Important Announcement

I am not accepting new cover design projects

at this time.

After much soul-searching, I have decided to start phasing out my cover design business and instead place more focus on my first love, helping authors craft their stories via Historical Editorial.

This website will stay active to showcase my clients' books.

Thank you for understanding!

Other sources for historical fiction covers:

Avalon Graphics

The Historical Fiction Company

Bookfly Design

Damonza Design

Beyond Design

More Visual

Premade Book Covers Market

Book Cover Zone

Dee Dee Book Covers

Rose Wolf Design

The Art of Book Cover Design for Historical Fiction

*This is an older post, but it remains so popular that I keep it pinned here on the main page.*

I had the pleasure of speaking on The Art of Book Cover Design panel at the Historical Novel Society conference last June with Emily Victorson from Allium Press, Sarah Johnson from Reading the Past, Anna Michels from Sourcebooks, and Kris Waldherr from Art and Words. We each presented on different aspects of designing historical fiction covers, and my task was to discuss my approach and trends in the genre. In case you missed it, or if you attended and would like to have a copy of your own, here is my portion of the presentation!

L to R: Anna, Kris, myself, and Sarah

The first thing I do when working on a cover is determine the genre or subgenre and the target audience, and then I spend some time browsing through the bestsellers to see which covers are selling books and what they look like. It’s important that you pay attention to cover trends when creating yours. You may think your cover is going to stand out because it’s so different from others in the genre, but that approach can often backfire. Cover trends exist in the first place because they sell books. Readers of a genre are used to seeing a certain style of cover, and if your cover doesn’t even come close, they may very well skip over it, thinking it’s not the type of book they like to read. So the trick is crafting a cover that falls within the trends in the genre while standing out and catching the eye of your target reader. 

So with that being said, I want to briefly touch on some popular trends in today’s historical fiction covers. A significant portion of the historical fiction market is targeted toward women, so that’s where we’ll begin.

So let’s start with the trend readers either seem to love or hate: The Headless Woman. This trend is popular because the heroine in a reader’s imagination rarely matches a real-life depiction on the cover. So it gives us a chance to envision what her face looks like and also adds an air of mystery. (Check out Sarah's portion of the presentation for the original headless woman cover that started the trend!)

Imperial Passions: The Great Palace

Please join me in congratulating Eileen Stephenson on the publication of Imperial Passions: The Great Palace! I had the pleasure of working with Eileen on a developmental edit and a copyedit, and I designed the cover! This is the second book in a series based on the life of Anna Dalassena, a powerful Byzantine woman instrumental in founding the Komnenian dynasty. Here's the book description:

From the author of Tales of Byzantium, the epic story of Anna Dalassena continues...

Constantinople 1057. The magnificent Byzantine Empire continues to exist only because its enemies have not yet realized how years of corrupt rulers have weakened it. A new emperor, Isaac I Comnenus, seizes the throne expecting to reverse the decline but is overwhelmed by an empty treasury, a troublesome patriarch, and invaders at every border.

Isaac struggles against foes both in Constantinople and at the borders, while his brother John shrinks from his growing responsibilities to the dismay of his wife, Anna Dalassena. Anna’s disappointment in her husband is outweighed only by her horror at her enemy Constantine Ducas’s growing importance. Her husband’s reluctance and the turbulence of these troubled years finally forces Anna to recognize her own pivotal role in the destiny of the empire’s fortunes and that of her family.

Imperial Passions: The Great Palace is available now in ebook and print format on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Eileen's website for her fascinating photos and blog posts on Byzantine history and culture.

The Midwife Chronicles

Please join me in congratulating Carole Penfield on the re-publication of Midwife of Normandy and Lucina's Destiny, the first two books in her historical trilogy, The Midwife Chronicles, with brand new covers, and the release of the final novel, Austens of Broadford! I had the pleasure of designing the covers for all three. Here are the book descriptions:

King Louis' dreaded Dragonnades are galloping towards Maison Dupres. . .

They carry his order to seize the Dupres, A Huguenot family. But what is Clare's crime?

1680 France. Clare Dupres is not your average midwife. Her successful career relies on an ancient family secret formula (the magic elixir) which provides a pain-free birthing experience, offered solely to her wealthy aristocratic patients. In return, she is richly rewarded with gold and jewels. Clare's husband Jacques resents her working outside the home but is too weak to stop her.

King Louis XIV detests Huguenots and is determined to convert them to Catholicism or eradicate them. He begins to tighten the noose by quartering troops in their homes until they abjure their religious beliefs. Bans them from singing psalms or leaving France without official permission. In 1682, he issues an edict forbidding Huguenot midwives from delivering babies, which delights Jacques. But Clare rightly senses that things will only get worse. She urges her husband to relocate their family to England, where she can resume her profession. Jacques blindly refuses, relying on the Edict of Nantes to protect their religious freedoms.

UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE! in 1685, the Edict is revoked. A vengeful servant wrongfully accuses the Dupres of violating the restrictions. Jacques is devastated. Clare's only hope of saving her family is to devise a clever escape plan, but she must act quickly.

Full of twists and turns, this fast-paced adventure will keep the reader in suspense until the final page.

***

This spellbinding sequel to Midwife of Normandy recounts Lucina's coming-of-age story as she begins her exciting new life in England after a harrowing escape from France.

But she finds living with her mother's childhood sweetheart and his wife can be fraught with tension...and the French Authorities are searching for the fugitives!.

1685. London. The Dupres join the childless London household of Jacques' brother Pierre. His melancholic wife Celia adores the children but is terribly jealous of Clare. Lucina, an inquisitive child with exceptional perception and the added gift of second sight quickly discovers that sparks still fly between her mother and Pierre.

Meanwhile, Aunt Celia is horrified that Lucina is destined to follow the ancestral path of midwifery and tries to spirit her away from London with promises of an idyllic genteel life in her tranquil village. As hopes of Jacques' survival fade, Clare finds that London does not offer the opportunity to continue her midwifery profession because she is considered a dissenter. Unwilling to be parted from her children and seeking a safer environment than the teeming city, Clare moves with Pierre and Celia to Tunbridge. She writes an incriminating letter to her old friend Lady Louise in Normandy, disclosing her new village address.

But wait! Lady Louise is under suspicion for aiding the Dupres escape, and Lucina senses if this letter falls into the hands of the French authorities, King Louis will arrest the Marquise and know where to find the Dupres. Using her psychic powers, Lucina manages to temporarily avert danger by causing a long delay in the letter's delivery. Nonetheless, it arrives at the worst possible time. Once again, Lucina sends "mind messages" to France causing a series of fast-paced events there.

As years pass. Lucina is torn between the conflicting desires of Aunt Celia and her mother to determine her future. An unexpected suitor for Lucina's hand in marriage complicates matters further. Wil she abandon the Dupres' midwifery tradition?

A series of disasters forces Lucina to come to terms with her own destiny, as the plot takes unexpected twists and turns towards a stunning, surprise conclusion.

***

A rich, sweeping historical novel, inspired by the true story of Jane Austen's remarkable great-grandmother...

Marriage to John Austen IV, presumptive heir to the family fortune, was a dream come true for Eliza. Until his cantankerous father turned it into her worst nightmare.

1702. England. Despite having a loving relationship with her husband and seven children, Eliza is not the wife John Austen III would have chosen for his only son. She complains to Lucina (her midwife and best friend) about struggling daily with the overbearing tyrant's interference. He plants a spy in her nursery, criticizes Eliza constantly, reneges on promises of financial assistance, and turns her eldest son against her. She begins to dread that if the curmudgeon outlives his son, she will be left penniless and debt-ridden.

Without a dowry, Eliza worries timid daughter Bettybird will never attract a husband. But through the young girl's narrative voice, we see her coming of age into genteel society. Whilst attending a house party to celebrate Queen Anne's coronation, Bettybird meets actor Bart, son of a doxy who is searching for his landowner father. Coming to Kent as a footman, handsome Bart portrays life among the gentry social class from a servant's perspective.

When Eliza's worst fear materializes, she makes the most difficult decision of her life, but not before writing a scathing memorandum detailing her mistreatment, which passes down through the Austen family into the hands of her great-granddaughter Jane.

It is widely believed Jane Austen was influenced by Eliza's memorandum when she wrote about money, social class, and the evils of inheritance laws in Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice.

The Midwife Chronicles are available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add them to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Carole's website for more information on all of her books.

**For a limited time, The Midwife of Normandy is free for kindle!**

The Professor's Lady

Please join me in congratulating Holly Bush on the publication of her newest historical romance, The Professor's Lady, the third book in her Thompsons of Locust Street series! I had the pleasure of providing some copyediting assistance, and I helped Holly design the cover. Here's the book description:

Meet the Thompsons of Locust Street, an unconventional family taking Philadelphia high society by storm . . .

1870. Kirsty Thompson is determined to begin her own business bringing beloved Scottish fabrics and yarns to Philadelphia, but first she must meet the men and women who weave the plaids and spin the wool. How will she ever escape her protective older siblings and sail to Scotland?

