Inspiration (aka...What’s in a Cover?)

When my first poetry chapbook—Just the Girls: A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies; A Drift of Honeybees (The Poetry Box)—was in the process of being published, I asked two young female artists to co-create the cover art. Meredith Balogh and R.E. Anderson worked together (and from a distance, since one lives in Illinois and the other in Ohio) to produce an image of a woman who is soft and hard...confident and vulnerable...intelligent and still learning...beautiful and flawed. This woman perfectly embodies the poems in Just the Girls.

Their successful collaboration led me to ask them to create a cover image for my newest poetry chapbook—Widow Maker (Finishing Line Press). Lucky for me, they both agreed.

At its core, Widow Maker is a chronicle my husband’s cardiac arrests and recovery.

At the time this heart-stopping event took place, we were living in the Shenandoah Valley. Although the first part of the collection honors the doctors and nurses who saved his life, several other poems are set in The Valley (“What Color are the Blue Ridge Mountains?”…“Mercy”). In addition, friends who supported his recovery journey are recognized with poems (“Invocations” …“Healer”…“Hat Trick”).

Knowing the setting and the many people who worked to save Al’s life, Meredith and R.E. drew an anatomically correct heart that is being held by two hands and is located in the heart of The Shenandoah Valley. The thumbs at the bottom of the heart represent the Shenandoah River.

They call this piece “Arkenstone” in reference to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings collection. The Arkenstone was the “heart of the mountain”—the most precious of treasures. Both artists felt that this image is very fitting for Widow Maker.

Until May 28, Widow Maker is available for advanced sale; the book will be released in late July. If you purchase 5 or more copies of Widow Maker (before 5/28/21) to donate to your local cardiac care center, library, coffee shop, or any other location, and I will send you an autographed copy of the book after it has been released.

A portion of all book royalties will be donated to R. E. Anderson and Meredith Balogh in recognition of their work and artistry.