The final proof for A Rose for Sergei arrived last
week. I am thisclose to completion. I had made a change to the book cover,
adjusting the size of the rose to be more prominent, which necessitated making
the font smaller on the lower section. I
had a cover already for the eBook but the paperback cover had to be sized
differently. I wasn’t sure if I was
going to like the changes though. After
all this time I wanted it to be right.
When I designed the cover
I wanted it to be in direct contrast to Sergei’s book, The Persecutor. I kept it
simple, using the same colors—red, black and white. But in reverse. I even ended up using the photo I took with
my cell phone. For some reason it
captured the features I wanted better than my pricier digital camera.
Now I needed an unbiased
opinion about which cover to choose and the perfect opportunity presented
itself in a most unique manner. I actually
asked the furnace serviceman, who had just finished cleaning our house heating
system, for his thoughts on the two different covers. It turned out his wife was a photographer so
I was confident he had experience in selecting photos. I was relieved when he chose the book cover I
was leaning towards.
The service technician
was not familiar with Sergei Kourdakov’s story and I ended up giving him a
quick synopsis. I was surprised by his
thoughtful comments and questions. Yes,
I agreed with him, Sergei was very smart.
Something I think many people were not aware of. Yet, this man picked up on that in
seconds. He asked the age I recommended
for children to read the book. I told
him the content was serious, “At least age thirteen,” I suggested. We talked a little more about Sergei and then
the final question, “Was Sergei happy?”
A good question and an important one.
“Yes . . . Sergei was happy in this country.” It was obvious to anyone who had the chance
to meet Sergei that he was excited to be here.
I ended up giving the
technician a proof of the paperback book.
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