Small Damages: the cover story and a blogger's thoughtful response

How does a book get a cover?  How does a story emerge as a bright concentrate of itself?

Melissa Walker has been asking authors this question for a long time, and I'm lucky on two counts—Melissa (an author supreme) is my friend, and she has kindly asked me.  I tell the story of the Small Damages cover (and lessons I learned before the Small Damages cover) over on the Barnes and Noble Community Blog, with all thanks to dear Melissa.

I was just about to post this when Cynthia Pittman, a Facebook friend, pointed me toward another act of supreme generosity on this warm July day.  That generosity comes from Sarah Laurence, a so-intelligent, thoughtful reader who is also a writer who is also an artist who is also a woman who has learned to live a magnificently balanced life as a creative artist, mom, wife, and lover of the world beyond.  Sarah read Small Damages lately, and she had this to say.

Melissa and Sarah:  thank you.