Cover Design Secrets for Subtle Resistance

behind-the-scenes stories and some fun details from my book cover

Jun 17, 2025

#1 - my blurb quotes

Ruth Anne Smith, PhD is a former nurse, professor, and an avid reader of my blog from the beginning. She was excited to read my advanced reader copy and send me a blurb to indorse my book. I am thrilled to have her support. 💙

Jalynne Hall is a dear friend who helped me with several editing stages of the book. My book is better because of her diligent work and helpful comments on my rough draft. 💙

#2 - the subtitle: Practical Tips to Live Deliberately

This subtitle took a while to pin down. It has had many variations and iterations. I wanted to include key words that highlight what my book is about without being too wordy or complicated. I feel like the phrase “intentional living” has been overused and worn out by too many authors and so when I came across the words “deliberate living” I immediately wrote them down in my idea book.

I also wanted to include something about overwhelm because, unfortunately, that is the word that defined so many years of my life.

Here is a post where I asked for advice and shared the previous versions of my subtitle.

#3 - a few fun facts about me

Humm.. things I haven’t shared here before…

I never planned to be a homeschool mom. It was a family lifestyle that I “tested out” when my oldest was a preschooler and we couldn’t afford the expensive private school tuition. Then it stuck. I have loved teaching my kids and managing our household for the last 20 years. 👩‍🏫
I have been an avid journal writer since age 9. I see now that I have been a writer my whole life I just didn’t have a proper outlet for it. I tried writing a fiction novel in my teen years and it was terrible. I wish I would have found writing practical non-fiction earlier in my life. 📝
I am a book dragon (aka hoarder of books). I have full bookshelves in almost every room of my house. I read over a 100 books in 2023 and probably around 75 in 2024 (I didn’t track it as closely.) I usually have a stack of 5-7 books I am currently reading. 📚
I really want to be the cool person who knows all the exciting places to go and unique things to do, but reality is that I am a rather boring homebody. My oldest daughter is the person that creates fun experiences for all of us. 🎈
I have discovered that being in my early 40’s includes a bit of reinventing myself. I have loved the life my husband and I have created, but it also feels satisfying to step into some new adventures and push myself to learn new things. Writing and publishing a book has been a creative journey that has opened new paths forward as my kids get older and need less hands on parenting from me. 🌼
I used to kill all houseplants despite best efforts. The past few years with some encouragement and help I have learned more about different types of plants and I have kept many alive. 🪴

#4 - leaf pattern

This subtle leaf pattern is a nod to my first versions of my blog header. In some of my first newsletters and posts I used a similar leaf pattern as a border piece. In my journaling when I was a teenager it was something I would doodle between entries. I love simple nature drawings.

This specific leaf pattern was drawn by Mary in InDesign when she was creating my book cover. I love the hand drawn, imperfect nature of it and the subtle green color she chose.

#5 - the title: Subtle Resistance

The word subtle was inspired by the book The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*uck by Mark Manson. After burnout, I worked through stacks of non-fiction books and this one helped me understand the nuances and layered aspects of adult life that I did not see before. On a rainy weekend in January of 2023, I was sick on the couch making notes about writing a book and the word subtle kept coming back to me. I looked up the definition in several dictionaries and knew I had to use that word.

It seems ironic that I would have a book with the word resistance in the title. In this very polarized and political world I find myself staying out of most those kind of very intense conversations.

But after I hit burnout I realized that the fight to slow down, to live differently, and to practice restful productivity is an act of resistance.

I want others to see the areas where they are blindly accepting stress, hustle, and pain so they can make small changes towards a better life.

This was fun to share with you some behind-the-scenes pieces of my book cover! 😁

An extra bonus for those who already have my book in their hands…😉 The top quote on the back cover was something I posted on my wall in my closet and I would say it to myself every morning. It became my mantra as I built new boundaries and started saying the magical sentence “No.” (And it still makes the people pleaser inside of me cringe a little.) Share it in the comments (with your thoughts) if you have the book!

Please share this post and help me get the word out about my book.

I am a ridiculously practical person and I hope that my book launch reflects that. I have created a variety of freebies like my PDF Book Guide.