The old maxim of not judging a book by its cover applies to many aspects in life, but not I suggest, to books. There is an entire industry out there dedicated to designing covers. The authors and marketers charged with selling books put tremendous emphasis on trying to find a winner. That said, it's an inexact science, but trends emerge to reflect genres, with publishers commissioning artwork that will serve to attract readers looking for their next favourite read.
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| | | To illustrate my point, I did a search for thriller covers. The results included this lovely montage.* As a reader, if you liked Peter May's, A Silent Death, chances are high you'd pick up a similar looking title when looking for your next read if faced with such an array. |
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| In the genre I write, literary fiction, it's a little more challenging, with no dominant form occupying bookshelves. When I serialised the publication of A Little Something To Hide, my brilliant designer, Jason Heffer, came up with a fabulous device for illustrating each of the individual parts. That worked fabulously and delivered what I was hoping to achieve. | | |
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| | | However, you'd be forgiven for thinking that with a tweak to the colour scheme, the cover for the full volume could just as easily sit among the other books in the thriller genre shown above. Given the similarity to those covers, this leads some readers to believe it does, but that is a mis-characterisation. It's not even a distantly related cousin to the category.
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| So on this, the second anniversary of the publication of Bobbie, the first part of the A Little Something To Hide series, I'm gifting my book a new set of clothes. |
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| Happy birthday to ALSTH!... and here it is, in all its technicolour glory - the new look A Little Something To Hide. Inside, the story remains the same, but outside, there's a world of difference - it's blue for a start ... and has a different picture. Anyway, I love it. If you want a copy, click on the button below.**
| eBook $4.99
Paperback $11.99 |
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| New cover aside, I also wanted to forewarn that excitement is getting the better of me. Next month's newsletter will come out a little earlier than usual containing news about what's coming next from my desk. I'm really looking forward to sharing it with you in more detail. Until then, that's it from me, cheerio for now Craig
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| ** Note that I said there's nothing different inside. Unless you're a serial collector of multiple editions, if you already have a copy, don't buy it again. Find another writer and support their work. If you're looking for ideas, here's an affiliate link to some that I recommend. |
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Craig Brown is an author living in Newbury. To follow his work visit craigbrownauthor.com
Facebook/BlueSky/Threads/Instagram: @GOMinTraining
Copyright © Craig Brown, 2026
25 June 2026