Albert Watson is a medical doctor focusing on research, especially that of Joseph Lister and his sterilization techniques. He speaks at universities in America and in England while visiting his London relatives. As he prepares to sail for just such an engagement, Kirsty Thompson boards his ship to beg him to take her with him. What’s a gentleman to do? Albert cancels his trip across the ocean to escort Miss Thompson back to Philadelphia and finds there is danger afoot for her and her family.

Soon he comes to realize there is also danger for his heart, even for a man who rarely pulls his nose from a medical journal. He finds himself unable to put Miss Kirsty Thompson out of his thoughts, where they belong, because certainly a beautiful, ambitious, and charming young woman could have no interest in him. Or could she?

The Professor's Lady is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Holly's website for more information on all of her books.

Dare Not Tell

Please join me in congratulating Elaine Schroller on the publication of her debut historical novel, Dare Not Tell! I had the pleasure of helping Elaine design the cover. Here's the book description:

Twenty years after he left WWI's battlefields, Australian Joe Parker thinks he has tamed all his demons. His American wife Sophie, a wartime nurse, thinks she knows all his secrets. He hasn’t. She doesn’t.

July 1939. The Parkers are looking forward to a long-delayed honeymoon in France before they sail home to Sydney. But visiting a site where Joe fought wreaks havoc with their itinerary and their marriage.

When they arrive at Villers-Bretonneux, the location of Joe’s most brutal battle, his long-buried memories erupt, including the ones he never told Sophie. And an impromptu trip to the French Alps only makes things worse when they discover German war artifacts on pristine alpine trails and the walls of the miles-deep Chamonix valley close in on Joe like the deepest trench he ever experienced. All the defenses he uses to hold his memories at bay start crumbling as the world teeters on the brink of a second world war.

Bonds of friendship and shared experience helped them endure the Great War, but Sophie begins to doubt how well she really knows her husband when the foundations of their relationship seem to shift out of control. Can their marriage survive this trip? Or will Joe’s need to keep his secrets break both their hearts?

Join Sophie and Joe on their journey of love, loss, secrets, and redemption, from France to Australia and back again.

Dare Not Tell is available now in print and ebook editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Elaine's website for more information on the book and a free download of the prequel, The French Photograph!

Enraptured Montana Bachelor

Please join me in congratulating Ramona Flightner on the publication of her newest historical romance, Enraptured Montana Bachelor, book fourteen in the Bear Grass Springs series! I had the pleasure of helping Ramona design the cover. Here's the book description:

A beautiful, mysterious woman traveling alone. An unexpected friendship and passion. A horrific accident, ripping them apart. Will they be reunited?

Cole Tompkins resents everything about the train trip back to Montana. The cold. The passengers. But most especially, the destination. For, when he arrives, he’s trapped and will have to find a way to forge a life on his family’s ranch. Never did he expect to meet such an enigma as Wilhelmina. A refined woman who intrigues with her alluring beauty and beguiling intellect, he no longer wants the journey to end. For when it does, he fears he’ll never see her again. When tragedy separates them, will Cole be able to find her again?

The future terrifies Wilhelmina Lane. One impulsive decision away from destitution, she fears her luck has finally run out on the train ride to Bear Grass Springs. Charmed by smooth talking Cole Tompkins, she attempts to maintain a polite distance. Entranced by his loyalty to family, she is soon as spellbound by his kisses as by her visions of an improbable future that fill her dreams. After calamity tears them apart, her past collides with her future, and Wilhelmina must find the courage to live the fulfilling life she desires. Will she have the strength to confront her fears and trust in Cole?

Will Cole find Wilhelmina again and have the courage to overcome his past to forge a life with her? Or will he allow fear to tear them apart?

Enraptured Montana Bachelor is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Ramona's website for the scoop on all of her books!

Royal Heir

Please join me in congratulating P.K. Adams on the publication of her new historical novel, Royal Heir, the third book in the Jagiellon Mystery series! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

At twenty-eight, Julian Konarski runs the family estate near Kraków, but the job bores him. Leaving the day-to-day work to his steward, he spends his free time reading Machiavelli, debating philosophy with friends, and drinking at taverns. While returning home late one night Julian witnesses a brutal attack in a dark alley and rushes to aid the victim, a young nobleman. The unfortunate man dies in his arms, but not before he entrusts Julian with a mysterious message. Filled with sympathy, Julian promises to find its intended recipient.

When the judge presiding over the inquest dismisses the death as the result of a drunken brawl, Julian decides to conduct his own investigation. Aided by his cousin Rozalia and Magda, an impoverished noblewoman, he soon discovers a connection between the murder and the household of Princess Anna, heir presumptive to King Zygmunt August. The search for justice becomes a desperate race to stop the throne from being usurped--but by whom? And will Julian avoid the deadly trap that his elusive opponent has set for him?

