Jamie Duclos-Yourdon and I have a lot of things in common: we both live in Portland, we’re both members of the venerable writers group known as The Guttery, we both have debut novels coming out this fall, and we both have the same cover designer, Gigi Little.

In fact, I like to think of Jamie’s Froelich’s Ladder (which launches August 1st) and Hot Season (which launches November 1st) as debut novel siblings. (As Jamie shares his experiences with his first reader reviews and setting up bookstore events, I’ve definitely been taking notes!)

In this post for David Abrams’s blog, The Quivering Pen, Jamie discusses how monumental it is to see your words graphically interpreted for the first time–and what a pleasure it is to work with a designer as astute as Gigi. For anyone who’s ever seen a great book cover and wondered about the process behind it, this post offers some fascinating insights on design.

I know very well the experience of which he speaks here–for me too, it was love at first sight! I definitely identify with Jamie’s closing words as well:

Me, I have trouble describing the plot in under three minutes; Gigi’s cover is the elevator pitch I never mastered. And, ultimately, it will contribute as much to the novel’s success as anything I wrote.

–Jamie Duclos-Yourdon