Change can be good. Many of us have been doing some spring cleaning at home. Lately, I’ve been freshening up my books as well as my home. New book covers, fresh edits, etc.

Here is the old cover for my novel, The Broken & The Foolish:

It had a pulp fiction vibe to it. You can definitely tell it’s in the Western genre and the design is very cool. My cover designer is talented. However, I don’t think it was appealing to the wider audience that I was hoping to reach. Unless you like Westerns specifically, you might not pick up this book based on the cover. Some of you may prefer the older cover and that’s fine. I definitely loved it, but it was time for an update. I don’t think the loud Western vibe is as marketable to the types of people who follow me/read my books. I don’t have a huge following of avid Western fans so it made sense to make a change.

Let’s take a look again at the new cover for The Broken & The Foolish:

To me, this cover fits the mood and vibe of my novel much better than the original cover. It has literary elements and the protagonist is a young woman who spends a lot of time in the wilderness after she quits her job as a saloon girl. While the story takes place in 1880’s Missouri, it also pushes the boundaries of other genres. This new design is fresher and tells more of a story, in my opinion. I love how the cover has a setting which hints at the mood the story’s going to take. Mood is important for a book cover. I’m thinking (and hoping) that this cover will be more appealing to a wider audience and perhaps attract more female readers to the story. Previously, I’ve only had one woman read and review this book and I’d love to get more women (and men) reading it! Mary’s path is far from orthodox and my hope is that more readers will be able to connect with her story through this new little update.

Let me know what you think of this cover! Do you prefer the older one? I’m curious to know your thoughts!

If you’d like to know more about my novel, I’ve included a summary and link to the story below:

Some outlaws kill for the rush.

Mary just wants to survive.

Nineteen-year-old Mary has had enough of the saloon girl life and her abusive boss, Max. She flees in the middle of the night to travel the open road and nearly loses her life several times as she encounters bullies, seasoned outlaws, and scoundrels. Longing for a reprieve from the outlawing life, she seeks refuge in The Ozarks. Finding both peace and danger while living in the beautiful wilderness, she realizes how much she misses her little sister, Becky. When she returns to civilization to seek Becky out, she discovers that something terrible has happened – Max has murdered her.

Standing at the edge of a steep cliff, Mary vows to kill Max before killing herself. Her quest is interrupted when she meets Gabriel, a young farmer, while trespassing on his apple orchard. He is kinder than anyone she has ever met and he offers to be her guide on the journey to Kansas where Max resides. She hesitantly agrees. They form a bond while traveling together across the state, but will it be enough to stop her from seeking vengeance on her sister’s dangerous killer?

You can purchase Mary’s story on Kindle for only $2.99 US here.