A fast-paced mystery that follows Julian through the streets of sixteenth-century Kraków all the way to the royal castle, Royal Heir examines the boundless ambition and lust for power that arises when an aging ruler has failed to secure the legitimate succession.

Royal Heir is available now in print and ebook editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit P.K.'s website for more information on all of her books, historical articles, and book reviews!

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

The Tacksman's Daughter

Please join me in congratulating Donna Scott on the publication of her new historical novel, The Tacksman's Daughter! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

Scotland, 1692. To escape a brutal winter storm, King William’s regiments descend on the small village of Glencoe. Caitriona Cameron, the tacksman’s daughter, cannot forget her unpleasant encounter the last time English troops appeared. She senses the army’s arrival might not be as innocent as it seems, but her warnings go unheeded. Not even MacIain, the MacDonald clan chief, listens. After twelve days of billeting in the villagers’ homes, the soldiers attack, committing one of the greatest atrocities in Highland history.

Cait escapes the assault with the help of Sergeant Edward Gage who is accused of being a traitor for not taking up arms against the MacDonalds. Edward is hunted by his debauched half-brother, Alexander, who stands to lose everything if King William attaints their father for his treasonous past deeds. With bad blood between them, Alexander sets out to capture Edward to prove his loyalty and save himself from ruin.

Cait and Edward travel to Edinburgh to confront the men they suspect are behind the attack, unaware that Alexander is headed there as well. Although Cait is convinced the chief of Clan Campbell is responsible, Edward suspects something much more sinister—that the orders came from higher up, possibly even from the king himself.

As accusations of betrayal, deceit, and treason abound, they are all trapped in a web of intrigue and danger, but not everyone will escape.

The Tacksman's Daughter is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Donna's website for the scoop on all of her novels!

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Tales of the Romanov Empire

Please join me in congratulating Tamar Anolic on the publication of her newest book, Tales of the Romanov Empire: A Novel in Short Stories! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

Stories you've never heard about the Romanovs...

Tales of the Romanov Empire is a novel in short stories that examines one of history’s most successful dynasties. The Romanovs were Russia’s absolute monarchs from 1613 until 1917. Yet, beyond the glittering wealth and tragic love story of Nicholas and Alexandra, much of the dynasty remains shrouded in mystery.

Tales of The Romanov Empire sheds light on the Romanovs’ unknown figures, from the election of Mikhail Feodorovich, the first Romanov tsar, to the bride shows that were staged to help Tsar Alexei find a wife. Grand Duke Konstantin, the Romanovs’ famous poet, comes to life as he and his favorite cousin, Grand Duke Sergei, examine their ideals and their sexuality in a world that is hostile to them. All the while, as the empire’s Jews struggle amidst the Romanovs’ pogroms, many make the decision to flee to the freedom of the United States--these stories in particular are based on the author’s own family history.

This novel contains stories of war, stories of personal gifts and choices bent to an autocratic ideal. In their telling, the vast human cost of absolute power--on both the oppressors and on the oppressed--becomes clear.

Tales of the Romanov Empire is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Tamar's website for more information on her books and magazine articles.

Need a cover designer?

Email me anytime to chat about your project!

jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Unacknowledged

Please join me in congratulating Ora Smith on the publication of her newest "heritage fiction" book, Unacknowledged, combining elements of a novel with nonfiction! I had the pleasure of helping Ora design the cover. Here's the book description:

His true birthdate and place have been argued for decades. Now, one bold woman may have uncovered a shocking new angle…

In the early 1900s, fourteen-year-old Emma did the impossible to survive. Forced to flee her alcoholic father, she moved to Galveston, Texas, and sold her body to start a new life.

According to history, on Christmas Eve 1905, Howard Hughes Sr. became father to one of America’s most influential tycoons. More than a century later, rumors still abound that his wife never showed any signs of pregnancy. Howard Hughes Jr.’s certificate of baptism exposes a puzzling discrepancy. Now the conceivable and staggering truth of the famous businessman and philanthropist’s origins has been brought to vivid life in a powerful fictional recreation of a tragic scenario.

Author and researcher Ora Smith may well be the great-niece of Howard Hughes. In this dramatized account of the story of the mysterious inventor, engineer, pilot, and ultra-rich recluse, she reveals detailed information and evidence that fill in some of history’s most mystifying blanks. With sections creatively retelling the narrative of the wealthy man’s possibly illicit beginnings juxtaposed with Smith’s meticulous pulling-apart of historical records, you’ll be moved by the sensational and wretched past of this enigmatic icon.

Was Howard Hughes Jr.’s eccentricity born of one young woman’s checkered past?

