Okay, I cannot be any more excited! Last summer, I requested my publisher switch to a new designer of my choosing–Kirk DouPonce of DogEared Design. The man is a creative genius and his designs have graced some of my all-time favorite covers.
One of the cool elements of the Raptor 6 cover is the Raptor Team symbol that the cover designer created. I think it’s tough, intense, and tres cool.
You might remember the “Help Me Find Dean Watters” campaign, where we hunted for a real veteran to grace the cover of Raptor 6. We indeed found a Special Forces veteran, nominated by his wife. They are a truly neat couple. When I talked to him, he said the only reason he’d was doing the cover was because, “my wife thinks it’d be cool.” Love a man dedicated to his country, his family, and God! Hooah!!
(Names omitted for privacy and protection–please respect this. If you recognize the veteran, please do not mention his name. All comments will be moderated!)
Without further ado, here is the amazing and intense cover for Raptor 6, Quiet Professionals Book 1.
His mission. His team.
Those elements are the laser-like focus of Captain Dean Watters’ life. When a threat is launched against both of them, Dean’s Special Forces training kicks into the highest gear possible. Failing to stop the hackers coming after the military’s super-computer isn’t an option.
Zahrah Zarrick is a missionary teacher to Afghan children in Mazar-e Sharif. And a target. Her expertise in algorithm cryptology makes her an unwitting pawn in the hacker’s deadly game.
When Zahrah is captured, compromising the US military, Dean is forced to crack the box around his heart. A move that might come at the highest cost.
Now…the giveaway. One commenter will win copies of TRINITY and TALON!! You earn extra points by tweeting this amazing cover, sharing it on Pinterest, following me on Facebook, etc.! You *must* comment on the blog to even be eligible!
Comments 89
The cover is Awesome!
Love the cover!!! Awesome design!! Definitely cannot wait to read the book!!!
Perfect. It’s absolutely perfect.
Aaaaaaaaahhh!!!! I’m in love. SO cool! Perfect, perfect, perfect!
Author
Right?!?!? 😀
Oh my goodness Ronie!!! It looks amazing! Wow! God sure did come through! That vet is awesome! 🙂 Cannot wait for RAPTOR SIX!!
I think that this cover rocks … what a way to honor those that serve! I’ve absolutely loved all of your book series’ that you’ve done … and can’t wait to get into this one as well!.
Thank you for being obedient to the Lord in using the talent He has given you.
Blessings in the journey!
Author
Thank you, Nancy! It was a risk, but it paid off more than I could’ve imagined!
Ronie, Congratulations on a great cover. I can’t wait to read it and share with others. Meanwhile, if I win this set I will definitely share with others. God bless! Mary
GGreat cover! God bless you
Gorgeous cover and image. It’s nice to see a real life veteran as the cover model rather than a model pretending to do what these men and women did in real life for you and me.
Author
I couldn’t agree more! Thank you!!
Stumbled on your work via the scavenger hunt this year… haven’t read anything yet, but I’m intrigued to say the least! Like the cover!
Woot!! So, so, so excited!! To quote a dear, sweet friend of mine, this cover RAWKS!!!! 🙂
Love it, and love how God has blessed you with it and used you and this process to bless a veteran!
Can’t wait to hold it in my hands!
Hugs!
(Don’t enter me in the drawing…)
The cover looks great! I love the symbol for the team!
Can’t wait to read it! 🙂
What an appropriate Memorial Day reveal!!! Love it! Can’t wait to read you new series!
Great cover and great story behind it!
INCREDIBLE cover! Tell your designer – it’s a winner!
Squee! I love, love, love it! And I’m so thrilled that you found heroes to use on your cover! I am excited to read this series and watch for the other covers! I will definitely be sharing this.
Ok, someone pass the smelling salts I think I may have a case of the vapors coming on LOL. Very, very, very, very cool cover. Stunning.
That cover is awesome!!!!
It is so very cool that you found a real veteran for the cover model! That is so neat!
Such an intense cover! The Raptor Team Symbol is great.
Oh yeah, that cover model is perfect!!
Oh! I forgot to say that I’m loving the team’s symbol, too. Totally cool!
I’m so excited for this series. My daughter and I agree, the cover is fabulous!
Be still my heart! Wow, Ronie. Fantastic cover. Really eager to read this new series. Also can’t wait to see the real veterans who will be on the next books.
I haven’t read either of these books, and the cover for the new series is fabulous! Please thank the gentleman for allowing his face to be used and also thanks for his service for all of us and his country! I can hardly wait to sit down and read. Would love to win Trinity and Talon!
