A missing child.
Friends (or more?) turned enemies, forced to work together to save him.
Disguises and theater training and hidden, buried corridors beneath a manor house.

Welcome to a new aspect of the world of the Imposters! Here, nothing is quite what it seems, but the bonds of blood and friendship run deep, faith lights the path forward, and the quest for Truth underscores everything they do.

I am so excited for the first book in the Imposters series to launch in just a few short weeks! And, yes, okay, it feels odd to be sharing a cover for book 2 before you’ve even read book 1. But I’m gonna do it anyway. Because I can. 😉

In book 1, A Beautiful Disguise, we focus on the Fairfax siblings, with all their acrobatic skills and derring-do. In book 2, A Noble Scheme, they’re obviously still around, but the focus shifts to the other two members of the Imposters team: Gemma, journalist and shorthand expert who excels at theater, and Graham, whose architectural prowess helps them get into and out of a lot of literal tight (and secret) spaces.

In this part of the adventure, these two–who are CLEARLY at odds in book 1, though we don’t know why–are thrown together to rescue a kidnapped child. And sparks–and tears–fly. This one deals with some heavy topics of grief and loss, but as always, there’s also some lighthearted humor, clever wit, and lots to smile about.

This cover came in while I was in the middle of a writing retreat for another book, which naturally meant that I was terribly, wonderfully distracted. Because OH. MY. GOODNESS.

I’d given some specific-ish wants. It’s winter, and there’s snow. So a nice snowy background would be great. Most of the action takes place on-assignment on the southern coast of England, in Weymouth, which boasts the same white chalk cliffs as Dover, being very near it. I wanted to see Gemma in a blue or green dress, to keep with the cool scheme. Though her hair was actually “dyed” red with carrot and beet juice at that point in the story, I did NOT want that on the cover, LOL. I asked for her actual blond (and then said the natural dye was fading at one point, to appease all the readers who haven’t read this note, ha ha).

And man, did they deliver! Are you ready to see?

Ready…

Set…

VOILA!

Gaaaahhhhh! Right?? Don’t you just love that cool, icy blue, offset with gold and white? I sure do. And I love the dress. And that gorgeous archway! Zero changes requested from me on this one! I’m in love!

What are your thoughts?

Here’s the official back cover copy:

Gemma Parks is known throughout high society as G. M. Parker, a columnist renowned for her commentary on the cream of society. Behind the scenes, she uses her talent to aid the Imposters in their investigations by gathering intel at events and providing alibis for the elite firm’s members through her columns. Yet her clandestine work would be more exhilarating if it weren’t for the constant presence of the gentleman who broke her heart.

Graham Wharton has never had eyes for anyone but Gemma, and she left his soul in tatters when she walked away from him. When the Imposters take on a new job to recover a kidnapped boy mistaken for his aristocratic cousin, Graham is determined to use the time with Gemma not only to restore the missing boy, but also to win back the only woman he’s ever loved. As they trace the clues laid out before them, Graham must devise a noble scheme to save the boy’s life and heal their hearts.

Christy Award-winning author Roseanna M. White whisks you away to Edwardian-era England in an exhilarating tale of glamor, intrigue, and romance set among high society’s most elite–and most dangerous–families.

Edwardian circus.
Aristocratic private investigators spying on their own.
A brother and sister using acrobatic feats to get into–and out of–impossible situations for their investigations.

Welcome to the world of the Imposters! Here, nothing is quite what it seems, but the bonds of blood and friendship run deep, faith lights the path forward, and the quest for Truth underscores everything they do.

I have been so excited for this series and absolutely LOVE how it’s going so far! The funny thing is that even before I started writing book 1 (as in, MONTHS before), I had to turn in a very thorough document for the cover design team. I had to come up with a title, describe the characters, tell them about the plot and write summaries of it, pinpoint all the setting details, figure out what she’d be wearing on the cover…and I had no clue. As in NO CLUE. This was due while I was still working on Yesterday’s Tides, and you can well imagine me looking at the due date with wide eyes and a bit of panic as I realized, “I know none of this!!” LOL.

But I took a day and sorted it all out. I plotted and planned and researched and fell more deeply in love with the concept. I chose a beautiful, rugged setting in Northumberland. I learned all I could about the Edwardian circuses that had informed so much of my characters’ childhoods and, ultimately, their lives. I researched espionage and the spy mania that had seized England pre-1910 thanks to novels (!!!!) by a fellow named William Le Queux. I explored the world of haute couture in 1909. And I turned in that document with a big grin on my face.

Cue the months of waiting. I wrote the book. I loved the book. I loved especially that Lady Marigold, my heroine, chose fashion as her mask for her work. She wears the most ostentatious gowns and hats any time she goes out in public, so that people notice the clothes instead of her face…and then the clothes can appear somewhere else on a friend, and it provides an alibi for her while she’s about her clandestine work. Because if Lady M’s hat was in Hyde Park on that afternoon, then surely she was too, right?

In truth, Lady Marigold Fairfax and her brother, Yates, an earl now, are in dire straits. If they don’t earn a living, they’ll lose everything and be unable to support the retired performers who they love like family and who have made their home now at Fairfax Tower.

When the email arrived in my inbox with the cover for A Beautiful Disguise, I had one of those jaw-drop moments that I always hope for. Gorgeous background of a Northumberland manor house–check. Beautiful dress in vibrant colors–check. Enormous hat–check. I absolutely LOVE that we can’t see Marigold’s face here, because that is such a key part of the story–she always hides her face in public under her hats. The only addition that I asked for was peacock feathers on her hat (which had ostrich feathers already). Both kinds of feathers are featured in the book, so I hoped they’d agree…and they did! Which made it PERFECT!!!

So…are you ready for your first glimpse? Here it is! A Beautiful Disguise!

I am 100% in love with this cover, from the lighting to the background to the colors to those requested feathers. It’s definitely one of those that I keep pulling up to stare at whenever I need a bit of inspiration to finish my work on the story (which I’m revising right now). I can never really rank my favorites of my book covers (so many gorgeous ones), but this is right up there, not only because of its beauty, but because of how perfectly it captures the story. Yay!

What do you think? I’d love to hear your opinions! Post your comments below!