I’m still, technically, burrowing to finish up this book. But my editor sent me the cover last week and I just couldn’t resist sharing it.
I was able to recommend which photograph would be used for the cover and as I was sifting through the hundreds of Byberry photographs I’ve collected, trying to decide, I knew this was the one. I wanted to avoid an exterior building photograph, because even though most locals would recognize the distinctive hospital brick design, it wouldn’t be all that attractive or intriguing. And I wanted to avoid graphic photographs that depicted how terrible conditions were there, on occasion, because it wouldn’t have fairly represented the book (of course these photographs are inside, to provide a complete history, but I didn’t want them being the iconic cover). I didn’t want to misrepresent the history. Even though Byberry’s remembered for the exposes of poor conditions, there were huge expanses of time where the patients were clean and well cared for, where the buildings were new and the budget was sufficient; also, fun fact, Byberry used to be a working farm!
This photo was exactly the feel I was going for. It’s a little mysterious in that it draws your attention. You look at it, and you want to know more. Also, it gives a tantalizing glimpse inside, giving a look at what night shift on a women’s ward looked like. Calm, isn’t it? And I really liked how the angle of it makes you want to walk down that row; it’s almost like a “Welcome, come in! Open the book!”
Currently, the cover is my laptop’s background. Every time I glimpse at it, it motivates me to keep writing. And now, that’s what I’m off to do. The book’s almost done and the deadline is even closer, less than three weeks away!
Hope you all like the cover as much as I do :]
(Cover Image Courtesy of the Swarthmore College Peace Collection.)
Hannah Karena Jones 
Well done. A striking image that frames the content. I hope you don’t mind, but I also found it a tad creepy. To me it makes it more alluring.
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Thanks!! I think it should be just a tad creepy. The history of how we treated and hospitalized mental illness definitely has its darker chapters.
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Love the cover. Does kind of invite you in the way the angle of the shot is. Best wishes on finishing your book. You’ll do it. 🙂
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I’m so glad you like it! I DID finally finish it…hence my super belated reply, haha.
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Incredibly cool! Great photo and I’m so excited for you and I don’t even know you!! 🙂
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Thanks Gretchen! We’ve been blog buddies for a while now, I feel like I kind of know you! We’ve definitely gotten peeks into each others lives with our posts. Cheers!
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Oh yeah. The framing. Those steel bed frames. The shiny floor. The nurse at her tiny desk. Even the coloring. Oh yeah.
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Hahaha, this cover seems to strike you just right. You’re obviously the audience I was aiming for! Glad you like it :]
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Congratulations for going for something interesting & edgy rather than the predictable. I finished editing a local history book earlier this year (Brighton – English south coast) and one of the things the designer insisted on was photographs that gave an impression of the area and hadn’t been seen a thousand times before. She was so right. I learned a lot from her and I love the way your cover draws the eye in. Make a good cover for a novel too. Congratulations – sorry that already. (But some things are wort repeating….
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Thank you! There are a few photographs that always pop up on Google when you search “Byberry State Hospital” and I definitely wanted to avoid those. So common, so familiar, that they wouldn’t be interesting on the cover. This photograph has been buried in an archive for the past 50+ years…it was just perfect! Thanks for the congrats Bridget :]
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awesome! Congratulations!
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Thank you!!
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I can only imagine how awesome it felt to see your name at the bottom of that cover. Congrats!! 😀
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So awesome!! I won’t admit how long it took me to decide HOW I wanted my name to appear…Hannah K. Jones…Hannah Karena Jones…H. K. Jones, a la J. K. Rowling…So much pondering!
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Congratulations! Looks great!
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Thank you!!! :]
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