Okay, so what's with that funky-lookin' book cover, you might ask. I'll have to admit, it does stand out and what better way to attract your attention, that is if my book ever gets on the shelf of a bookstore near you. The design is mine. Well actually, my cheesy little sketch is what's pretty funky compared to the wonderful job the book design team did at Publish America.

Okay, so here's the deal with the design. The character you see is the kantagana one for Power and it is set against a Chrysantemum flower which is the symbol for the Japanese Royal Family. Isn't it neat? There's so much beauty in it's simplicity yet it is awesome.

This is rather significant and has a very special meaning within the story. I'll give you a hint to what's going on. Michiko Tanaka, the main character, had a past life as Emperor Kantagawa, an emperor who ruled during the sixteenth century. I know, I know all you Japanese historians; there has never been any such emperor in Japanese history by that name. But this is a novel and so I did use a little literary license with ancient Japanese history in order to make a point. However, I do have a treat for all of you Japanese Historians. Coming up in an article on my site will be an in-depth look into Tokugawa Ieyasu, the real Japanese emperor who ruled during this time covered in my book. I assure you, you will not be disappointed.

In this life she /he was ruthless and cunning during a time of political implosion. He was a shogun who had to move quickly to protect his country from crumbling from within and being influenced by European explorers. And he wasn't halfway about this at all; his rule was absolute and he tolerated nothing that would come in the way of him and his power. But now Michiko, as most of us when we are born into the physical world, has no memory of this which is just as well so that she could concentrate on the reasons and the purpose for which she is in this life for. But when she begins exploring the cave of his internment everything changes and she comes face to face with her reality as well as her destiny.

So, that's all that I will say about that without giving too much away. But to be completely honest with you, I wasn't at all sure whether my publisher would use my idea for the book cover. But I knew what I wanted. I had some rough sketches which I had done on it three years ago and I felt so strongly that I wanted this to happen. The thing is, my publisher told me that they reserve the right to have the final say about what the book cover will ultimately end up being. So I wasn't sure. But I thought, "what the heck!" If I don't submit the idea then I take the chance of letting them design it and who knows what the hell they'll come up with. But I knew exactly what it had to be and over the years I have learned to explicitly trust my feelings. They are the path along which I travel in life.

You should've seen my face when they sent me the pdf file with the book cover on it. I called over to my daughter, Yumi, "Yumi, come over here and take a look at what the book cover looks like." It was so cool, a dream come true. But it wasn't until my own complimentary copy of the book came in the mail that the reality of what I'd accomplished began to sink in. I can't even begin to express what I was feeling at that moment. I was crying but before my tears I took a moment, paused and offered a prayer to God and gave thanks to Him and all those who helped make this possible. And I've been on cloud nine ever since.

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