Just like authors don't get to 'choose' their book cover art (they can offer suggestions and give opinions, but ultimately the decision is up to the publisher), neither does an author get the final say on the back cover copy. Here's how it works...

An author submits what they'd like printed on the back cover. It needs to be an attention grabbing summary of the story. Then the publisher plays around with it, sometimes making little tweaks, other times scrapping the whole thing and writing something new. And yes, it's the same for titles.

That being said, I've been very fortunate with my latest release. My title remains what I submitted, A HEART DECEIVED, though admittedly on my working story I'd called it Fallacy. And my back cover copy is pretty much word for word as I'd written. Ready for a sneak peek? Drum roll please...

BALANCING TRUTH

... AND LIES!

Miri Brayden teeters on a razor’s edge between placating and enraging her brother, whom she depends upon for support. Because if his anger is unleashed, so is his madness. Miri must keep his descent into lunacy a secret, or he’ll be committed to an asylum— and she’ll be sent to the poorhouse.

Ethan Goodwin has been on the run all of his life—from family, from the law ... from God. After a heart-changing encounter with the gritty Reverend John Newton, Ethan would like nothing more than to become a man of integrity—an impossible feat for an opium addict charged with murder.

When Ethan shows up on Miri’s doorstep, her balancing act falls to pieces. Both Ethan and Miri are caught in a web of lies and deceit— fallacies that land Ethan in prison and Miri in the asylum with her brother. Only the truth will set them free.

MICHELLE GRIEP has been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. She resides in the frozen tundra of Minnesota, where she teaches history and writing classes for a local high school co-op.

There you have it...or at least you will on June 20th, when there will really be a par-tay here at Writer Off the Leash!