I love previews of coming attractions and sneak peeks, don’t you? Even though the release of my next novel is months away (September of 2015), I just have to share a peek at the fabulous new cover with you.
On This Foundation will be the final book in my biblical fiction trilogy “The Restoration Chronicles,” in which I tried to bring to life the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The series tells about the Jewish survivors after the destruction of Jerusalem and how God made a way for them to return to the Promised Land from captivity in Babylon. The prophet Zechariah is the main character in the first book, Return to Me, which describes how the first returning exiles rebuilt God’s Temple in Jerusalem. The second book, Keepers of the Covenant, is the story of Ezra’s efforts to restore true worship and reignite his people’s passion for God. The final book, On This Foundation, will feature Nehemiah and his mission to rebuild the city wall around Jerusalem.
I thought the art department at Bethany House Publishers would have a very hard time coming up with a third cover as beautiful as the first two—but they did it! Not only is it striking, but they managed to hint at some of the drama and action in this novel.
The designers always ask for my ideas and input into the cover design, and I thought it was important for the model who would portray Nehemiah to look Jewish. My daughter did some behind-the-scenes work and coaxed a Jewish friend of hers, Ben Shlimovitz, to come to the art studio and pose for the cover. Here are some outtakes from that photo shoot. I’m told that Ben was also a great help in getting the costuming right. Thank you Ben! Great job! I LOVE this cover!
And now that I’ve generated some excitement about the book, I’m sorry to say that you won’t be able to read it until September. In the meantime, I’m taking an informal poll. Which of the three covers do you like best?
