Behind the Cover: A Peek at the Making of Absolution + A Giveaway!

Five days until launch—let’s celebrate with behind-the-scenes secrets and signed copies!

From Manuscript to Cover—and Beyond

When I set out to write Absolution, I knew it wasn’t just about crafting the story—it was about shaping every layer of the book experience. Over the last two years I’ve worn many hats as a debut author:

• Writer & Editor: I drafted Helen’s dual-timeline confession in 1980s Chicago and modern Ohio, then honed every scene until it delivered maximum emotional impact. I am thankful for Karen Lawson and Janet Hitchcock for all the fine-tuning. Even after writing, rewriting, and rewriting again, they still managed to find my typos and errors.

• Cover Designer: I sketched dozens of mockups in Canva Pro, experimenting with typefaces, textures, and images that would evoke both true-crime intrigue and literary suspense. Those cracked-earth backgrounds and the shadowy figure motif? They started as rough thumbnails on my kitchen table.

• Formatter: At one point in time, I knew how to use InDesign relatively fluently. That was two decades ago. Opening an app I haven't used in nearly twenty years and trying to dive back into it like no time has passed turned out to be harder than I expected. I don't even know how many hours I spent trying to remember how to use this product. After many online tutorials and countless notes scribbled on post-its, I figured it out.

• Publicist & Marketer: I’ve planned social campaigns, reached out to early readers, and built this website from scratch so that Absolution finds its way into your hands.

  
  

Every detail—from the grainy newspaper textures to the muted, blood-red accent—was chosen to echo the book’s themes of secrets, silence, and buried guilt.

Why I Designed My Own Cover

Designing the Absolution cover myself meant I could weave the story’s themes into every detail:

• The Priest’s Shadow: The cropped image of footsteps and a cassock captures Helen’s confessor—Father Patrick—walking the line between faith and doubt. His shadow hints at the hidden burdens he carries.

• Torn-Edge Reveal: The rough, ripped-paper layers symbolize Helen’s decades-old secret finally being laid bare. Each jagged edge echoes the emotional fracture in her life.

• Typewriter Title & Subhead: The distressed, typewriter-style font and the tagline “After decades of silence, the truth demands to be heard” set the tone for a slow-burn confession—equal parts literary and suspense.

• Debut Novel Seal: That bold red stamp in the corner celebrates this fresh voice in women’s fiction while nodding to the blood-tinged mystery at the heart of the 1982 Tylenol murders.

  
  

Life with kids has taught me one thing: chaos always wins. No matter how carefully I plan, they’re off doing their own thing. Designing every detail of this book—and knowing exactly how it would turn out—has been a strangely healing exercise in holding at least one piece of life firmly in my hands.

Let’s Celebrate with a Signed Giveaway!

To thank you for your enthusiasm—and because I can’t wait for you to hold a paperback in your hands—I’m giving away signed copies to a couple lucky readers! All you have to do is enter with this form and follow me on socials.

Enter Now

Earn extra entries by doing any (or all!) of the following:

1. Share this blog post on social and tag me so I can see it

2. Like my Facebook/Instagram post

3. Share or Tag a friend (or both!) in the comments of my Facebook/Instagram giveaway post

I'll randomly select the winners on June 30, launch day via live-stream! I have two paperback copies to give away. Each follow, sign-up, tag and share give you another entry.

Connect & Share

• Love what you see here? Share this post on Facebook or Instagram and tag me—let’s spread the word!

• Already pre-ordered? Thank you! Feel free to share your preorder screenshot in Stories and tag @e.e.lawson for a repost.