Full Cover for Wind of the Spirit

I just got the full cover for Wind of the Spirit this week, and isn’t it gorgeous? Marisa always does such a lovely job! There’s something about the painting we used and the coordinating colors she chose for the background that really appeal to me. I’m a natural kinda girl, and this range of earthy colors is just my style.

I also love the Don Troiani painting of a Shawnee Indian warrior that appears on the back. He stands in for the Shawnee sequences in the story, while the main painting on the front by Thomas Sully illustrates the final scenes, with Washington’s army preparing for the famous crossing of the Delaware.

I uploaded the cover to the printer’s site yesterday, the final step since the text file was already good to go. And I’ve ordered the proof, and as soon as I make any needed corrections, it’ll be ready to print. The official pub date is April 1, but we’re ahead on the production schedule, so we’ll probably begin shipping in mid March.

The new edition of Wind of the Spirit is available for preorder on these sites.

Christianbook.com
Barnes & Noble

In March I’m going to hold several drawings for free copies. So watch this space and my facebook page for announcements.

I’d love to get some feedback on the cover, so please let me know what you think!

New Wind of the Spirit Cover!

We have the new Wind of the Spirit cover! And isn’t it gorgeous? I’m constantly amazed at what a great job Marisa does. She’s one of the people I’m truly thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Since we didn’t have a painting by Don Troiani that worked for this part of the story, I decided to go with a painting titled “The Passage of the Delaware,” by Thomas Sully (1819), that portrays Washington and his army crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night, 1776, on their way to attack the Hessian outpost at Trenton, New Jersey. I hated to give up our Indian for the cover since so much of the story takes place among the Shawnee, but I couldn’t find a painting that was a good substitute for the photo we used on the original edition. However, if you’ve read the story, you know that Wind of the Spirit ends with the army gathering to make the crossing, and Carleton’s vision of God leading them in a pillar of fire and cloud. This image captures the feeling of those final scenes, and, of course, Crucible of War opens with the army reaching the New Jersey shore and preparing for battle, so it ties the two volumes together. And on the back cover of Wind of the Spirit, we’re going to have Don Troiani’s painting of a Shawnee warrior as a stand-in for the Native American thread.

The new, updated Heritage Edition will release in April 2013, and I’m hurrying to make the final updates to the text and the formatting in Quark so it’ll be entirely consistent with the new look of the series. And of course I’ll also update the ebook files in the spring. Lots to do so I can get this off my plate and get back to writing Valley of the Shadow. As always, there’s lots of action and romance coming up for Jonathan and Elizabeth!

Speaking of Thanksgiving, what are you the most thankful for this year? For me, it’s my family and friends. Since I moved back up here to Indiana, I’m really loving having my extended family so close. Last week I went with my aunt and two cousins to the viewing for a cousin who died quite suddenly and unexpectedly. In spite of the circumstances, his family shared a testimony of God’s love and faithfulness through his life. It’s times like this that we’re reminded of how short and fragile life can be, and how everything can turn around on a dime.

I was impressed again by how precious our loved ones are and how we need to hold them close while we’re blessed to have them. I hope and pray that you’re able to gather together with your family next week to share love and joy and laughter and reflect on God’s great goodness to us!

I Am Blessed!

"Stand Your Ground" by Don Troiani.
Used by permission.

This week I was humbled and honored to receive the endorsement below from a good friend who is one of my biggest supporters. He has blessed me so much by embracing this series enthusiastically and recommending it to his circle of family and friends wholeheartedly. Bless you, John, you encourage me more than you know! Thank you!

“We have given this series to all of our family so that they will understand the foundation of this country and the freedoms they enjoy. If you haven’t read it yet, you should. You will relive the sacrifices, romances, and pain experienced by past patriots. You will understand what you have benefited from when you experience this trip through history as written by Joan. It is historically accurate fiction, and a very engaging and interesting read. I can’t wait for the next book to come out!” –John E. Anderson, SGM Ret, U.S. Army Intelligence & Communications Command. 

