Name Three Songs Cover Reveal

I am excited to reveal the paperback cover for my debut novel, “Name Three Songs.” It is a novel about music’s ability to draw people from all walks of life together due to a song, a record, a band, or a moment. I’ll dive into the story more in-depth in a later post, but I want to spend some time on why I wanted separate covers for the paperback and hardcover editions (coming soon!), as well as why this cover felt right.

First, the paperback. My initial vision was to have the cover focus squarely on the characters, as this is a multi-POV told through the eyes of the five individuals in the photo. Although I felt good about that idea, certain hang-ups prevented it from coming to fruition in time for the release date I wanted.

Luckily, my publisher is also a wiz at pivoting, and almost immediately she reimagined my initial idea into something that opened up possibilities of drawing more readers in while still keeping the most important parts of the story at the forefront: the music and the characters. It only took a handful of tweaks before we had what is before you, and I am grateful for her insight.

The hardcover version (coming soon!) was just an excuse to work closely with a good friend of mine, an amazing artist whose work I admire. Having them take time out of their busy schedules to create a hand-drawn image of the characters I created in my mind and painstakingly mapped out for them is much appreciated. I assure you the hardcover will blow you away, too!

Without further ado or a don’t, BEHOLD!

Cover

And for anyone interested in what the front, spine, and back look like, BEHOLD…LONGER!

Full View

I love it. It’s filled with questions that only the unique perspectives of the characters can answer for you. The neon-tinged title is a promise of club moments. The live venue. The mystery. The story. It’s all there. Waiting to be read.

So, what do you think? Would this cover inspire you to pick it up and take a chance on these flawed but vibrant characters? I hope so!

More to come.

Who is Diluteos?

I always knew it would be a struggle for me to market “Name Three Songs.”  Aside from battling insecurity in my youth (something I’ve put a lot of effort into overcoming), I am, by nature, an introvert. I have always felt more comfortable blending into the background in most social situations, so the idea of willingly flailing my hands around and asking people to pay attention to me to convince them to take an interest in something I’ve poured my soul into felt daunting. I am also, by nature, stubborn as hell. So, if I set my mind to do something, I do it. I just needed to find a way to promote the novel that felt genuine to me.

Music MATTERS to me. The chords. The lyrics. The artist's influences. Their mental states upon entering the studio. They’re all puzzle pieces that make up an album’s emotional complexity. Without knowing each of these things, the story feels incomplete.

I do this not only with music, but with movies and books. I remember the first time I read “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand and felt inspired by the mystery of “Who is John Galt?” It drove the story along and introduced me to characters who struggled with the idea of lessening themselves to appease everyone else. Admittedly, while the story lost a bit of its luster after researching Rand’s affiliations and, unfortunately, the type of people who latched onto her work in modern times, that attachment to “Who is…” never left me.

Although Name Three Songs is told (mostly) from the POV of five flawed, creative characters, the mystery that unites them is, “Who is this band, DiLuTeoS?”

So, I’ll let the mystery drive the marketing. “Who is DiLuTeoS?” So simple. So innocuous. So shrouded in mystery. I printed stickers with this idea in mind, and plan to leave them in random places. I want this question to pique the interest of those who still appreciate a bit of mystery in the world. Who scans the associated QR code because they want to be part of a well-kept secret.

People who love music are my kind of people. People who love a good mystery are also my kind of people. It just makes sense.

If you’re interested in spreading the word, I’ll happily provide you with stickers to leave around your town and highlight any images you take on my social media sites!