Veronica's Writer's Diary: JUNE, There Were Signs...

"Look for the signs. They are clues leading you on the path."

Anonymous

I wasn't expecting it. I wasn't really thinking about it at the time. The last weeks of May had been satisfying but rather uneventful. Fixing up the patio for summer nights. Putting together my summer wardrobe. Planning trips. Buying books for my TBR.

And then, it came.

An email. In the subject line, three simple words:

'In another dimension...'

Now, had I not seen who the email was from, I would have probably ignored it and deleted it, assuming it was another one of hundreds of spam emails I get throughout the year.

But not this one. It was from Eeva Lancaster, the queen of book and author services extraordinaire, CEO of her company, The Book Khaleesi. The email presented two graphics, depicting new cover designs for The Crown for Castlewood Manor, the first book in my cozy mystery series.

First, a little background. In previous 2026 blogs, I've talked about the major overall that Eeva and her stellar team did to standardize and highlight the ten books in my series. The manuscripts have been reformatted and updated. The seller pages have been refreshed with new blurbs and graphics. I love having everything with a similar look and feel.

Let's go back a few (ahem) more years... When I first started my reading passion, I was immediately drawn to Julie Campbell's Trixie Belden Mysteries. I couldn't wait to read all the books in the series and still have a selection of the books I read as a young girl. I loved seeing Trixie on the book covers, dressed for the mystery yet to come. I knew from the title placements there was no doubt my book was a Trixie tale---the name and the mystery-du-tome were consistently highlighted on each cover.

Throughout the (ahem) decades, some of my fav series and authors had covers that drew me into their mystery worlds:

Rhys Bowen's Her Royal Spyness Mysteries (love seeing Georgie on each cover),

Anthony Horowitz's Susan Ryeland Mysteries (the dramatic red covers with title and story icons--he had me at magpie),

and even the grand mystery dame of them all, Agatha Christie with her redesigned Miss Marple Series book covers (I adore the bright colors, flowers, and title ribbons on each book) had me purchasing and rereading the tales of the village sleuth I love so much.

So, where am I going with this? I knew I had to take the final step in my series re-do project. And that meant redesigning the books covers to make them a cohesive, standardized mystery series.

Eek!

It wasn't an easy decision. For eight years I worked with my stepdaughter, Danielle Gregorio to design each cover. I had originally wanted my main character, Gemma to be featured on each story cover, but alas, I didn't have an illustrator on tap and iStock only offers a limited number of pics of the same young ladies' w/o usage restrictions. So, each cover graphic was very different. We tried to standardize on title placement and fonts--but it was haphazard at best.

Don't get me wrong, I loved (and still love) each cover design and was thrilled with how it represented the stories. But... it was hard to tell my ten books were a series--by the cover.

And so, back to the email. I decided it was a sign. A big one. With a little (and at times a lot) of plodding and trust, I gave Eeva the go-ahead to begin the redesign...

After a few weeks, ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to debut My American Almost-Royal Cousin Cozy Mysteries book covers!

Gemma is now on every cover. The titles are uniformly placed using the same fonts and style. The new series title is atop each book, and below my name at the bottom of the cover the book is identified as 1,2,3...10. Readers will no longer have to guess 'is this a series?' or 'what book is next?'.

The new covers are currently being loaded on the seller pages with banners created for each. It's an exciting time and my hope is to attract new readers to my mystery series. Time (and sales) will tell of course, but my little gray cells have a pretty good feeling about this decision and the new direction for the series.

Wishing you and yours an awesome June, filled with summer fun! Follow those signs...

It's Wednesday, time for Dear Diary:

A preview of things to come...

For those of you who follow me on X, you may have seen some of the new promo banners. I'm loving each one and can't wait to show them off. I appreciate the likes and re-posts--it means the world to me. Stay tuned, these banners are developing!

V's Reads

Mystery, murder, and new releases this month from the writers of X...

A murder on the set rocks author Anthony Horowitz and his detective muse Daniel Hawhtorne's world. The first book of the crime collaborating duo is being made into a movie. But before the final scene is filmed, the lead actor playing the clever detective tragically meets his demise.

Whodunit? Is it the jaded script writer with a family tie? The jilted director? The co-star he humiliated? Or someone on the set who detests his rude behavior? Anthony and Daniel soon find themselves swimming in a plethora of clues. Will they find the killer?

Author Horowitz once again weaves an intriguing whodunit mixing real life scenarios with the written word. A clever tale and entertaining series sure to delight mystery fans!

Life mundanities meet dark undertones in the gritty tale, Tethered. An indiscreet coupling fuels the burning desires of two strangers who long to escape their humdrum existence.

A divorced detective longs for his old life. A chance meeting with a renegade neighbor introduces him to a lewd world of digital, erotic fantasy. Her dual life as provocateur and wannabe author intrigues him. Will his tumultuous relationship with her crash his world?

A grisly murder, the longing to escape, and explicit carnal relations unite the characters in a dramatic, suspense-filled crescendo. Tethered is a page-turning tale with a dark, haunting essence of noir, and graphic lascivious scenes. Be prepared for the unexpected--this one will keep you guessing!

Play Time in Solvang

The OH and I will be making our annual trip to the California, Danish village of Solvang to watch another play in their stunning outdoor amphitheater! This year we chose to see Come From Away, a musical based on the story of happenings in the Newfoundland village of Gander on the fateful day of September 11th, 2001. Thirty-eight planes landed in this remote site when the airspace was shut down after the horrendous attacks on the United States. Locals from the village open their doors to the stranded passengers from around the world. I am certain this will be a heartwarming, one-of-a-kind performance!

Welcome to my world. Wishing you and yours a wonderful June! Happy Summer!

Crowns and Kisses,

Veronica

P.S. At the end of the month, the OH and I will be traveling to Washington D.C. to see the Great American State Fair being held on the National Mall. Each of the 50 states will have a pavilion--I can't wait to visit each one and see the monumental sites of our nation's capital. Stay tuned--pics from the event will be coming soon! Gemma and Rikkhe approve. 💖👑