Sara............this cover is an example of a book that I would pick up in a book store and seriously consider. Enigmatic....romantic without being too much so. What do you mean you might not be able to keep the title? It has to be that....isn't it a reference to the tarot cards that Jennet reads?
Cynthia in Florida

It would be very annoying if they made you change the title ... don't they know that's a great title with its mystery and power?

I love this cover. Certainly draws the eye. It would be a crying shame to change the title. I, for one, vote against a title change!

Will this book be the last in the series of this wonderful story? Are you sure?

Ps. Just bought a hard cover edition of Into The Wilderness on eBay (sorry, if I could have purchased it from a store I certainly would have). This completes my collection of hard cover and paperbacks. I write this in the event that someone else may be looking for a hard cover copy, they can occasionally be found on eBay.

Trivia: Bourne Jones was grandfather to author Angela Thirkell.

I like this, too. It reminds me a bit of the cover of A.S. Byatt's Possession (also a Burne-Jones, The Beguiling of Merlin--and, like Into the Wilderness, also one of my favorite books), but the colors are different, grays and browns (QoS) versus golds and greens. Moodier.

I was hoping you'd give us your cover design ideas; thanks!

I don't know if this is true or not, but I've been told that magazine issues with faces on the cover tend to sell better than those with landscapes or other designs. Could be a real face, could be a cartoon face. Something appealing and human in it I think.

I haven't tried to find research that backs me up on this, but it's sort of "understood" where I work. They don't aim for a face every time, but they have noted that every magazine issue that had a face on the cover did well in circulation, or was recalled from memory easier by readers. I thought it would probably be the same with books. A book designer would probably know. Would be neat if you could get an email or a post from one of your past book designers. Just for larks.

I must admit though, on the title, I keep getting flashes of the TV series "Queen of Swords" - it leads to a very different impression than tarot cards, although the occult is present I guess, in the gypsy fortune teller/palm reader assistant to "the Queen." If I was a publisher, I might be concerned that there might be confusion between the TV series and the Wilderness series of books. But I wonder if cross-pollenation of imagery and ideas are really a concern to such people anyway. I'm sure you've thought of at least one other title that would be suitable? Is a title the first or the last thing you tend to think of? Aren't you supposed to leave title-development to the last in case the tone or plot changes dramatically, or in case the title influences the writing, you know, boxes you in, in some way? That sounds rude. I meant to say...Queen of Swords is a fine title, but have you planned for eventualities?

Sara, would you have the same female on the cover or one more akin to one of your characters in your work? Would you have the same type of dress on the cover or ... What would you change here, but keept the same colours and composition?