I recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of when I began writing my first novel.
It was such a life-altering, incredible experience – one that has blessed my life so richly over the years. I’m so grateful I took that first step into writing a book.
I started this journey by writing Heart of Clay, a tender contemporary romance about a married couple trying to keep the broken pieces of their marriage from shattering. And if you think it’s all sadness and drama, it’s not. There’s plenty of lighthearted moments and laughter in the book, too. This became the first book in my Women of Tenacity series.
Once I finished it, I actually wrote the third book in the series, originally titled Not His Type. This story featured the cocky cowboy and the shy librarian with a hearing disability he meets but can’t forget. The second book in the series, Country Boy vs. City Girl, is also about a married couple handling a curveball they hadn’t anticipated.
To celebrate the milestone, I decided to give the Women of Tenacity a makeover.
But before I show off the new covers, I thought you might like to see how they’ve evolved over the years.
The first set of covers, I had zero budget and no idea what I was doing. I coerced a group of cousins to pose for the foot image. And my poor Captain Cavedweller posed for the Heart of Clay cover as well as the Country Boy vs. City Girl cover (and that is my pink-sandaled foot on my dad’s old John Deere tractor). I knew these needed updated about five minutes after I published the books but…
I didn’t give them a new look until 2014.
And apparently, I couldn’t part with the tractor image because it stayed. And CC got coerced into posing for Heart of Clay again.
Then another refresh came in 2017.
While these were better, I still wasn’t wild about them.
So with my 10th anniversary approaching, I decided it was time to step things up and give these books some pretty new covers.
I even gave the second and third books new titles! Now they are titled Heart of Clay, Heart of Hope, and Heart of Love.
What do you think?
I’d love to hear your opinions on the makeover!
One commentor will win an autographed set of the books (with 2017 covers).
Find out more about the Women of Tenacity at the link below and make sure you download your free copy of Heart of Clay!
After spending her formative years on a farm in Eastern Oregon, hopeless romantic Shanna Hatfield turns her rural experiences into sweet historical and contemporary romances filled with sarcasm, humor, and hunky western heroes.
When this USA Today bestselling author isn’t writing or covertly hiding decadent chocolate from the other occupants of her home, Shanna hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.
Oh Shanna I adore the new covers and the new titles. These are some of my most favorite books. Congratulations on your amazing 10 yrs of writing. I am so glad you started writing for your books have certainly blessed my life.
Thank you, Glenda! I’m so glad you started reading my books, but especially grateful for your friendship! <3
Hi, Shanna. Congratulations on the 10th Anniversary of Women of Tenacity! I like the Not His Type covers in the original 2nd and 3rd groups. But my favorites are the new covers with the new titles. I can’t wait to read Heart of Love.
Thank you, Sharon! I hope you enjoy Heart of Love and so appreciate your kind words. Thank you for stopping in today!
I love the new covers and new titles. The older ones are gorgeous too. You are so talented in all you do. Whether it’s choosing your covers or writing your books. You Rock, girlfriend.
I read Heart Of Clay and was blown away. Congrats on 10 years of following your dream and sharing it with all of us.
Have a great day. Love you sweet Lady.
Oh, thank you, sweet friend! I am so blessed to get to do something I love so much – and one of the reasons I love it is because of wonderful friends like you! Love and hugs!
I’m a COVER person, if it reaches out to me that’s the book I’m going to read. I love the old covers but the new covers are BEAUTIFUL The Heart of Clay is one of my favorite books. We all go through relationship problems, Clay and Callan gave you hope . Just curious was the nickname BRICK also Mr CC nickname 🙂 I’m so happy for your 10 years of writing as you’ve brought so much humor and joy to our lives.
Thank you so much, RoseAnn! I love hearing that you are a Heart of Clay fan. It will always be a very special book to me since it was my first. And CC does not have the nickname Brick, but it could fit him very well. 🙂 Thank you, again, for your kind words and your readership!
The new covers are completely different, but they look fantastic. I really like the new titles too. I have always been the kind of person who looks at the cover first when looking for a new book.
Thank you, Janine! Covers are so important and people really do judge a book by them.
