New Covers, Old Friends, and Hiatuses...we've come a long way, Tressa Jayne!

Most of you recall the cover of my first book, CALAMITY JAYNE, with the cute blonde holding the ice cream cone. The book that started it all for me. The cover, a cute, eye-catching one, also initiated cover branding for the series, as well. Folks knew for sure when they saw the book cover with a different food item obscuring a portion of the cover model’s face that this was the latest Calamity Jayne mystery. Instant recognition. And with most cover art, it’s always been a sort of a love/hate relationship. Readers either love ‘em or hate ‘em. Some readers thought they were too YA. Some felt the cover model didn’t depict Tressa Jayne accurately (the hair, you know). Others thought the covers were awesome and just right for the series. Me? I always like to be different so I thought they were cool, too.

But all things must come to an end.

With the upcoming November release of my sixth Tressa Jayne Turner mystery, the art department decided it was time to go another direction with the cover. Therefore, without further ado, may I present the cover for my sixth Calamity Jayne mystery, ANCHORS AWEIGH.

Whoa. That didn't upload right. The background is supposed to be more of a sky blue. Not sure why that went all funky on me. Oh well. You get the gist, I hope. So. What do you think of the cover? I was surprised, to say the least, as I had expected more of the same branding as had been done with the previous five covers. It’s growing on me. My only concern is that those readers who are waiting for the next book in the series won’t recognize it as a Calamity Jayne book as easily as before.

Still, all good things must come to an end.

Even series. Even series we love. Even series love to write.

Yep. That’s right. ANCHORS AWEIGH is slated to be the last book in the Calamity Jayne series. As Trigger Happy can attest to with her fabulous High Heels series, when you’re writing a series, it’s always a challenge to keep each book fresh and funny and new and exciting. When you love a cast of characters as much as you have to when you write a series, you really want each story to be better than the last. You want to give these characters the funniest forum you can to showcase their idiosyncracies, their unique personalities, their growth as individuals. You simply want the best for them because you care so much about them. They’re family. Friends. Muses. Even alter egos at times. They deserve the best. Your best.

From most accounts, I’ve succeeded in keeping each story in the CJ series to those standards I expect and believe me when I say I’ve had an absolute ball doing it. But it’s equally important to me to take this series out on a high note and ANCHORS AWEIGH seemed like the perfect vehicle to accomplish just that. (When you’re editor emails to tell you he’s reading the book and he can’t wait to see how it ends, you know you’re in the ballpark.)

So, it’s with a great deal of pride, personal satisfaction, and yes, a tear or two, that I bid a heartfelt ‘see ya’ to Tressa Jayne and the Grandville Gang.

Well, for now, that is.

Because with ‘Calamity and Company’ you just never know what’s waiting down the road a piece.

And for Bullet Hole here? How will she fare without her favorite comical cast of characters whispering in her ear all the time?

She’ll cry a little. Snot a little. Second guess herself a little. (Okay, more than a little. ) Then she’ll dig into that thick file folder of story ideas of hers, put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard) and get back on the horse and sink spur.

Hey. What else would you expect from a cockeyed cowgirl from the Heartland?

Yeehaw!

~Bullet Hole Bacus~