Since I mentioned I would be publishing (well, publishing-on-demand) Practice to Deceive, I’ve had the tough, tough task of spending many hours going through Shutterstock to find the perfect cover imagery. It’s a hard life, but someone’s got to do it.

Seriously, while at times I found myself quite awed by the amount of gorgeous models on that site, it was actually pretty damn hard to find an image that I liked. Ideally I wanted something that needed little (if any) editing; it needed to be relatively clutter free, to have a good, clean look as a book cover; and frankly, it needed to be sexy while not being entirely overt. I’m sure you’ve looked already, but just in case… scroll down (and click/tap to make bigger).

Thoughts? I think it’s a lot sexier than the original cover, frankly, although your mileage may obviously vary. The model is closer in my mind’s eye to what Linda looks like in the novel (brunette) although I’m sure she’s younger! (The other good news about this choice of image is that the same model is featured in a variety of fantastic images, so you never know, she may appear on the cover of the sequel, too….)

Of course, you have to suspend disbelief to imagine that what you’re looking at isn’t a woman at all, but a young man wearing a very clever disguise… but that’s what we do when we read, so I think we can handle that.

(By the way, I’ve looked – a lot – for images that could show/display masking, but the fact is, while there’s a few out there, nothing’s quite right for me. When I’m rich and famous I’ll commission someone to do that for me. Don’t hold your breath.)

Anyway, I may still tweak the cover a bit before publication; I may do white-on-dark text for the title instead, although I’m partial to this palette overall. Anyway, I’d love to know your thoughts. Do you think it’s better or worse than the original? (See right for reference – again, click for a close-up.) Do you think it would be more likely to make you buy the book, if you saw this cover?

Finally, a pretty important question… considering this is planned for the paperback cover… would you have it in your house?? (Perhaps under the bed, or discretely hidden in a drawer… heck, I’d have to do it myself.)

Anyway, I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or reach out via the contact page with your thoughts.

More news about other projects this week. Been busy!