Behind the Book Interviews: Roseanna White – Cover Designer

In my third Behind the Book Interview, I have the absolute pleasure of introducing you all to Roseanna White, the designer of the absolutely STUNNING cover of Bring Her Home (and all three of my other books too!).

I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but as someone who does (like… all the time…oops?), what’s on the cover means a lot to me. Summing up the feel, heart, look and tone of a book in a single picture is no easy thing, hence why I am incredibly thankful for Roseanna who somehow manages to do it over and over again and make my books just look so beautiful!

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to my cover designer, the amazing Roseanna White.

What are five words you’d use to describe yourself?

Creative, introvert, book-lover, thinker, maker

How did you get into cover design? Is it something you’ve always wanted to do?

I was a writer first…but the kind who always drew covers for all the stories I
wrote as a kid. So when I got my hands on Photoshop, I learned how to use it
solely so that I could make book covers there. I’m totally self (and internet
tutorial) taught, but I’ve always loved it!

Do you have a favorite book cover? (Either in general or one that you’ve designed)

My favorites are definitely the princess and “pretty dress” covers I’ve gotten to
do! So yours, Jody Hedlund’s, Lori Bates Wright’s…

What is the most challenging part of designing covers?

Well I’m always working with authors on a budget, so the tricky part is creating
that perfect image for them using only stock photos rather than doing photo
shoots. It involves a lot of merging of images, tweaking, performing digital
surgery to poor unsuspecting models…a challenge, but fun.

Do you have a favorite part of designing covers?

Philosophically, I love capturing the heart of a book with one image.
Aesthetically, those “beautiful dress” covers are my favorite every time!

Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to book covers? (Asking for a friend…)

Ha! When it comes to professional ones, I really don’t. I love all the different
styles I see and have no problem with partial faces or from-the-back of faces
visible or no-people…I find all the styles fascinating and can see who they’re
trying to appeal to.

Though I gotta say—when I see a clearly self-made cover with horrible fonts and
outlines and images that have been pasted together badly, I cringe every time.

Do you have a favorite part of Bring Her Home’s cover?

I love the movement in the red dress!

Is there something of yourself, a quirk or signature or something, that you put
into every cover you design? Or, is there something (a photo or idea or
something) that you’ve always wanted to use in a cover?

I wouldn’t say there’s a signature on every one, but I do tend toward certain
fonts that are classic and versatile, and I for sure have a photo-realistic style that
I use more often than not! (In my defense, LOL, I use it so often because it’s what
people come to me for.)

As for images I’m dying to use…I actually keep a whole folder of them on Shutterstock, so when a project comes along that they might work for, I go “Oo, oo!” and run to check. Several of my favorites have appeared on other covers in recent years, of course. I’m certainly not the only one who discovered them!

I’d love to know, as both an author and someone who’s been involved in the
publishing business for a while now, if you could give an aspiring author one
piece of advice, what would it be?

Your journey is your own, and God has put you on this path in particular so that
He can lead you toward His purpose. Don’t compare your journey to anyone
else’s…but do respect the dream. Anything worthwhile requires hard work and
time. If this is something you’re passionate about, don’t take shortcuts—they
never actually get you to the “destination” faster…because there is no
destination, just the journey.

Okay, final question. Since we’re talking royals and all, would you want to be a
royal? Why or why not?

Bring it on!! I think I’d look fabulous in a crown. 😉 Okay, so the constant
attention might get old…but I’m generally pretty good at “public face” so I like to
think I’d do okay.

BONUS FEATURE!!

You’ve heard from and met Roseanna now, but how about a behind the scenes of the behind the scenes?!? Roseanna has written a blog post about how she created the cover of Bring Her Home, including that red gown… Click here to read The Making of Bring Her Home’s Cover – from the first idea, to the one that didn’t make it, what Hannah is like to work with (ha!), and how this beautiful cover came to be what you know and love today.

Hope you’ve enjoyed meeting Roseanna. I sure love working with her. Even when I’m causing trouble (sorry Roseanna!)

Anyone else you’d like to hear from? Anything you found super interesting about the process? Comment below and let me know 🙂