Author Gail Sattler lives in Vancouver, BC, where you don’t have to shovel rain, with her husband, sons, dogs, lizard (who is quite cuddly for a reptile), and bass guitar.
BRC: Tell us a little about yourself and how you got started writing.
I say on my blog that I’m a wife, mom, writer, musician, dog owner, and lizard lover. I haven’t written a story about my lizard yet, but my first published book was inspired by my first dog, who has now gone to that great doghouse in the sky. I’d sent a photo of my dog to the art department at Barbour so they would get the dog right for the cover, and they ended up giving me the original artwork. The dog is perfect except for some reddy-brownish color on her beard (it’s a Schnauzer), which was not in the photo. My husband laughed at that, and said it was okay, the dog had obviously got into the spaghetti (my dog’s favorite meal) and it would just wash off. That painting is framed and still hanging above my writing computer. Spaghetti sauce and all.
BRC: That’s funny. I’m sure many authors have stories about the cover art of their books that readers would love to hear. Do you have any interesting stories to tell us about the cover of your new book, The Narrow Path?
I’m glad you asked, because there is a very interesting story behind the cover of this one. Because of the Mennonite characters my editor wanted something featuring the hat worn by the hero, which in turn made me want to see the hero wearing the hat. But because of the modern heroine, the cover wouldn’t be a true representation of the book just to show the Old Order hero. So I wanted to show both. However, they needed two models, and they’d run out of time for their deadline. But that problem was solved when two people who work in the office at Abingdon posed for the cover.
BRC: That’s different. It obviously worked, the cover is quite intriguing. How did they make that work?
Michael and Christa were really good sports. The whole office helped, too. Everyone helped to collect all the accessories we needed as mentioned in the book – they had the hat, but needed suspenders and a leather-bound Bible for Ted. We needed a red cell phone for Miranda, as that phone plays into the story, and someone in the office actually owned a red cell phone. Together, they got everything needed that was specifically mentioned in the book - the red t-shirt, red nail polish and lipstick, and even red earrings for “Miranda”, except with Christa’s long hair, you can’t see them in the pose they used for the cover. And then there was more accessories to hunt and find, for the book trailer.
I say on my blog that I’m a wife, mom, writer, musician, dog owner, and lizard lover. I haven’t written a story about my lizard yet, but my first published book was inspired by my first dog, who has now gone to that great doghouse in the sky. I’d sent a photo of my dog to the art department at Barbour so they would get the dog right for the cover, and they ended up giving me the original artwork. The dog is perfect except for some reddy-brownish color on her beard (it’s a Schnauzer), which was not in the photo. My husband laughed at that, and said it was okay, the dog had obviously got into the spaghetti (my dog’s favorite meal) and it would just wash off. That painting is framed and still hanging above my writing computer. Spaghetti sauce and all.
BRC: That’s funny. I’m sure many authors have stories about the cover art of their books that readers would love to hear. Do you have any interesting stories to tell us about the cover of your new book, The Narrow Path?
I’m glad you asked, because there is a very interesting story behind the cover of this one. Because of the Mennonite characters my editor wanted something featuring the hat worn by the hero, which in turn made me want to see the hero wearing the hat. But because of the modern heroine, the cover wouldn’t be a true representation of the book just to show the Old Order hero. So I wanted to show both. However, they needed two models, and they’d run out of time for their deadline. But that problem was solved when two people who work in the office at Abingdon posed for the cover.
BRC: That’s different. It obviously worked, the cover is quite intriguing. How did they make that work?
Michael and Christa were really good sports. The whole office helped, too. Everyone helped to collect all the accessories we needed as mentioned in the book – they had the hat, but needed suspenders and a leather-bound Bible for Ted. We needed a red cell phone for Miranda, as that phone plays into the story, and someone in the office actually owned a red cell phone. Together, they got everything needed that was specifically mentioned in the book - the red t-shirt, red nail polish and lipstick, and even red earrings for “Miranda”, except with Christa’s long hair, you can’t see them in the pose they used for the cover. And then there was more accessories to hunt and find, for the book trailer.
BRC: You mean there’s more? Tell us about the book trailer.
It is very special that the people on the cover are the same people who are in the book trailer. Not many authors can say they have their hero and heroine from the cover in their book trailer, but I do. Again, Michael and Christa graciously posed for the photos in the book trailer, and again, the ladies in the office gathered the accessories needed – again including the red cell phone, but also the iPod, mints, lipgloss, and Abingdon provided the program disk for her Bible, which she has installed on her cell phone. Someone even had a red purse, which was an added surprise. I just love that purse! I want one of those. Then they took everything outside and took the photo in someone’s car, because the scene was to portray the way Miranda spreads everything out in her car, when she’s back at home in Seattle, sitting in traffic. Aside from those, everything in the book trailer is directly or indirectly somewhere in the book.
BRC: Readers can view that book trailer, below. It’s been great having you visit with us.
Thanks. It’s been fun.
BRC: How can readers find out more?
- Email Gail Sattler at mail@gailsattler.com
- Find out more about me at http://www.gailsattler.com/
- Learn more about The Narrow Path, read the opening chapter and view the book trailer at http://www.mennonitefiction.com/
- Read the first three chapters online, viewing it as a PDF Flipbook at http://issuu.com/abingdonpress/docs/the narrow path
BRC: Where can readers purchase The Narrow Path?
They can find it at any Christian bookstore or online at:
Thanks for stopping by my blog, Gail. I love this interview!
ReplyDeletegreetings from the Amish community of Lebanon,Pa. Richard from Amish Stories.
ReplyDeleteWell met. Thanks for stopping by my blog and saying hello!
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