When I decided to sponsor a Parlor City Paradise photo contest, my biggest fear, really my only fear, was that I wouldn’t get any submissions worthy of being incorporated into the book’s cover design. That’s why I snuck in that little rules disclaimer stating that I didn’t have to choose a winner. I needed to make sure I had an out. Well, I’m happy to say my trepidation was entirely unwarranted. I received a number of fantastic submissions and the biggest challenge was narrowing them down to just one. With the help of a few trusted minions, I have managed to do that. However, I had another disclaimer in there too. It was toward the bottom of my contest blog post and it said “I reserve the right to use submissions on the back cover and/or inside the book.” I included that in case the pictures I received were of such quality that selecting a single photo for the front cover simply wasn’t good enough. I figured I was being overly optimistic but it turns out I was wrong about that too. As a result, I have multiple winners to congratulate.
Before I go any further, I’d like to take a moment to thank all those who took enough interest in this endeavor to ask questions, submit photos and share my various posts. I am especially grateful to the Press & Sun Bulletin, the Windsor Standard, Newspaper Publishers LLC, and Two Rivers Photography Club for helping to spread the word. Without that assistance, this whole thing would have been as bleak as Skid Row’s job prospects. That’s a Parlor City Paradise reference. I doubt it makes any sense to you now, but you’ll hopefully buy and read the book and then all will be made clear. Incidentally, I’m looking at an early to mid June release date. More on that in my next post.
pigeons house North Street near Front
Okay, you have, by now, surely noticed the pictures I have included here. You are probably also assuming one of them will be on the front cover of the book. You could be right. Then again….
I am fully prepared to formally congratulate my contest winners, of which there are three. I am not, however, willing to let the cat entirely out of the bag. That would spoil the surprise and I’m not ready to go there. I will tell you that the winning images are already in the very capable hands of Robin Gilbertson at R.G. Designs. Robin created the totally awesome cover for A Shot at Redemption and I have no doubt the Parlor City Paradise cover will be just as awesome if not even more so. I can say that with total confidence because I’ve already seen a mock up. That’s a technical term that means draft. There are photos on this page from my winners. There are others that, though certainly eye-catching, didn’t quite make it past my minions. It’s up to you to decide which is which.
At this time, I would like to officially congratulate Windsor Standard photographer Kaitlyn Hession. She sent in several submissions and one of them will indeed be incorporated into my cover design. A couple others will most likely be displayed on the back cover. I say most likely because the back cover design is still somewhat up in the air. I’m thinking there will be three photos there: two by Kaitlyn and a third that was submitted by Windsor High School students Kaylee Stone and Olivia Kristek. Congrats to all of you; and again, thank you. All winners will receive signed copies of the book. Kaitlyn also gets fifty bucks… which she’ll hopefully use to purchase Parlor City Paradise paperbacks for all her friends. It does make a nice gift. I’m not yet sure when I’ll do the big cover reveal but I promise it will be soon.
If you like what you’ve read, please subscribe to this blog or my Turn the Page book review blog. Visit michaelsova.com, or find me on Facebook and Twitter @Micsova. Also, please pick up a copy of A Shot at Redemption, and look for my new suspense novel, Parlor City Paradise, due out in 2016.
