Behind the Scenes: The Cover Picture

The upcoming book “Rocky Mountain Railroad Odyssey” is characterized by a particular image: a young couple is walking along a railroad track in the Rocky Mountains. The weather is mixed, the first snow is falling, the trees are full of leaves. But the two seem happy: they are balancing on the rails, walking hand in hand.

We looked at plenty of photos: Shouldn’t a travel novel like this simply feature a train? It could be Amtrak’s “Empire Builder,” for example, traveling through the Rockies? But Erik, the protagonist, the passenger from Chicago, is not an engine driver. Even if he were traveling on the train, he would hardly sit in the engine. Or was the book supposed to show a man on the platform? That would also fit. But the core of the story is Erik’s love for Amelia, whom he meets in Canada. That’s why a cityscape of, say, Chicago or Edmonton would be out of the question.

The image of the couple on the railroad tracks fits so well, at least in my opinion, because on the one hand it stands for a journey that the two are taking together. That’s why they are walking hand in hand. On the other hand, it stands for the railroad because they are walking along a track. Above all, they have to balance on the rails, which stands for the difficulties of their love, which they have to overcome in order to find fulfillment.

After all, the two of them just look likeable in the photo – just like Erik and Amelia in the book: they’re young, they’re cheerful, and they’re also a bit “hip” with their clothes. So it has become a special picture to appear on the cover: Modern, interesting, nice to look at, but not flat. So no sunshine, but snowy weather in the mountains. Do you like it as much as I do? You are welcome to write to me via the contact form. Anyway, the english edition now has the cover picture shown on the right.