Unacknowledged: The Possible Biological Mother of Howard Hughes is a thoughtfully written work that dramatically recounts a new theory of the conception and birth of an American legend. If you like true stories stirred with a dash of sensation, bygone eras richly examined, and answers to intriguing questions, then you’ll love Ora Smith’s extraordinary reimagining.

Unacknowledged is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Ora's website for more information on all of her books.

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Death of the Master Builder

Please join me in congratulating Mark E. Fisher on the publication of his newest historical novel, Death of the Master Builder! I had the pleasure of helping Mark design the cover. Here's the book description:

In 1469 Tuscany, when Dario Rossi, a hedonistic city ruler, sees a vision of himself writhing in eternal flames, he is shaken to his core.

Desperate to avoid damnation, Dario pleads with Amadeo, a righteous builder, to absolve his sins by constructing the world’s largest cathedral. But Amadeo has heard the rumors—about the women streaming nightly through the palazzo, the murders, and the disappearances. How he longs to build such a monument to God! Though it will consume a lifetime, he agrees to the task.

But as Dario watches the pious builder direct his artisans and the walls rise, the contrast between the two rankles. For Dario is a slave to pleasure, debauchery, and power. When his disgust at the man’s virtue finally boils over, he schemes treachery and plots the builder’s moral downfall.

A chance meeting throws Amadeo with the beautiful, fun-loving Simona, and he’s enchanted. Though she declares her love and pursues him, he clings desperately to a vow of chastity..

As the work proceeds, Naples declares war, and Dario runs out of money. When Amadeo’s unpaid workers fear invasion and flee the city, he gives in to despair. Then the cardinal begins an Inquisition against heretics, and friends warn the builder to stop questioning Church doctrine.

Will Amadeo avoid Simona’s advances, Dario’s temptations, and the coming Inquisition? Will he finish his great work before he dies? Or will Dario undo everything?

Death of the Master Builder is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Mark's website for more information on all of his books.

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Where Flowers Grow

Please join me in congratulating Barbara Anne King on the publication of her newest historical novel, Where Flowers Grow! I had the pleasure of helping Barbara design the cover. Here's the book description:

An ambitious man has dreams as big as the valley he calls home. But will his dreams be thwarted by a wife turned alcoholic?

Where Flowers Grow is a family saga spanning forty years during the last half of the 20th century. It’s an inspirational story of a family determined to succeed in the face of mounting forces seeking to crush them at every turn.

California 1953. The story opens in the decade sandwiched between World War II and the Sixties Cultural Revolution. Richard Bankston has just moved his Boston bride, Gina, to the small town on Monterey Bay where he is a civil engineer with an up-and-coming construction company headquartered there—a town with the richest farmland in the world, some of which he eyes for himself. Richard is proud of his new wife, who adds class to his image, and is oblivious to her discontent with provincial life. Together, they create a family and a vibrant social life until things fall apart. Richard discovers that Gina has a drinking problem and despite several tries at rehab, she cannot shake her addiction to alcohol. 

With the family in crisis, Richard has no choice but to divorce Gina. In one fell swoop, he gains custody of his four sons and purchases the ranch of his dreams, which he hopes will one day make him millions. Cesar Chavez and his United Farm Workers Union are threatening strikes. Richard’s concerns increase when he and his sons start a flower farm that requires farmhands to get the flowers harvested for market. And if labor strikes aren’t enough, droughts and floods do the rest to hobble them. However, they persevere and become one of the top flower growers in California. Even a Hollywood director takes notice and films their field of purple statice for his movie’s opening scene. But Mother Nature still has one more wallop to deliver—a massive earthquake that devastates the town while bringing Gina back into his life. Richard has barely come up for air when a new foe rears its ugly head. After overcoming so many challenges, will Richard’s dreams end in disaster?

Where Flowers Grow captures a tumultuous period in California history through the trials and tribulations of the Bankston family. But as Lady Bird Johnson’s quote reveals—"Where flowers grow, so does hope.”

Where Flowers Grow is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Barbara's website for more information on all of her books.

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Lock Up Honesty

Please join me in congratulating Anna Castle on the publication of her newest historical mystery, Lock Up Honesty, book eight in the Francis Bacon Mystery series. I had the pleasure of offering Anna some copyediting assistance, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description:

The most corrupt court in Elizabethan England has turned deadly.

Francis Bacon’s clerk, Thomas Clarady, has finally passed the bar. Now it’s time to sue for his livery in the Court of Wards. Alas, nothing is simple in the most corrupt institution in Tudor England. The attorney tries to wring a bribe from Tom, who refuses in threatenting terms. When the attorney turns up dead, Tom’s the most likely suspect. He goes into hiding, leaving Bacon and Trumpet--Lady Dorchester--to find out who really did the deed.

