My Book Cover Has Been Judged!

1 – Outside – 11
My husband Carl Peel took this photo in some big park in Mexico City. I like this because it represents the emotional murk experienced by the characters in the stories, I’m a fan of trees, and my name is very legible at the bottom. His charity, the Stray Cat Alliance, gives great advice on how we can help the feral cats around our house (and sometimes in our laps), though they have not been very responsive to our recent repeated requests for a friendly cage. They must be busy cleaning up after them strays.

2 – Sweeta Burrita – 22
My friend Lori Schwartz has this adorable obsession with donkeys. For the last two years, I have sat beneath her calendars of donkey photos, so this cover touches my own donkey-loving heart, if not the heart of the actual stories in the book. But who can resist that big old crazyass smile? Lori selected her charity, the Elephant Sanctuary, because all the monies that are donated to them go directly to the animals, not to some charity administrator, who is probably paid peanuts.

3 – Microscopic Child – 15
This cover came from Ronnel Velasco, who works with my friend George Anderson at The Cimarron Group. I think this cover is actually most reflective of the book itself, as well as being the most commercial and viable for the marketplace. Many people thought the image of the girl at the bottom was me. I did too, when I first saw it, but I don’t think it is. Still, if it were, that would be cool. Ronnel’s charity, Project Angel Food, is one that’s close to my heart. I’ve been donating to them in honor of my dear friend Dick Delenia for about forever. I used to deliver lunches for them when I lived in Van Nuys. I just now remembered I used to live in Van Nuys. It was very hot and we often found stray porn video boxes blown under our cars parked on the street in front of our house.

4 – Sparky the Healing Love Pup – 16
This one was my design and I’m proud of it! I bought Sparky at the super duper gas station in Cambria. Lori likes to tell people he’s a real dog that I had stuffed but it just ain’t true. Sparky got a cover because I wanted to see how many people would fall for his fake puppy eyes and wondered how many of my friends would know it was my design. A few special people did and I love them for it! My charity is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in honor of my goddaughter Fifilala, who is 16 going on the proverbial and kicking this disease in the butt every day.

5 – Literal Literature – 64
Another gem from Ronnel at Cimarron, this one is truly gorgeous. So many people responded to the strength of this arresting image, and I’m not surprised. It really is breathtaking, and while it doesn’t comment on the world of the fiction, I think its beauty alludes to the natural poetic beauty of the stories, if I do say so myself and I do. Ronnel’s charity is Project Angel Food (see item #3 above).

That’s a grand total of 128 books sold, for a donation total of $640. WOW! In an extremely generous gesture, Ronnel has agreed to split the donation between Project Angel Food and Haiti Earthquake Relief. I’ll be sending out the cash as soon as I figure out how to get it from PayPal!

As for me, I am retiring from book promotion, moving into the distribution phase, getting back to writing…and figuring out how to make the covers! I’m ordering the books today and you should have them in your hands before the end of February. I’ll update when I know for sure.

Thanks to all the artists for creating fantastic cover designs, to my web guru Michael Sprague for his unflinching web voodoo, and to my trainer Charles Martinez for sending out facebook updates while I was pressing weights on the gym floor. Thanks so much to everyone for reading, playing, buying and sending your kind wishes. Tons of love, Tracy