Trouble with a Letter V

V in Brody

One of the really fun parts of being an indie author is cover design.  Since I write full-length novels, I do not get to have this fun very often.  I’ve done some covers myself but for my next release, Vain, I am having one designed by Rae Monet.  While choosing pictures and colors has been awesome (Rae had it almost perfect on the first draft) I have learned that I am pretty particular when it comes to fonts and maybe even more so with this book because my characters would notice a bad design choice.

Font is just as important in setting an reader’s expectation for setting and tone as pictures (or at least this is what I tell myself as I am poring over font websites).  On top of that, some fonts are just not very friendly to certain letters of the alphabet.

Take for example, the capital V.  I have learned, since my book is called Vain, that font designers do some crazy stuff to that letter. Look at the V to the left in a font called Brody. I’ve found that many “gothic” fonts make V look like D.

V in Bordeaux Roman Bold

Then there is the other end of the spectrum, the slender V to the right. It is lovely in its anorexic super model sort of way. Except that on a thumbnail-sized cover image it will look like a black slash or maybe an I.

Anyway, Rae Monet was very patient with my pickiness, finally turning me loose on a great site called dafont.  You select a font then type in your word to see what it will look like! And that is how I found a V that I think works for a story set in 839 France.  Tidy hand-lettering, doesn’t suggest witches or vampires, readable even on a postage stamp, a little curvy for romance.

Ta Da!

Vain in Augusta font

Coming in March!

Until then, I hope you’ll check out my other historical romances in this series, Unbidden and Redeemed, that are linked all over this blog and also available as a Romance Bundle.