Every ward has reasons aplenty to hate the court and its officers. Some guardians have been keeping dark secrets from their wards. That attorney had other targets closer to home. As Tom’s wits unravel, Francis and Trumpet must take on his role in the investigation as well as their own. Clues lead them in circles. The best ones lead straight back to Tom. Can they catch the villain before the sheriff grows tired of waiting?

Lock Up Honesty is available now in print and ebook formats on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Anna's website, where she blogs about her research and writing historical fiction set in England. 

Need an editor or cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Traitor's Knot

Please join me in congratulating Cryssa Bazos on the re-publication of her debut historical fiction novel, Traitor's Knot, first book in the Quest for Three Kingdoms series, with a new cover designed by me! Here's the book description:

England 1650: Civil War has given way to an uneasy peace . . .

Royalist officer James Hart refuses to accept the tyranny of the new government after the execution of King Charles I, and to raise funds for the restoration of the king’s son, he takes to the road as a highwayman.

Elizabeth Seton has long been shunned for being a traitor’s daughter. In the midst of the new order, she risks her life by sheltering fugitives from Parliament in a garrison town. But her attempts to rebuild her life are threatened, first by her own sense of injustice, then by falling in love with an outlaw.

The lovers’ loyalty is tested through war, defeat and separation. James must fight his way back to the woman he loves, while Elizabeth will do anything to save him, even if it means sacrificing herself.

Traitor's Knot is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon and other retailers. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Cryssa's website, where she blogs about 17th century history. Cryssa is also an editor of the English Historical Fiction Authors blog.

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Rebel's Knot

Please join me in congratulating Cryssa Bazos on the publication of her new historical novel, Rebel's Knot, third book in her Quest for Three Kingdoms series! I had the pleasure of working with Cryssa on a developmental edit and a copyedit, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description:

Ireland 1652: In the desperate, final days of the English invasion...

A fey young woman, Áine Callaghan, is the sole survivor of an attack by English marauders. When Irish soldier Niall O'Coneill discovers his own kin slaughtered in the same massacre, he vows to hunt down the men responsible. He takes Áine under his protection, and together they reach the safety of an encampment held by the Irish forces in Tipperary.

Hardly a safe haven, the camp is rife with danger and intrigue. Áine is a stranger with the old stories stirring on her tongue, and rumours follow her everywhere. The English cut off support to the brigade, and a traitor undermines the Irish cause, turning Niall from hunter to hunted.

When someone from Áine's past arrives, her secrets boil to the surface—and she must slay her demons once and for all.

As the web of violence and treachery grows, Áine and Niall find solace in each other's arms—but can their love survive long-buried secrets and the darkness of vengeance?

Rebel's Knot is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and more. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and check out Cryssa's website, where she blogs about 17th century history. Cryssa is also an editor of the English Historical Fiction Authors blog.

Need an editor or cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

The Turn of the Tide

Please join me in congratulating Martin Lake on the publication of his newest historical novel, The Turn of the Tide! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

It is 1943. The world is in the grip of war.

Miriam Rosenfeld has returned to Britain from the heart of Nazi Germany, where she found proof of the existence of the V2 rockets. But she also discovered something far worse, an experience which leaves her traumatised and adrift.

Yet her skills are much in demand, and reluctantly she returns to work for Army Intelligence, promising her brother, Oscar, that she will never leave him again. Yet the war is relentless, and she is ordered to go to the Cairo Conference as a translator. While there, she discovers that a British ambassador is the source of top-secret leaks.

On her return to Britain, the establishment closes ranks in defense of the ambassador, and her findings are dismissed. Even worse, suspicion alights on her, as a young Austrian Jew who is deemed far too intelligent and troublesome. She proves the truth of this and eventually saves herself from the direst punishment.

The Allies are jubilant when Europe is invaded, but this joy turns to despair when Nazi vengeance rockets are unleashed on London. But despite this and other setbacks, the allies push on.

In the closing days of the war, Miriam is ordered to go to Germany to identify a young man who claims to be Wernher von Braun, the brains behind the Nazi rockets. While there she discovers a death camp. It is a place of horrors, but it holds a revelation which eases her heart.

The Turn of the Tide is available in ebook format and will soon be available in print editions on Amazon and Amazon UK. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Martin's website for information on all of his books and his interviews with fellow historical fiction writers.

Need a cover designer?

Email me anytime to chat about your project!

