Expecting the Worst

By Deborah Sharp

I'm dwelling in Book Cover Nirvana.

Just received the finished illustration from Midnight Ink's art department for my second book, Mama Rides Shotgun. I was worried (what else is new?). I didn't think they could possibly hit a second home run. The first cover -- dead man's hand dangling from Mama's vintage turquoise convertible -- is SO terrific.

I expected to be disappointed. How, I wondered in my pessimist way, would they ever top the fantastic cover for Mama Does Time? I ALWAYS expect the worst. I'm not just a glass-half-empty type. To me, the glass is fully empty, I up-end it to get the last drop, it shatters, and delivers a cut to my lip that will become infected and send me to the hospital, where I'll contract a case of flesh-eating bacteria which will ultimately kill me.

So, yeah, I worried.

Well, the art department proved my pessimism wrong, coming pretty darn close to the first book. Designer Lisa Novak and illustrator Mark Gerber, once again, did a great job. A sherbet-colored scarf and turquoise saddle (How Mama!) Another dangling hand. A scene rife with Florida icons, from alligators and oranges to the state tree, my beloved Sabal palm. (No, folks: Coconut palms DON'T grow in my series' rodeo-and-ranches slice of middle Florida.)

So send up a cheer and pop the champagne. Just be careful not to put out my eye with the cork. The cover may be a success, but there is still so much that could go wrong . . .