When I first came up with the Wits' End series, it seemed obvious to title the first book At Wits' End. It was funny, and described the heroine's mental state fairly well. But since the series was set in a UFO-themed B&B, I decided to give the second book a name riffing off a classic sci-fi movie. Planet of the Apes became Planet of the Grapes. And that led to Close Encounters of the Curd Kind, and then War of the Squirrels.
For War of the Squirrels, I decided to step up the theme and play off an old sci-fi movie poster.
It's hard to pose squirrels, even in drawings.
But my Christmas-themed book stumped me. I couldn't come up with any good holiday themed sci-fi movie titles. So I abandoned the sci-fi theme and Home Alone became Gnome Alone. The similarities between the two covers are a bit more obvious.
I returned to sci-fi with The Woman from Planet X, where Susan and Arsen go to a town filled with the world's largest things. The book cover plays off the poster for Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman.
But my all time favorite is the cover for my upcoming Wits' End cozy mystery, Night of the Cupid. My cover artist really outdid herself. (I also love, love, love the pop-art versions of Susan and Arsen). In Night of the Cupid, all of Susan's plans for a romantic Valentine's Day special for her guests go murderously and hilariously wrong. It lands October 31st of this year, so pre-order it now!
