The Copper Man, the third novel in the Dark Earth Rising Series, is due for release in late February or early March 2023. And that is the cover! It’s the first one that has a creepy figure and not just a hidden face (The Devil’s Shallows), red eyes (The Monsters of Chavez Ravine), or blood flowing up trees (The Root Witch).

Which has me thinking, a lot, about the expectations that come with book covers.

I’ve never bought the saying that people shouldn’t judge books by their covers, and while I think that should apply to people, books are fair game. With so many to choose from, we rely on book covers to help guide our selection. And if the cover doesn’t match our expectations, oof. How disappointing is that?

The last thing I want to do is disappoint readers.

I get cold and clammy just thinking about that. Since the figure on The Copper Man is creepy and menacing, then that’s what I need to deliver. That’s what twists my insides, every day, as I sit down to write this novel. Eventually, I calm down and just write. Every story is different and this one will be told the way it unfolds.

The novel is set in the modern-day as an old mine reopens, decades after a killer targeted the children of company managers. While there aren’t any gunslingers, this is a very Western horror story set in northwest Wyoming.

Can’t wait to introduce you to the haunted town of Tribulation Gulch!

The custom book cover was designed by the amazing James at GoOnWrite. He’s done all my custom covers.