At some point during the happy whirlwind of days, weeks, and months when I was writing Lucy’s Way: A Dog, A Drunk, and The Tao, I realized I needed to start thinking about a cover.

I had ideas. Of course there would be pictures of Lucy on the cover, and I immediately started contemplating which shade of purple to use as that color was so thematically appropriate to her…you know, her harness and leash and aura…but that’s enough with the Chapter 12 spoilers 😊.

I also had no idea where this book would land. Was I going to keep agent shopping until I landed a traditional publisher, or go the self-publishing route? And in either case, was I going to be turning this process over to a stranger? I wanted to be prepared.

Enter Danielle Manry, a graphic designer who lives in North Carolina. Danielle and I first crossed paths six or seven years ago, and our mutual interests and acquaintances have kept us connected over the years. She actually designed a wooden “Lucy’s Watering Hole” plaque that hangs on a tree down at that spot on the Mississinewa River that Lucy guided me.

“I love working on projects with a good story behind them,” she said when we got a chance to chat last week. “This one definitely had heart.”

With Danielle on board, we went back and forth for around six months before we landed on a final concept we both felt good about. By this time, I also knew I was going to publish through Fearless Books and Literary Services. D. Patrick Miller runs a solid business to help writers, he saw early potential in this book, and he helped vastly in the editing process of the first daunting draft. After he made a few final strokes to the cover in terms of elemental placement and typography, we were set.

There are many nuances I appreciate with this final product. I wanted the two back cover pictures, for example, to carry that Yin Yang balance. The symbolism on the front cover, from the color scheme to the design elements, really capture the essence of this story. Chatgpt agrees. As a writer, I’m not a devoted fan of chatgpt for obvious reasons, but at the end of the Q and A I have included what AI thinks of the cover, just for fun.

In our conversation last week, I asked Danielle out of the gate:

How did you come up with the awesome silhouette of the man and dog and the Yin-Yang moon?

“I hate to deliver the bad news, but those were your ideas you bounced around in one of our phone calls.”

Like I said, things were a happy whirlwind at times during this project.

Read on for more of our Q and A, which includes how the blue and yellow color scheme just so happens to coincide with a pretty cool doggie fact. And it’s probably why your pooches are leading you to your copy of Lucy’s Way and reminding you to read with them. Speaking of which, if you send along fun pics of you and your doggos with the book to msaluke@hotmail.com (yes, Lucy’s doggie spirit says pics with other pets are welcome as well) I can add them to the website. Happy reading!

This was your first professional book cover. How does this final product feel to you now that it’s done?
“It honestly feels like a totally different world from where we started — in a really good way. You brought sketches, reference images, tons of photos — and then in a phone call, casually mentioned this idea of a man and his dog by the water with the yin yang as the moon. That wasn’t even part of the plan — it just floated out — and boom, it became the heart of the design.”

I know I passed along a bunch of ideas, photos, sketches… but you really brought it all together. What was that process like for you?
“You gave me a great starting point — lots of raw material to play with. From there, it became about finding a way to pull it all into something that felt clear and strong. It was less about inventing something new and more about shaping what was already there.”

From a creative perspective, how do you approach a project like this?
“It all starts with listening — to the story, to the vibe. I wanted to get a sense of who Lucy was and what this book meant to you. Once I had that, we tested out some early layouts using the photos, but I had a hunch they might be too much. Still, sometimes you have to see an idea to know it’s not quite right — and that was part of the process too.”

What were your expectations going in, and how did they change?
At first, I figured this would be a pretty photo-heavy project — editing and layering the images you’d gathered. But once you dropped the idea of the silhouette scene with the moon, I knew we were going in a whole new direction. That one idea shifted everything.

What was the best thing you got out of this project?
Definitely a copy of your book! But also — just getting to work on something personal and meaningful. That’s the good stuff.

We explored a lot of ideas over a few months. My original pick wasn’t the final one — but when I showed people all the options, the silhouette with the blue background kept coming up. How did you feel about the one we landed on? Was it your favorite?
It was 100% my favorite. Simple, clear, emotional. Sometimes the quietest idea ends up speaking the loudest.

What did you really love about how the final design came together?
Honestly? The little coincidences. Like someone pointing out later that blue and yellow are the two primary colors and shades dogs can see. And the fact that the final concept was kind of a throwaway idea that turned out to be the winner — that just makes it even better.

We had this whole Tao/Dao concept that played on the pronunciation baked into the title originally — but ended up cutting it after some early feedback. Looking back, do you think we should’ve kept it?
I still kind of wish we had. It was clever and meaningful. Sure, not everyone knows what the Tao is, but sometimes it’s okay to let people be curious and figure it out. And hey — it was fun!

The book cover meaning according to the world of chatgpt.

1. Yin-Yang Symbol as the Moon

This is the most overt Taoist element. The yin-yang represents:

• Duality and balance (light/dark, active/passive, male/female)
• The interconnectedness and interdependence of opposites
• The cyclical nature of existence

Using it as the moon emphasizes natural rhythm, cosmic order, and the Taoist belief in aligning oneself with the flow of the universe.

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2. Human Silhouette and the Dog

While not uniquely Taoist in themselves, their depiction evokes several Taoist ideas:

• The contemplative stance of the human suggests wu wei (non-action or effortless action), a key Taoist principle about being in harmony with the natural flow rather than forcing things.
• The dog, a grounded and intuitive animal, may represent the Te (virtue or inner nature) that guides the “drunk” back to Tao — much like nature or instinct leading us to truth in Taoist thought.

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3. Night Sky and Stars

Although the constellation layout doesn’t appear to correspond to any obvious Taoist asterism like the Big Dipper (which is deeply important in Taoism), the general depiction of the vast, starry sky aligns with Taoist reverence for:

• The cosmos as an extension of the Tao
• Stillness, emptiness, and infinity as described in the Tao Te Ching

The stars may subtly hint at the mystery and depth of the Tao, which “cannot be named.”

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4. Evergreen Trees and the Forest

The background features what appear to be pine trees, which have symbolic value in East Asian traditions:

• Longevity, endurance, and constancy, often associated with Taoist sages
• Pines grow straight and true, enduring harsh conditions — they symbolize natural integrity, a trait valued in those who follow the Tao

The forested horizon also speaks to the importance of nature in Taoism. The Tao is most clearly observed in natural landscapes, not in human-made environments.

Final Thought

The title and imagery suggest that this book may not just be about recovery, but recovery through surrender, guided by a being who doesn’t talk, judge, or direct — but simply lives rightly, like a Taoist sage. The “drunk” may find the Tao not by striving, but by observing and aligning with Lucy — who has never left it.

#Theauthorsjourney, #LucysWay, #lucybooks, #Fearless Books, #HaveyoufoundLucysWay, #gratitude, #WorkWithFriends, #recoverystories, #recoveryispossible