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Twisted Wrister

Please join me in congratulating G.K. Brady on the publication of Twisted Wrister, seventh book in the Playmaker Series! I had the pleasure of working with G.K. on a developmental edit and a copyedit, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description:

He’s not looking for happily-ever-after. She’s not looking for a hockey player. Can love score a win, or will it get iced?

Blake Barrett’s star is streaking into the upper reaches of the galaxy, and it’s his wicked wrist shot that’s fueling the twenty-four-year-old’s meteoric rise. Top center for the NHL’s Cup-winning champs? Check. Millions in the bank? Yep. As self-assured in his stickhandling abilities off the ice as he is on it? Not so much. Women might be throwing themselves at him, but he needs a little more practice to figure out what to do if he catches one.

Though after growing up with a front-row seat to his parents’ disastrous marriage, he’s convinced the closest he can get to happily-ever-after is settling for someone who ticks the most boxes when his career’s done. Why waste time on a dream he can’t even pin to the boards? So when Blake’s roommate—who also happens to be his teammate and best friend—sets his sights on their feisty new neighbor, Blake’s duty-bound by the bro code to help his buddy win her … except when Blake gets to know her, he’s not so sure he wants to play wingman anymore.

Michaela Wagner has earned her hard-fought-for position as a real estate lawyer in a prestigious firm. She may have aced her classes and graduated early, but an army of suits is ready to keep her ambition in check. Undeterred, she casts her eye on a prize account her boss is dangling like a juicy carrot.

Though she doesn’t have much time for dating, she’s a big believer in fairy-tale endings. Prince Charming is waiting for her … though he hasn’t been at the speed-dating events or in the dating apps she’s subjected herself to. Could he be one of the hunky hockey players next door? Absolutely not. Too much testosterone, too much swagger, too many female fans. If she were forced to pick one, though, it would be Blake. He’s an enigma begging to be bared, and he’s got those green eyes that follow her with an intriguing mix of bewilderment and intensity. Too bad he believes in happily-never-after.

As Blake glides closer to Michaela, doubt turns to possibility, and his philosophy begins to unravel like spent stick tape. But a happy ending for these two seems as elusive as a Stanley Cup win. When loyalty faces off against desire, will their love survive the penalty box?

Twisted Wrister is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit G.K.'s website for the scoop on all of her books, including her historical novels!

Need an editor or cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

John Brown's Women

Please join me in congratulating Susan Higginbotham on the publication of John Brown's Women! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

As the United States wrestles with its besetting sin—slavery—abolitionist John Brown is growing tired of talk. He takes actions that will propel the nation toward civil war and thrust three courageous women into history.

Wealthy Brown, married to John Brown's oldest son, eagerly falls in with her husband's plan to settle in Kansas. Amid clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers, Wealthy's adventure turns into madness, mayhem, and murder.

Fifteen-year-old Annie Brown is thrilled when her father summons her to the farm he has rented in preparation for his raid. There, she guards her father's secrets while risking her heart.

Mary Brown never expected to be the wife of John Brown, much less the wife of a martyr. When her husband's daring plan fails, Mary must travel into hostile territory, where she finds the eyes of the nation riveted upon John—and upon her.

Spanning three decades, John Brown's Women is a tale of love and sacrifice, and of the ongoing struggle for America to achieve its promise of liberty and justice for all.

John Brown's Women is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Susan's website for more information on all of her books.

Need a cover designer?
Email us anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Shake Loose the Border

Please join me in congratulating Andrea Matthews on the publication of Shake Loose the Border, book three in the Thunder on the Moor series! I had the pleasure of working with Andrea on a copyedit, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description:

With Will and Maggie’s wedding just a week away, the last thing they need to stumble upon is Johnnie Hetherington’s dead body tied to a tree, especially one that’s so close to their cottage. Recognizing it as a sure sign that Johnnie has betrayed the family once too often, Sergeant Richie Carnaby gathers Will and his family together for questioning, though it seems obvious only a fool would kill a man on his own land. Then who did murder the rogue, and why?

Feeling confident it wasn’t any of the Fosters, Richie allows Will and Maggie’s wedding to proceed, but the couple has barely exchanged vows when the Armstrongs attack in force. Geordie is determined to rescue his niece from the clutches of Will Foster, whether she wants to go or not. And if he happens to make her a widow in the process, so be it. Will senses the danger and implores Dylan to get Maggie away to safety, no matter where — or when — that may be.

Though Maggie protests, Will assures her he will follow as soon as he is able. Yet how can that be possible when Dylan whisks her back to the twentieth century? Sharing her fears about Will, and unable to forget his own love, Annie, Dylan attempts to return to the past one last time despite his growing concerns over the disintegrating amulet stone. But will he make it in time to rescue Will, or will the villainous Ian Rutherford, who has already killed in cold blood once, win the ultimate battle and see Will and Maggie separated forever?

