Cover Reveal, These Dreams by Nicole Clarkston

It is my pleasure this morning to host the cover reveal for Nicole Clarkston's soon to be released novel, These Dreams. This novel is a Pride & Prejudice variation and is different from any I have ever read. I have had the good fortune to read along as Nicole was writing her story. It has been a rewarding and enjoyable experience, although there were quite a few times that I felt like 'strangling' her for leaving me in such a bad place! :) Of course, I jest, but I did shriek while she laughed with a maniacal chortle at my distress. She was having a delightful time, too delightful if you ask me, while writing those heart-wrenching scenes. Oh, but they were delicious and kept me wanting more—and more—and more! I am eager for each of you to have a chance to read These Dreams.

Before revealing the cover, I will give you a taste of what is inside
by showing you the back cover blurb! Enjoy!

*****

An abandoned bride

A missing man

And a dream which refuses to die...

Pride and patriotism lend fervor to greed and cruelty, and Fitzwilliam Darcy

is caught at the centre of a decades old international feud. Taken far

from England, presumed dead by his family, and lost to all he holds dear, 

only one name remains as his beacon in the darkness: Elizabeth.

Georgiana Darcy is now the reluctant, heartbroken heiress to Pemberley,

and Colonel Fitwilliam her bewildered guardian. Vulnerable and unprepared,

Georgiana desperately longs for a friend, while Fitzwilliam seeks to protect her

from his own family. As the conspiracy around Darcy's death widens and 

questions mount, Colonel Fitzwilliam must confront his own past. 

An impossible dream, long ago sacrificed for duty, may become his only hope.

Newly married Lydia Wickham returns to Longbourn- alone and under

mysterious circumstances. Elizabeth Bennet watches one sister suffer and

another find joy, while she lives her own days in empty regrets over what might

have been. Believing Darcy lost forever, she closes her heart against both pain

and happiness, but finds no escape from her dreams of him.

*****

Nicole and I actually started working on this cover months ago. It has been finished, except for spine width, for quite some time. Of course, we would tweak one more thing or change a font color, 

but the essentials stayed the same.

Are you ready to see? Let's do it!

Drum roll, please!

*****

So, what do you think? Is your interest piqued?

*****

Nicole, any thoughts you want to share?

Janet and I started talking about this cover back in February, when the book was still in its infancy. She had been reading right along from the beginning, but she knew very little about some of those landmark scenes that were so clear in my imagination. I knew I wanted a heartbroken Elizabeth on the front cover, and we were still hesitant about whether or not we would include Darcy.

We flipped through dozens of images; or at least I did, I’m sure Janet’s count was probably in the hundreds. I knew I wanted a vintage painting that we could tweak as needed, but that narrowed our selections considerably. When Janet found this poor girl leaning against the tree, I almost fell out of my chair. What she did not yet know was that I had already planned several key scenes which looked just like that!

Darcy was harder. We almost excluded him entirely, but Janet faithfully looked and looked, trying to find something that would fit. The first image she saw was the one we used, but she initially discarded it because he was facing away from the viewer. In the end, that was what we loved best about him. Meanwhile, we flipped through several others. On one particularly snippy day (for which I am still apologising) I said one of her gentlemen reminded me of Zoolander. Thank goodness for her generous heart, she is still speaking to me!

As you may have already guessed from the back cover, Colonel Fitzwilliam plays an enormous role in this story. Yes, that is our devastatingly hot colonel gracing the back cover, in a custom uniform which Janet crafted herself. This is why I no longer do my own covers, ladies and gentlemen. The identity of that sultry lady next to him will remain, for now, a mystery, but I absolutely love that girl. I cannot wait to introduce you to her on another day!

*****

I can hardly wait for you to introduce the readers to that sultry young lady, as well.

As for 'Zoolander' Darcy face, I keep coming across that same gentleman in picture searches. Every time I see him, I stop,... look at him;... then wonder...what was I thinking? Darcy - NOT! Zoolander - YEP! Good call, Nicole! (and you were not snippy) lol

After sending Nicole the painting that we used for the front cover, and she told me about the key scenes that she had planned which looked just like that painting, I got 'gooseflesh'!
When I originally saw the painting, I thought it would be so perfect,
but of course, I had no idea of just how perfect!
Isn't it neat how things work sometimes? I love it!

Thank you for having me do this cover, Nicole. It was such a pleasure working on it and making it come together to fit your story. I must confess, I rather enjoyed working on the Colonel! :)
Thank you also for allowing me to read the story as you wrote it. It's fabulous and I cannot wait for all my readers and the rest of the JAFF community to have a chance to read it for themselves. It was great fun working with you and giving a 'face' to 'your baby'. I cannot count the number of times I laughed out loud reading our back and forth dialogue!

Now, get this turkey out of the oven and on the table! lol

To read an excerpt and make sense of the above sentence,
read Nicole's post about this book at Austen Variations. :)

Get ready, folks! There is a giveaway! YAY! Two lucky winners will each get an eARC
of These Dreams! The giveaway is international and is for two eARCs.
Please leave us a comment, some love, or whatever else you feel like on this fine Friday.
Leave me a way to contact you if you are new to my blog.
I am always sad to lose winners because I have no way of reaching them.
Giveaway will end on the 17th of August at 11:59 P.M. Good luck to all.

We hope you enjoy the cover reveal for These Dreams by Nicole Clarkston. Keep 'an eye out'
because there is a blog tour coming the later part of September! There will be much
to look forward to with excerpts, guest posts, vignettes, giveaways, and some reviews.
I hope you will all join in the fun. Dates to follow in a few weeks.
The book is available for pre-order! :) This is a universal link and will provide all pre-order sites as they become available.