Today I am so pleased to welcome Rebecca Cohen back to Joyfully Jay. Rebecca has been stopping by for a series of posts about her journey self publishing Captain Merric. Today she is here for an exclusive cover reveal. She has also brought along a giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!
Welcome to my final post about my upcoming pirate romance novel, Captain Merric
First things first, here is the amazing cover. Created by Garrett Leigh from https://www.blackjazzdesign.com/ and I can honestly say I am so pleased with what she created. I’ve have the cover for a number of months now, and it has been so hard to keep it under wraps.
I’ve been lucky with the publishers I’ve worked with when it came to covers, but what self-publishing gives you is complete freedom over your cover. That is great, but also a little daunting, so for me it was important to work with a cover artist that knew what they were doing. For Captain Merric, I originally has an idea for a super stylised skull and cross bones, something stark in black and white, and this was my idea when I first contacted Garrett and filled in the cover specification sheet. We started to discuss the design and I pointed out a few images and covers I liked, and I slowly realised that what actually I wanted, no needed, was a cover to say pirate romance and that would grab the audience. So I left it in Garrett’s hands and she researched the other pirate books, a good sign that your cover artist knows what they’re doing!
When I saw the draft cover, I knew she was on to a winner. But there were still things to thrash out. My original Merric didn’t have a beard, so after seeing the alternative models (including one that has such a smug face it gave Garrett the urge to punch him), we agreed on this one. And I then asked if she could remove the beard… yeah, don’t laugh, I’m a writer not a graphic artist! But in the end, I loved this Merric and I went back to the story and gave him a beard – another thing to thank the the freedom of self-publishing for. I’m not sure I’d have had the same freedom from a publishing house.
I’m nearly at the end of my self-publishing journey. I’ve the edits complete, MS formatted and the cover complete. Now it’s time to release the novel and let Captain Merric sail into the sunset.
Captain Merric, release date 6th April 2018, available to pre-order from Amazon from 23rd March.
Excerpt
Here’s a brief glimpse of what’s in store – Daniel (Royal Navy officer) and Edward (Captain Merric) need to get to know each other better after 15 years apart.
Daniel shook his head but followed as Edward made his way through the garden down another path Daniel had not yet had a chance to explore. They weren’t heading to the town or to the pool, and instead arrived at a small secluded beach with a jetty extending out into the waves, where a rowing boat was moored.
They climbed aboard, Daniel making sure he wasn’t in the position to man the oars. “Since you’re so keen for physical activities you can row.”
Edward tutted as he sat, but he picked up the oars. “I didn’t become Captain Merric to row my own boat.”
Daniel untied the rope and settled down to enjoy the view of the sea and Edward being put to work. “I still don’t really understand why you became a pirate. I know the circumstances but not the reasoning. You weren’t a lawbreaker back in England.”
“What other choice did I have? After I was shipwrecked I had no money to return to England, and later it was clear I would not be welcome even if I did. I had no trade in which to offer my service, apart from being handy with a sword and a decent shot, but didn’t have your mapmaking or navigation skills.”
“You are saying necessity drove you to piracy?”
“Basically, yes.”
“But what kept you there?”
Edward thought for a moment before continuing. “I guess nothing deeper than I enjoyed the thrill of it, and the spoils. Money, men, and women willing to do as I wish, the infamy. It’s an intoxicating mix.”
“I am surprised this little boat can bear the weight of your ego.”
Blurb
A tale of pirates, lost love, and the fight for a happy ending.
After he’s set adrift and left to die by his mutinous crew, the last person Royal Navy officer Daniel Horton expects to come to his rescue is Captain Merric. An infamous pirate, Merric is known as much for stealing his victims’ hearts as their jewels. Daniel’s world is about to be turned upside down when he recognises Captain Merric as none other than Edward Merriston, someone he thought he’d never see again.
Edward can’t believe Daniel Horton is aboard his ship. While Edward is willing to do anything he can to get a second chance at their happy ending, Daniel isn’t interested in digging up the past. But Daniel is one priceless treasure Captain Merric isn’t about to let go of without a fight.
Preorder link: Amazon
Bio
REBECCA COHEN is a Brit abroad. Having swapped the Thames for the Rhine, she has left London behind and now lives with her husband and young son in Basel, Switzerland. She can often be found with a pen in one hand and a cup of Darjeeling in the other.
Contacts:
- Blog: http://rebeccacohenwrites.com/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rebecca.cohen.710
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/R_Cohen_writes
- Pinterest : https://www.pinterest.ch/rebeccacohen76/
Giveaway
For your chance to win a copy of the ebook of Captain Merric, once published, leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this amazing cover! I’ll pick the winners (4 in total – one from each post), after the cover reveal in March – so plenty of time to comment and you can go back to the previous posts to add comments too. The contest ends on Monday, March 26th at 11:59 pm ET.
- By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
- Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
- If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
- Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
- Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
- All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
- By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
- Readers may only enter once for each contest. Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
- Void where prohibited by law.
I love the cover except for the beard! I know I’m in the minority, but I just don’t like beards. I’ve gone so far as not to buy books with lumbersexuals on the cover, regardless of the story. This one isn’t that bad, but still not my cup of tea.
I think we may have to agree to disagree on the beard 😉
Welcome back, Rebecca; I’ve been enjoying your series of posts about the writing of your book. The cover is attractive, and it certainly says Pirate to me! Best wishes for the success of Captain Merric.
Thank you! I’m very happy to heave you’ve enjoy following my journey 🙂
I absolutely love the cover. I’d sure love to be on a ship with him! I will definitely be one clicking this.
I’m so happy with the cover. He’s the perfect Merric 😀
The cover is great! I love it.
Me too – thanks!
I gasped when I saw the cover–it’s that gorgeous. Has a Master & Commander vibe which I love because that’s one of my favorite movies. Thank you for the giveaway chance.
I made a happy squeaking noise when I first saw it! 🙂
Gorgeous cover!
Thanks! Garrett did an amazing job.
I love the cover and I love pirates. This one should be a winner.
I hope so!
I like the feeling conveyed by the model. There’s more depth there than just “I’m hot! Look at my muscles!”
I completely agree… he a bit brooding and dangerous *swoon*
Stellar cover, it really draws the eye =)
Absolutely! 😀
That’s such a great cover! Really enticing. Congratulations, Rebecca!
Thank you! I love this cover 🙂
Congrats – your cover is a winner. Evokes everything that I love about a gay pirate romance – the rugged nature of him, his looking down and not directly out, the type style fits perfectly, the dark ship in the background, and that luminescent blue.
Completely agree… it ticks so many boxes and he is the perfect Merric!
Completely agree… it ticks so many boxes and he is the perfect Merric!
Cover is beautiful! Aah!
It is lovely – I’m so happy with it 🙂
Yea, that screams ‘pirate romance’ that’s for sure. I often check books out when the cover grabs my eye.
I’m not a fan of the symbolic covers – a spray of flowers tells me NOTHING about the book, and often for those, I’ll have to read a recommendation somewhere to clue me in.
I’m so happy it hit the mark. Covers can be a tricky one to crack
Wonderful cover, I love it. And I always had a thing for men with well groomed beards! (I even married one, lol) =:))
It’s just really such a pity that this book is only available at Amazon. So I will have to pull back and abstain from buying it. =:((
I really hope you will release your next selfpublished one with one of the other re-sellers also, because not everyone reads on a kindle eReader, thanks…
I’ll be looking at going wider after the initial exclusive period. I needed to get Captain Merric out before the calm of my real life is interrupted by some big changes, and so I needed to keep it simple as it my first time self publishing. Hopefully late summer I’ll have an even keel again.