If the Shoe Fits...or Doesn't—Part 2

Time to regroup and go shopping at the mall--not one of my favorite things to do. First, I found a pair of hot pink stilettos at a major department store. Hmm…I actually liked the idea of using these more than red because the color was compatible with the background colors. Then, I found a pair of red stilettos at a small shoe store. Sensing impending cruel abuse, the bunion on my right foot began to throb like a three-alarm migraine headache. “Oh pipe down!” I scolded. “I don’t intend to try on or keep either pair.” I verified both pairs of shoes were returnable after the photo shoot.

Armed with two pairs of stiletto heels, my pacified bunion and my integrity that was about to become an endangered species, I scheduled another photo shoot.

The redesigned cover with the red shoe and a darker red-to-gray gradient was too bright, too stark and clashed with my olive drab gumboot. But the hot pink shoe with the original background gradient not only popped and sparked, it sizzled! The consensus was unanimous: This cover would sell books! 

I loved my new cover and my designer was anointed with rock star status in my life! But there was still the issue of my integrity. A copy of the cover with the hot pink stiletto replaced the now-tattered, boring-shoe copy in my purse. When I showed it to people and related the back story, which always ended with the statement, “I sacrificed a little integrity to sell books,” they chuckled and assured me my integrity would not suffer.

I returned the red shoes and received a full refund. But I kept the hot pink stilettos and use them in my book signing display along with the gumboots. 

This cover reaches out and grabs people at book signings!