I have two books coming out next year, which means at some point, I will need to help choose the cover of those books.
This is never easy for me. I have no eye for visual imagery whatsoever. Elysha has said that if she were to stand alongside ten other brunettes of her height, I might not be able to pick her from the lineup.
Not true, of course, but some truth is hiding in her claim.
A few years ago, we were driving home and somehow began talking about the color of houses. I mentioned that our house is yellow, and Elysha said, “Matt, our house is not yellow. It’s light brown.”
“It’s yellow like the sun,” I said.
Mind you:
We’re been living in this home for more than a decade.
A few minutes later, we turned onto our street, and I spotted our house. Not yellow at all. Not even close.
I couldn’t believe it. Except I could because I have no visual memory. I remember almost everything that I hear but nothing that I see. It’s why I was a two-time state debate champion in college. I listened to my opponents and then eviscerated them with their own words.
It’s probably why people don’t argue with me as much as I’d like.
It also makes choosing book covers a daunting prospect.
I recently saw the original cover of Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel “Jaws,” and while it’s a fine cover, it doesn’t hold a candle to the movie poster of the same name.
It’s kind of pathetic by comparison.
It makes me think I should find someone in Hollywood to help us with the next book covers.
Those people clearly know what they are doing.
