The story behind the original cover
Some of you may recognise this photograph as the original cover of my first novel, The Unwanted Wife. I thought you'd be interested in knowing the story behind this picture. This wasn't a generic pic pulled from the Internet. I took it myself in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, Japan way back in 2006. The woman in the pic is my good friend, Mary and we were on our way to a beach party. I have always been drawn to this image of stark loneliness set against such a beautiful sunset and when it came time to self-publish TUW I wasn't sure what to use as a cover. I turned to this picture because the woman in it looks strong, despite her seeming isolation and thought she'd be a great model for Theresa. By that time I wasn't associating the silhouetted woman with Mary anymore, who is as different from Theresa De Lucci as day is from night, instead that woman became my Theresa and once that connection had been made in my head, I simply had to have that image for my cover. I asked Mary if she'd be okay with me using it and she was more than happy for me to do so and the rest is history. The cover has since been updated and I absolutely love the new cover but this one will always hold a special place in my heart.
