Forever Blackbirds...the cover reveal!

Plus, how I reshaped my family’s past into a story I could share

When I last reached out, I promised to share the cover of my new novel, Forever Blackbirds. Designed by Gigi Little, this cover takes inspiration from the North Dakota landscape of my childhood. After working back and forth through emails with Gigi, we finally nailed down a design that I couldn’t be happier with:

The final cover. Gigi wrote about her design process in her latest blog post.

At its core, Forever Blackbirds is the story of a woman losing the faith that buoyed her through years of a troubled marriage. As such, I let Gigi know that it was important for me to include a church on the cover—in particular, the sort of traditional steepled church my grandmother attended. I was pleased with the final design: the blue sky, the wheat-field like  landscape, and the elegant, almost old-fashioned font that perfectly captures the world of Forever Blackbirds. 

But let’s back up a bit…

Writing What I Know

Once I fully embraced Forever Blackbirds, the story demanded many more retreats. Originally, the story entailed nearly ten points of view, my way of knowing the characters until the story revealed itself. Over the next fifteen years, I continued to work as a therapist, entered a new relationship, then opted to live alone. Enter COVID-19. In a seeming parallel, my personal journey became reflected through the novels. Safekeeping, the sequel to Forever Blackbirds, more accurately mimics my personal story though, as in all my fiction, it’s also not my story. My personal experience and observations simply jumpstart the movie camera in my mind. Still, Forever Blackbirds is steeped in childhood memories during World War II. At that time, I lived in central North Dakota with my mother, sisters, and aunt while the men were gone to war. My maternal grandmother lived close by. Her kitchen and the smell of yeast from rising bread and pastries remains memorialized in my mind. Magdalene Boehler died of a heart attack at sixty-three when I was in my mid-twenties. (Likely too much cream and butter.) To say she left a lasting impression is an understatement. Because I asked, she willingly told me about her life in Russia, today’s Ukraine, and the family decision to settle in the central North Dakota’s German/Russian community with its familiar but harsh weather. Her immigration story is mostly imagined from research. 

Magdalene, the inspiration for Forever Blackbirds’ protagonist, stands with her husband and son.

Embracing the Drawing Board

Fifteen years after the original round table recollection with my cousins,  the manuscript—now reduced from three to two novels—found the watchful eye of Suzy Vitello, my developmental editor. Together, we decided that the separate immigrant story was so dark that I feared it would scare readers away from the two subsequent novels. Then, two summers ago on Zoom, the  Historical Novel Society introduced me to the concept of dual timelines. Consequently, Suzy and I settled on opening the novel in the middle of World War II and using the immigrant story in brief passages as the second timeline. This decision made the immigrant story less intrusive while creating a powerful backdrop to the “going forward” story.

A cheeky portrayal of how complicated the publishing process can be. Whether you’re self-published or traditionally published, the roadblocks always abound!

Help from Friends

With the gracious and generous help of Gigi Little, the cover was created. Eight months later, she provided the novel layout. Laura Stanfill, novelist and book publisher,  has remained my best advisor, problem- solver, and friend. I’m also grateful to Joanna Rose who “named” the novel during a summer writing retreat with  several Portland women in the mountains east of Ashland, Oregon. Also, a big shout out to Nancy Lashbrook-Townsley for proofreading the final manuscript and to Elise LeSage for her ongoing creativity with my social media campaign. Thanks to the writing friends who provided endorsements.  Having decided to forego the expense of a hybrid press (though She Writes has national distribution and helped me find my audience), Forever Blackbirds is being published under my own imprint, Travelers Moon Press. 

Last, I’m so grateful to you, the friends, family, and readers who are riding along with me on this journey. Forever Blackbirds will launch May 1, 2024. The book will be available or can be ordered at your local independent bookstore, through Bookshop.com, or other online outlets.