I saw that my publisher has the cover for my hybrid flash memoir up on their website! So without further ado here is the cover for my book, due out March 20, by ELJ Editions. Preorders will be available in a couple of weeks!
The artwork and cover design is by collage artist and writer Lorette Luzajic, the EIC of The Ekphrastic Review and The Mackinaw. Typeface by Keith Powell and Lorette Luzajic.
I commissioned the art from her. Every tidbit in the collage is something from the book itself. Lorette did a wonderful job of excavating the images.
Here’s a book description to wet your appetite.
The hybrid flash memoir Scrap: Salvaging a Family explores the stain of childhood fear and anxiety on the adult spirit and the experience of reconciling with an aging or dying parent. A daughter has grown up in a household with an angry and abusive father. He keeps the secret of his biological father’s identity from his daughter for decades. When the elderly man faces his mortality, he finally names his father. The more the daughter learns about her father’s early life and origins, the more she understands him which leads to forgiveness for the past.
I really hope that you’re going to enjoy the structure of the book which is made up of short micro or flash pieces, a longerish (hahaha) central piece, a few poems, and some dedicated glimpses of reflection.
P.S. You might be wondering if there will be a cat in the book. Yes, and there is an image in the collage on the book cover. Look very closely at the bottom right, and you will see a little black cat.
Congratulations! That’s a great cover by Lorette!
Thanks, Merril! This is so scary (memoir) and exciting (finally!). Lorette read the ms. and spent a lot of time creating just the right look for the book. Nailed it.
You’re welcome, Luanne!
Oh, Luanne! The cover is so eye-catching! I have a feeling that your being brave about sharing these stories will resonate with so many readers.
Thank you, Joy!!! Ah, yes, it’s hard. I mean it has been good for me emotionally, but now that it’s coming out I’m both excited and scared!
I LOVE your cover! The colors, the collage, the typeface, and the blurb about the book all capture my attention and interest. The title too is perfect, something I think readers will relate too: Aren’t we all mining our childhood memories, salvaging what we can learn from them, piecing it together, trying to understand what it’s all means. Can’t wait to read this! Congratulations!
Deborah, thank you so much for mentioning all you like and your comment about mining our childhood memories is so true! I can’t wait for you to read it!
Congratulations on the new publication, Luanne!
Thank you, Lavinia! Scariest publication for me! But exciting, too.
Wow, Luanne, what a great cover! I love it. You are a wonderful collagist. Your creating the memoir’s cover and contents is very much like someone creating a song’s music and lyrics. Think Sondheim.
Well, the collage is by Lorette Luzajic. She is a collage artist, and she read the manuscript, excavating all the images she wanted to use in the collage. I chose her because I love her work and her collages were the perfect style since they have the “scrapbook look.”
Really! OMG! Well, I just went back and read what you wrote in this article. You clearly stated who the artist is. She did a great job. I am just thrilled for you having your memoir published. 😊
I know. Can you believe I started it in 2008? I thought it would take ten years and that I was being very cautious in saying ten. But it was 17 years in process. I thought Lorette’s style was so perfect for the book and she was meticulous in her research.
Much success, Luanne. Looking forward to your tour.
I can’t wait either. Thank you for participating!
Looks like you’re having a lot of fun with this very worthwhile project.
Yes, I am scared out of my mind since it’s a memoir, but I feel that everything is feeling just right to me.
Unless you’re confessing to something horrible and illegal, I wouldn’t worry about it. It will be just fine!
No murder confessions!
Whew!
Sounds like an interesting and intimate read. Of course there had to be a cat.
Thanks, Kate! Hahahaha, of course, there is. There is a cat story and then a reflection piece about it. Perry wanted to be in the book, but I told him he couldn’t be in this one ;).
Oh, that is wonderful. And that it echoes the content–really nice.
Thank you, Ellen!
Congratulations, Luanne! The cover looks great!! At first glance, I wondered how the collage on the cover related to the contents of the book. And you explained it! Sharing to help spread the word.
Thank you, Liz! Yes, every single “thing” in the collage is from the book in one way or another.
You’re welcome, Luanne!
Very eye-catching cover, Luanne! The title seems very fitting. Thanks for including the book description, too. I’m sure this was a hard book to write with such subject matter to process and transform.
Thank you, Eilene! It was hard to write and took me 17 years!
Launching a memoir into the world IS scary – as I’m sure you well know. So! Fabulous that you can immerse yourself in the cover and have such fun with it. It must have been rewarding having the control of it, and also rewarding to work with Lorette Luzajic.
Congratulations!
Thank you, Gwen! Your memoir was an inspiration along the way!
Wow!
Congratulations, Luanne
Thank you, Derrick!
It’s beautiful!!
Love the cover, Luanne!
Woohoo, thank you!