Announcing ... New Series Cover Art!

Sometimes the stars are in the right alignment . . .

Can you tell I’m so excited I can hardly stand it? I’ve found the perfect art for the covers for this series—at least most of them—and they were right under my nose! It just never occurred to me until recently that these gorgeous and historically accurate paintings might be available for licensing.

If you’ve ever done much research into American history from the French and Indian War through the Civil War, you’ve undoubtedly run into Don Troiani’s paintings. Several years ago I purchased his beautifully detailed Soldiers in America: 1754–1865, with text by Earl J. Coates and James L. Kochan. I refer to it whenever any questions about the uniforms and weaponry of the Revolution arise. If you’re not familiar with Mr. Troiani’s work, here’s his bio from the dust jacket.

Mr. Troiani’s paintings have appeared in numerous national collections, including the National Park Service, West Point Military Academy, and the Smithsonian Institute. Known for his incredibly accurate renditions of the American Revolution and the Civil War, he is also a respected authority on uniforms and equipage of the American military. His collection of military antiques ranks among the most important in the country.

Once it occurred to me that I might be able to get the rights to use some of Mr. Troiani’s images, I did an internet search, which immediately led me to the Military and Historical Image Bank. I was pretty sure the fee to use them was going to be more than I could afford, but happily good folks at MHIB were willing accommodate my budget. It always pays to ask!

There are also a whole lot more of Mr. Troiani’s paintings than are shown in the book. I was able to match several to the volumes in the series, along with several smaller images for some of the back covers, such as one of an officer of the British 17^th Light Dragoons, to go on the back cover of Daughter of Liberty to represent Jonathan Carleton. There are only a couple of volumes that I’ll need to find other artwork for. Below is a list, with the volume and the corresponding image. Since I only have permission for the first image so far, the others are shown with the watermark.

1. Daughter of Liberty: Stand Your Ground, the Battle of Lexington Green
Back cover: British 17th Light Dragoons (an almost perfect stand-in for Carleton!)

2. Native Son: The Battle of Oriskany, 1777 (Okay, it’s the wrong battle and date for the story and the Indians are Oneida instead of Shawnee, but this is as close as we’re gonna get!)




3. Wind of the Spirit back cover image: Shawnee Indian Warrior 1750-80




4. Crucible of War: General George Washington at the Battle of Princeton (tentative, above). To the right is the image I’d love to have.
Back cover (left): Battle of Eutaw Springs, Sept. 8, 1781. (Yeah, I know, but it’s a great stand-in for Carleton in this volume when he comes within a hair's breadth of being captured by the British. Ummm. . . forget I mentioned that!)




6. Refiner’s Fire: The Cavalry Battle at Cowpens 1781 (tentative)






7. Forge of Freedom: A Prayer of Thanksgiving, April 19, 1783



For the front covers of Wind of the Spirit and Valley of the Shadow, and also potentially for Crucible of War, I’ll need to find other artwork. I’m hoping to find appropriate historical paintings that can be licensed. Valley of the Shadow and/or Refiner’s Fire will need a naval image. There’s one of the battle between the Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis (right) that would be perfect for Refiner’s Fire, if I can only find out where it’s located and whether it can be licensed. Also one of Washington at the Battle of Princeton that would be absolutely fabulous for Crucible of War, but I haven’t yet been able to determine who the artist is or where the painting resides. But I’m working on it.

These images will take up only part of the front cover, either the top or bottom. The rest of the space will have an image representing Elizabeth Howard or something else relevant to the volume, and a bar with the title and my name. I’m saving up my pennies to purchase the rights for each as we get to work on the cover, so it’s going to take a while to get them all done. But at least I finally have a plan and a basic design, and that feels great. And Crucible of War is flowing right along, which feels pretty exhilarating too!