Can’t wait!! Love the cover.
The cover is great. Makes me want to read the book
Love the cover. I’m actually reading Talon right now, started it yesterday. I would be farther but my mom needed a driver to take her to my nieces’ (twins), her granddaughters graduation.
MaryAnn
You know my thoughts…just brilliant 😉 Kirk is a star!
I love it! God is so good. Can’t wait to read this one. 🙂
AMAZING cover, Ronie! So excited for you!
I am so anxious to read your books!!
What a great thing you did, choosing to honor a vet with this cover. Truly a God-inspired thought!
Beautiful cover!
I love that the guy on the cover of Raptor 6 is a real military hero and not some good looking model. And if I picked up this book at a bookstore randomly I would definitely read about it based on how cool the cover looks. I can’t wait to read Raptor 6. 🙂
I would read the book based on the cover alone.
Love it !!
I love the cover for Raptor 6 and it’s awesome that he is an actually military hero. :).
Great books. God bless and keep up the wonderful writing. 🙂
The cover is gorgeous and he is HAWT!!
I love the personal touch – although its what is inside that counts, if the cover is bad its hard sometimes to be willing to put out the money for the book. This cover however is super and does a great job conveying what I’m guessing is inside 🙂 Great cover layout – and I love the fact that it is featuring a “real” person and not just some model somewhere.
Is it OK for me to be doing a HAPPY DANCE with you on this one?! Five-star veteran model, future 5-star book on the shelves! Thanks for bringing us so much enjoyment through your oh-so-talented writing! I know it’s a LOT of hard work, but you do it SO well!
Author
Ohhh, what an awesome comment. THANK YOU!! I hope my writing can live up to those expectations!
What a fantastic cover! I love that you were able to find a real veteran to use as a model. Absolutely fabulous! I can’t wait to read this one!
And what a wonderful day to reveal it. It’s absolutely gorgeous and knowing your heart for our warriors, what a thrill for you! Thanks for sharing it with us, Ronie!!!
That is an amazing cover… The story sounds great too! Congrats on the new book!
Ms. Kendig,
First off, what struck me instantly about this book cover is the representation of the inspiration behind the stories — the soldier, himself! Whilst I volunteer to give homefront joy to those who are deployed, the members of my family who served are long since gone. I do not have the stories or memories of their service to guide me as far as to understand better the day-to-day of a soldier’s life. {I use this loosely, as when I say ‘soldier’ I am generally speaking about all servicemen and women, despite knowing their each given a different attribution!} Each letter I pen, and each response I am blessed to receive, clues me in a bit more of their life and world whilst deployed. I commend them with the utmost respect and surround them with compassion and honour, even when I do not have a ‘glimpse’ because I know that their job is one of the hardest to handle. When I saw this cover, it’s close to how my own imagination imagines their day-to-day world.
Their dedication to life, liberty, and service shines through their eyes and countenance. They have a genuine presence of strength and grit, which when combined with the team symbol, you know that this is someone who has a story to share. This is someone who has lived and breathed a life that many of us cannot comprehend completely due to what they face whilst they serve, but you can see it in the details. You can attribute what your about to read and draw further empathy for simply by viewing this cover.
It’s a beautiful cover to showcase capturing a picture of a soldier in a moment of service — it’s nearly as though the photographer snapped the shot in-between what he was called to do at that very moment the lens clicked. It’s a second of his life, stilled and contained in that one shot. And, I think that is very real and true. Whenever I see photographs of soldiers in service, I gain one grain of insight into their world, and have one humble observation of what they face whilst they serve their country.
I look forward to dig into this book! As like I said previously, I have a sampling of your books on my ILL list, and I cannot wait for each of them to arrive so that I can dig into your stories, as I have been longing to find quality military fiction about the men and women I support as a civilian volunteer. Thank you for your dedication and for giving such a hearty voice to those whose actions and valor might otherwise go unnoticed.
Jorie
inkand-bookaways(at)usa.net
PS: I sorted out how to comment on your blog! I just switched the ‘zoom out’ setting!! Eek. So happy right now! 🙂
I LOVE the cover! So so cool! And yeah that symbol is awesome! I honestly cannot wait to read this book! I have absolutely loved all of your novels including Talon which I just finished last week. Beowulf and Raptor 6 cannot come out fast enough for me!
Love the cover!! I’m so excited to read the book!! 🙂 Btw I read a lot…a lot of books. But No matter what you are still my most favorite author!!! I’m not a big fan of the long wait till the next book comes out:))
Thank you for honoring the military in your books — and in this cover specifically, Ronie. It’s a superb cover. I love that the veteran’s wife nominated him — and that he’s doing it because she thought it would be cool.