Shake Loose the Border is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Andrea's website for tons of great historical information and a peek behind the scenes of her books.

Need an editor or cover designer?
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jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Lotharingia

Please join me in congratulating Lara Byrne on the publication of her debut novel, Lotharingia: Charlemagne's Heir! I had the pleasure of helping Lara design the cover. Here's the book description:

From the royal halls of Germany to the papal Curia, to the walled cities, mighty fortresses, and rolling hills of Central Italy, Lotharingia is a rare journey through the characters and events that convulsed the Holy Roman Empire at the dawn of the second millennium.

1062

After a long-held feud has claimed the men in her family, Matilde prepares to succeed her father as margrave of Tuscany. A descendant of Charlemagne, heiress to the most prestigious relics in Christendom, and a trained warrior, she could comfortably rule on her own. To her dismay, the Church will support her extraordinary claim to power only if she accepts a traditional role and marries the Duke of Lotharingia - a man who fills her with dread.

Despite her formidable mother's diplomatic nous and mysterious relics of the Holy Blood, Matilde's efforts to extricate herself from her betrothal are crushed by the intrigues of the all-seeing papal archdeacon Ildebrando.

1069

Across the Alps, the late emperor's son, King Heinrich, has come of age, in a court rife with passions and treasonous ambitions. Resenting the bride chosen for him, he stuns his subjects and Rome with a defiant request to divorce. Ildebrando shatters his hopes. When, after a chance meeting, Heinrich rescues Matilde from her abusive husband, friendship blossoms into forbidden love. If their sin is discovered, the Church may strike them down with excommunication, political and personal ruin. Unbeknown to Matilde and Heinrich, the stakes are even higher: Charlemagne's prophecy is about to come true.

In the 11th century, Countess Matilde of Tuscany was the most famous woman in Western Christendom, a trailblazer who defied the gender expectations of her age to become the most powerful prince of the Holy Roman Empire for two generations. Exploiting the gaps and contradictions in medieval chronicles, Lotharingia weaves history and fiction into an alternative account of the world and challenges that shaped her youth, as she grappled with the constraints of femininity in her quest for self-definition, power, and love.

Lotharingia is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Lara's website for her historical blog posts and a sneak peek at the prequel to Lotharingia.

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jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Strong Suspicions

Please join me in congratulating Amy Renshaw on the publication of her debut historical mystery, Strong Suspicions, first book in the Sophie Strong Mystery Series! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

A notorious woman is murdered, and reporter Sophie Strong stumbles onto the story. Does she have what it takes to find the killer before it’s too late?

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 1912: As the only female reporter at the Milwaukee Herald, twenty-two-year-old Sophie Strong is thrilled when she’s invited to cover the party of the season. Soon she’s swept into the opulent world of the city’s wealthy brewing families. But before she can even get to her typewriter, she discovers a murder victim. The intriguing Detective Jacob Zimmer warns her to leave sleuthing to the police, while Sophie’s editor insists she focus on tea parties and fashion shows. But when her friend and fellow suffragist Clara Elliot comes under suspicion, Sophie is determined to uncover the truth—even if she risks her own life along the way.

Check out this historical mystery sure to intrigue fans of Rhys Bowen, Alyssa Maxwell, and Victoria Thompson.

Strong Suspicions is available in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Amy's website for more information about the series and her book recommendations.

Need a cover designer?

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jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

And Tyler No More

Please join me in congratulating Stan Haynes on the publication of his debut historical novel, And Tyler No More! I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description:

Kill the president of the United States? How could a rational and law-abiding citizen ever conclude that assassination is an option? What if one death could stop the growth of slavery?

1844. President John Tyler is weeks away from submitting to the Senate a treaty for the annexation of the Republic of Texas into the Union. Slaveholding Texas. A doubling of the amount of enslaved territory in the country. Giving the southern states a majority in the Senate.

Monty Tolliver, a former top aide to an influential senator, is as sane and dutiful as they come. Along with his best friend, Ben Geddis, a naval officer and an abolitionist, they determine to stop Tyler, an unelected president who, in their view, has already committed multiple transgressions.

Filled with the political intrigue of the 1840s and interaction with historical figures, along with a national tragedy and a mysterious death, And Tyler No More explores the battle between morality and legality, between loyalty and betrayal, and confirms that dysfunction in Washington is not a modern American phenomenon.

And Tyler No More is available now in ebook and print editions on Amazon. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Stan's website for more information about the book and the awesome book trailer.

Need a cover designer?
Email me anytime to chat about your project!
jennyq@historicaleditorial.com