Turning Ten with Style:
I can’t believe it’s been ten years since Buddhapuss Ink, LLC published In the Context of Love. Happy birthday, book baby!
Much has changed in graphics and style since its publication in 2015, so I decided to celebrate with a glow-up. My hope is that a new book cover will attract a different demographic that may have overlooked the original version as well as younger readers to a timeless story of fated love, family secrets and second chances.
This is the original cover. *Side note: In 2017, Buddhapuss ceased publishing and transferred the files into my name for Amazon and IngramSparks. For that reason, Amazon lists 2017 as the publication date. It’s factually correct, but technically wrong. The title was first published September 8, 2015.
The Story Behind the Redesign
I wanted to create something evocative of the story, maybe a design with a 70s vibe, since a large part of the story is a reexamination of the main character Angelica’s past.
A good time for me is playing around with graphics on Canva, so I pumped out dozens of ideas. I experimented with colors and type fonts.
Some that didn’t make the final cut:
I worked up a few book covers with old phones, thinking of the first telephone call in the mid 70s between Angelica and her first love when they were teens, as well as their phone call many years later. People I showed the ideas to didn’t connect with the telephone images, so I abandoned them.
My granddaughter liked the colorful florals in blue, purple and orange in the bottom left image, but it’s too busy for online bookstore images. The carboard house, illustrating the fragility of family life, was a favorite of mine. I also liked the simplicity of the yellow roses because the title comes from a bouquet of yellow roses. Yellow roses signify friendship and, in the context of love, such a gift is particularly meaningful to the main character.
The final look
I sought guidance from my original publisher and editor, MaryChris Bradley, who has a keen understanding of what makes a good book cover. We both liked the left image in the middle row (above) in pink with red letters, but we ultimately decided on the design with vivid pink and blue and the title circling a daisy.
I designed the image on Canva, but the app’s colors are in RGB – red, green, blue. For professional printing they need to be CMYK – cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black). Even though I downloaded my design in CMYK on Canva, the end result was muddy colors and fuzzy text.
MaryChris made dozens of adjustments to get the color and text right. In fact, I don’t remember how many emails and downloads we sent back and forth before she found a color schematic that worked. She also designed the spine and back cover. I am eternally grateful for her assistance and perfectionism!
What do you think? I hope the new cover invites longtime fans to revisit the book and new readers. The text font and daisy reflect innocence and the 70s. As my friend Diane said, it beautifully captures a “does he love me, does he not” vibe. It’s fitting for a story that takes a look back at the 70s as the narrator undergoes her personal journey of self-discovery.
When the past casts a long shadow, the search for truth becomes a journey of the heart.
Angelica, protected by her mother from the perils that may befall young girls, is desperate for passion and excitement. But when a devastating family secret shatters her world, she flees home and tumbles into a series of reckless choices that take her far from the girl she once was.
Years later, with two children and a husband behind bars, Angelica must confront the ghosts of her past. Determined to reclaim her story, she sets out on a painful but empowering path toward self-discovery and for her first love, the so-called bad boy who was so very right. What will it take for her to embrace life again and find a second chance at love?
What’s next
Stay tuned for some exciting updates and >>>future giveaways<<< on Instagram and TikTok!
In The Context of Love is available through Bookshop.org, on Kindle and Amazon.
Thank you for visiting.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist
Books: In the Context of Love | Gordy and the Ghost Crab | Sleepwalker
New novel, Love and Other Incurable Ailments, coming fall 2026 from Regal House Publishing
Connect with Linda on social media: LinkTree
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