A New Hope... with a new cover

After posting my update blog Monday, I decided to go forth and find a new cover image for Scollay Love, my first historical romance set in 1950s/1960s Boston, and the first book that I wrote under the D.L. Boyd pen name. I'll admit, the title is weak... but the old cover, it was weaker.

I had hoped that this cover would show two 1950s era teens -- late teens, early 20s -- in love. And at 99 cents, I had hoped the romance community would flock to it.

They didn't.

And so, with my revamped business plan, getting Scollay Love a new cover and getting it out in paperback was one of my priorities.

This is what I've come up with:

A more fun cover, if I do say so myself! It catches the eye, which is really what covers are supposed to do. And to remind you of what the book is about...

It is tough to lose the place where you met.

For uptown Boston Brahmin gal Charlene Phillips and downtown West End boy Joe Cafario, their starkly different lives come together in Scollay Square, Boston’s famed center, where they fall into a forbidden love amidst the tassels of the Old Howard and the aroma of slow-boiled hot dogs at Joe and Nemo. When their love is ended after Charlene’s final defiance of her parents, the two remain true to each other, despite their forced separation.

When Charlene returns and they reunite in the Square, the city of Boston is about to go through a major change—one that Joe is hell-bent in stopping.

Hopefully the book -- which should be available in paperback in a few days -- will find its readership now.

And for 99 cents, it's an absolute bargain to see how I flex these new muscles.

www.seansweeneyauthor.com

This book has love written all over it...

When you see this cover, it's incredibly obvious that it's not a cover that reflects romance in any way:

That's the new cover of my new novel, EMINENT SOULS, which is a romance -- of sorts. It's not your usual, every day, run-of-the-mill romance novel. There is love, yes: there is the love of two young people from different styles of living. But there's a different kind of love in this book: the love that two young people share of a piece of property -- not just any piece of property; it's where they met and fell in love.

In truth, it was more than just a piece of property: Scollay Square was a lifestyle.

For yours truly, Scollay Square became a love affair -- even if I didn't know exactly what was in it until a couple of years ago.

Back in 1991, I was 14 years old, and during the summer, I was about to enter my freshman year at Fitchburg High School. In late July, my folks, myself and my sister all went to Boston one Saturday. I didn't know why. It was just a day trip. We had walked through the Government Center area first, even though I really didn't know it at the time. We walked up to the State House and down Beacon Street. We approached the Cheers bar -- remember, it was 1991 and they were between seasons nine and ten -- and Jen and I were excited about that. But I more excited for seeing the Citgo sign in Kenmore Square: we were going to the Red Sox game! I think we were seeing the Twins that day. Or the Mariners. Who knows, really. We saw the game, then joined the throngs of people on the Green Line.

Dad had said something about seeing a free concert that night, but truthfully, I wasn't in the mood. I had seen enough (*gulp* and that is nothing I would say today) of Boston for one day, and just wanted to get home. Hell, I had seen the Red Sox game. That was enough for me.

I still had to go to the concert. Reluctantly, I went.

As we stepped off the subway at Government Center and walked up the steps to City Hall Plaza, I was amazed by what I saw. The monstrous City Hall off to my right, the towers of the JFK Federal Building straight ahead and off to the left a bit. People filled in the amphitheater around the north stage. It seemed like a great place.

That's when dad said, "We're in Scollay Square, the old happening place in Boston."

Those words set off a love affair with the Square. I knew about it -- but I truly didn't know about it. It wasn't until a couple of years ago, when I was in the process of brainstorming MODEL AGENT, that I decided to look into Scollay Square's history a little more.

Suffice it to say, I was astonished -- and sickened -- by what I saw and read. Gorgeous architecture, gone. Twenty-two streets, altered or wiped out completely. Over 200 years of history, wiped out with a wrecking ball. But more importantly than that, I learned that what my father had said was true: Scollay Square was a happening place. It had spirit. It had life. It was the heart of Boston, the entertainment district that preceded the Combat Zone. And I decided that I would have been quite comfortable living in and around Scollay Square.

It is also why I had Jaclyn Johnson thinking, "They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot," as she gets out of Hanson's car on Congress Street in MA.

EMINENT SOULS deals with more than just love. It deals with the fear Bostonians dealt with in the late 1950's and early 1960's. It deals with prejudices the poor endured from the snobbish Boston Brahmins. And it also deals with the fight Bostonians entered with the city against urban renewal -- one gentleman I spoke with said that his brother in law was a state representative at the time the West End, near Scollay Square, was revitalized a few years before the Square went through the same eminent domain process, and he said that he still hasn't forgiven his brother in law for how the city and state never helped those people. It's absolutely shameful.

But more importantly, EMINENT SOULS is a love letter from me to Scollay Square. I was born too late to fully enjoy the Square in its heyday, to take in a burlesque show at the Old Howard (that's the Old Howard on fire on my cover, 25 years to the day before the Celtics were honored by the city at City Hall Plaza, the same day Jerry Williams said, "I am not broadcasting from Government Center; I am broadcasting from Scollay Square. Let's bring back Scollay Square!") and have a Joe and Nemo hot dog all around (with horse radish, too), but I know in my heart of hearts that I would have loved it all.

Dad was right. Scollay Square was happening. It was the scene, the place to be.

So you see, it's more than just about romance. It's more about remembering what was once good and great about Boston, and what can happen when fear sets in. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you, too, can fall in love with a neighborhood that now only exists in our elders' minds.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Eminent Souls on Kindle (US)
Eminent Souls on Kindle (UK)
Eminent Souls on Nook
Eminent Souls on Smashwords

Gearing up for NaNo 2011

We're less than 11 hours -- on the east coast -- away from the beast known as NaNoWriMo 2011. Of course, I'll be taking part.

This year, I'm going a little bit out of my comfort zone of thrillers, sci-fi and fantasy for this year's tale. I'm writing a historical romance set in Boston's old Scollay Square during its waning years, mainly the 10-year period between 1953 and 1963. It's basically the story of a Boston Brahmin girl from a WASPish family who meets and falls in love with a West End boy... they fall out of love and don't see each other for eight years, right before the city of Boston begins the eminent domain process to take land for the new Government Center.

Government Center... yes, you've heard that before. I've written about Government Center before, mentioning it in two books. It held a great deal of the plot for Model Agent, and I mentioned it a few times in Turning Back The Clock. The line "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot" in MA references the demise of Scollay Square in 1963.

I'm excited and nervous for this project. Like I said, I'm going outside of my comfort zone. I've read my outline, and it looks mighty vague, especially on the third page of three. I have plenty of reference material to go with. And of course, I'm thinking there's no way in Hell that I'll get 50,000 words out of this story.

Of course, I've said that before. I just need to relax and do what I do best, and that's write and create.

Midnight can't get here soon enough.