by Diane Vallere
One of my favorite things about the Samantha Kidd Mystery Series has always been making Samantha for the cover. But after the 2021 cover redesign, there's no Samantha on the cover. What to do?
Create a special hardcover edition, natch!
Making Samantha is never simple but always fun. I start by browsing royalty-free images from Depositphotos, From here, I select an image that gives me her body language. Next, I swap out features, add texture layers, recolor things, add in hand-drawn details, and tweak, tweak tweak until she comes together. This is often when my inner fashionista comes out. There's no limit to what Samantha can have!
On the image above, you can see all the elements that came together to create the Samantha Kidd for FAHRENHEIT 501. I honestly can't decide if my favorite part is the hand-drawn tweed fringe edges on the patches on her jeans or the fact that I used my living room carpet to create the texture of her jacket!
Samantha Kidd will be appearing on the special hardcover edition on October 26.
(This is a 3D rendering. Minor elements like text placement and last minute whims of the author/designer may affect the final outcome. But author/designer whims cannot be predicted, so let's just take a moment and appreciate the beauty of the simulated product!)
About the book:
When Samantha Kidd is invited to fill a vacated spot in a secret society, she jumps at the chance. The group’s mission is to preserve famous fashion patterns through memorization and pass them down to future generations, but Samantha’s dreams of Chanel jackets and Halston dresses are dashed when she’s assigned the 501 jean. And when the retiring denim expert turns up dead, she fears there’s more than fashion history at stake.
Garments from the deceased member’s estate are linked to a series of deadly jean jackings, and Samantha questions everything. Was the member’s death an admission of guilt or vigilante justice? As she pulls at the threads of the investigation, she finds the fabric of her secret society fraying at the seams.
Can Samantha unzip the facts or will the truth stay buttoned up forever?
What to do next:
👖 If you know you want a hardcover version, you maybe want it signed, and you aren't in a hurry, the place an order here: These will ship out, most likely, mid-November.
👖 If you want an ebook version to show up on your e-reader the moment it's released, go here and click the link to your favorite retailer.
👖 If you want to enter the Goodreads Giveaway to win a paperback copy of the book, click here.
👖 If you want to read Chapter 1 now so you can hit the ground running on October 26, click here.
👖 If you want some of Samantha Kidd's favorite pretzels to eat while you wait for the book to come out, click here.
👖 If you're less concerned about what you want and more concerned with what you need, click here.
xo!
Diane
You're still here? Okay. Then you probably would like to know that there are hardcover editions of the first three Samantha Kidd Mysteries currently available on Amazon.com. Since next year is the 10th anniversary of Designer Dirty Laundry, there's a good chance the rest of the series will show up there too!
(Just like I said above, these are 3D renderings. Small details like spine width and image placement may appear slightly differently in real life. But real life is always better than simulations, right? Are you with me?)