the final image in hand, so I look forward to returning to this amazing story. I’d love to get it out sometime in 2020, but only the Lord knows what our futures hold. Stay tuned and I suppose we’ll all find out together. 😉