I love the new covers. They look amazing. Thanks
Thank you, Debra! And thanks for stopping in today!
It’s always so neat to see how covers change over time. I love the new ones, but I also love the very personal touches of the original covers.
Thank you, Jess! The personal touches were fun, but I do love the new covers.
Wow, ten years!! So many great books, too!! I like the covers from 2017 and now. Especially the now, and the new titles, to tie all of the books together that way. I also like the old covers, though, as they were different.
Oh, thank you, Trudy! They were different. And I love the new covers and new titles!
Hi Shanna … the new covers sure give the books a contemporary look. Beautiful. My favorite is Not His Type … just because of the horse .. Ha! I’ve started reading Christmas Bargain and am enjoying it as well. Will try to read the series. You are a wonderful author and I congratulate you on ten years of imagination, humor, creativity, and remaining true to yourself and following your dreams. So fun getting to know you too.
Hi Kathy,
It’s been fun getting to know you, too. Thank you so, so much for your readership. I hope you enjoy the Hardman series! And thank you, again, for coming along on this journey with me and for your kind words!
Congrats on your 10 year anniversary. I love the new covers and titles, beautiful. I did like the last covers you have on them also.
Thank you so, so much! I love the new covers and titles, too!
Yeah, those covers do a better job reflecting the quality writer you are! Very nice and congrats on the anniversary!
Oh, what a sweet thing to say, Heather. Thank you!
Terrific new covers!
Thanks so much! So glad you could join us today!
Congratulations on 10 years!!!!!! I love the new covers!
Thank you so much, Melanie! And thank you for joining us today!
Congratulations! The covers are wonderful!
Thank you, Anne! So appreciate you popping in today!
I like something about all of them and it’s fun to watch the evolution. But the new covers are fabulous and the new titles pull them together. And congratulations!
Oh, thank you so much, Sally. It is fun to look back and see how they evolved. Thank you for stopping in today!
Congrats on the anniversary. What beautiful covers.
Thank you so much, Laini. And thank you for joining us today!
Congrats on the tenth anniversary! The new covers are beautiful… make me smile!
And that makes me smile, Colleen! Thank you!
Hi Shanna–congrats on the 10 year anniversary! You know what? I love all your covers–because they are all intriguing and make me want to know more about the story! I need to get these and read every one–Heart of Clay sounds wonderful and a very good place to START! LOL Thanks for sharing all these wonderful covers with us–I think they’re all lovely and intriguing, each in its own way!
Thank you so much, Cheryl! You are so sweet. If you read it, I hope you enjoy Heart of Clay! <3
The new covers are lighter and blend well together as a set. I am partial to the horse though.
I loved that horse, too! It was actually one my niece was training. Thank you, Linda!
OH how stunning! The new covers are perfect and fit each other all together. What fun to see the development along the years. Thanks for sharing – and telling us the behind the scenes people in them, too.
Thank you, Susan! It was fun to look back at them and see how they’ve evolved. I’m so happy with the new covers.
The covers are gorgeous and would definitely attract my attention quite a bit more. Congrats on the refresh!
Thanks so much, Carrie, and thank you for stopping in today!
Shanna, the latest new covers are excellent! Wow! I love them. They are lots nicer and more professional than some of the big name publishers. Pat yourself on the back!
You are so sweet, Linda! Thank you for saying that. It totally made my day! <3
The new covers are simply divine!
Aw, thank you, Denise! So appreciate you stopping in today!
Oh my! At first they were cute but those new covers are wonderful!
Thank you, Abigail!
The new covers are nice and polished. In style, they tie together as a set. Although they do not match as a set, I do like the 2017 covers. For a first attempt on a barebones budget, the first set isn’t too bad. They reflect the heart of the story more than the new covers do. The shoe theme throughout ties the covers together and hints at the relationships within. I will keep my eye out for the series. I do enjoy your books. Sorry I didn’t get here in time for the giveaway. Best wishes for a successful reissue.
Thank you so much, Patricia! It’s definitely been a learning experience from those first covers to now. So appreciate you stopping in – and your readership!
you can really see a difference in the first set of colors, to the last, very colorful, i like them, sounds like a book i could get in too.