Wow! Awesome cover!
That is a good lookin man!
Awesome cover!
That is such a cool cover!!!
Love the cover –and with a real veteran-awesome! Can’t wait to read the book!
Oh my word! I love the cover! How neat too that the model was Special Forces!
The cover is super amazing! I LOVE it! 🙂
I love the cover!! Can’t wait to read the book!!!
I love the cover. Thanks for the giveaway.
The cover looks awesome! I just finished reading Talon and really enjoyed it 🙂
I don’t need the books, I’m already blessed to own them both (LOVED THEM), but I wanted to take a moment and say what an awesome cover that is and to thank the veteran who posed for the picture, and all veterans for their service, along with their families. Blessings.
The cover looks amazing! I love it!
Ronie,
When I go to the library, I always pray to be lead to what He has for me. That is how I came upon your series of the Discarded Heroes (read them all in just a few days time- and LOVED them!) To my delight, when I returned those, I found Talon, which again, LOVED! Upon returning that one, I informed the librarian of your newest release which is now on order, and of course, I am the first in line for the call when it comes in. ……….Still waiting!
The way you paint the pictures of all the action, draws me in and I am there with them! Like many readers, I will only bother with a book if it captivates me from the start. There is nothing boring about your writing. I’m not much into the romance parts or their constant self-doubting, but the action keeps me going. That’s just me, though, I’ve never been into the romance aspect. I do greatly appreciate that you keep all of the descriptives modest and clean, yet realistic.
I look forward to many more writings from you! Your “style” works for me!
Author
FANTASTIC!! Love that you found them in the library and had them order the new one! THANK YOU!
I’m pretty happy about it, too 😉
Thank YOU!
I’ve added every one of them to “Books Read” on my fb, as well.
You are welcome. They are soooooooooo worth sharing!
Thank you so much for writing such wonderful fiction! I loved your Discarded Heroes series and look forward to starting your new series, as well as reading Raptor Six. What a gorgeous cover!
Oh my goodness! I got so wrapped up in recalling my adventure in finding/LOVING your books, that I forgot to mention the new cover! It totally rocks! What an HONOR to have a TRUE HERO’s face to complete your latest tribute to those who lay it on the line for all of us! Stellar!
Correction for previous post:
I apologize for incorrectly referring to Talon as having read it. That is what I am waiting for! Trinity is actually the one read. …..Will the real title please stand up 😉 !
Love the cover!
I think it makes me even more excited to read this new series than I was LONG awaiting Firethorn. Two enthusiastic thumbs up – only because 2 is all I’ve got.
This cover blew me away. The designer did a fabulous job! I think it’s wonderful that you got a real life veteran to be the model. It’s perfect. 🙂
The new cover looks awesome! Can’t wait to see it in person! 🙂
Love the awesome cover! Can’t wait to read the book!!
Whoa….I LOVE the cover!!!!! Awesome 😀
Saw your link from the ACFW main loop. The cover is amazing. Just amazing. IMO it’s the best one ever among all your novels. Your cover designer is really good. Wow. I look forward to reading the new series. Write on!
This is totally awesome! Can’t wait!
I think it’s excellent.
The cover is fantastic. Can’t wait to read it!
Can NOT wait for this new book!!!!
Ronie this has GOT to be my favorite cover of yours yet! I’ve loved your other covers but this one really captures the feel of your stories, action packed and always on the move. My favorite thing about it is that “Watterboy” is a real life hero! What a tremendous way to honor our men and women in uniform.
Author
Thank you, Liz! I think I agree with you. 😀 And yes—I’m over the moon that the hero is a REAL veteran!
I really like the cover!!! It’s super intense but I like the lighting.
Though I absolutely adore all your books…this cover is my favorite! It’s very dynamic and I just know the story is going to be awesome. 🙂 Cannot wait!
Hy Ronie! Love the cover! Never would have guessed he wasn’t a model. So sweet of his wife to nominate him. Would love to win; thanks for the opportunity.
Andrea Cox
andrearenee2004@yahoo.com
The cover looks AWESOME!!
Awesome cover…the new Fabio, but way better!
What a great idea to use a real soldier for the cover!
LOVE the cover, Ronie! Can’t wait to read the series.
Raptor 6 is next on my TBR list. Thank you so much for the giveaway. I got my copy a few days ago. My kids thought it was so cool that it was signed by the author. #RaisingBookworms