I’ve been writing a lot here lately and sometimes when I need to decompress I look at stock photos and develop cover ideas. I want to do a fun, whimsical story and I know exactly how I want the cover to look. I mean, seriously, isn’t that gorgeous? Yeah, I think so too, except I can’t find any pictures like that with black women. Seriously, try googling black woman in long flowing gown and you’ll get exactly nada. It’s insanely frustrating because actually I need three of them, and I can’t even find one. Since I started self-publishing I like to get my cover ideas down before I start writing. I have no intention of starting on this book for quite some time, but meanwhile I can’t get this cover idea out my head. And yes, Whit can work his magic and do a meld job to get me the image I want, but dammit, it just seems to me that I shouldn’t still be doing that in 2016. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel really weird putting a black woman’s head on a white woman’s body, though I’ve done it more than once. What do y’all think? And stock folk, can you throw me just a few pictures?
the one who writes 
I don’t like black women’s heads on white women’s bodies in a photoshop mess. There is always some detail that are forgotten and it doesn’t look right. Then there are the stupid black silhouettes that were big in the 90’s. Or the racially ambiguous light skin hero or heroine. I can see why you would be frustrated. I was just trying to do a Google search of African American women in evening gowns and it’s just not coming up. Maybe a prom dress, but not much else. I don’t know if it’s my search terms or Google’s crappy search results when it comes to black people.
My husband does a great job at it, but I’m sick of doing it. I spent hours searching, so it’s just not there. Really frustrating. I keep think how fierce a black woman with a big-zzz fro or some goddess braids would look in one of those flowing dresses.
That would be awesome. Whit does amazing covers, but you are at the mercy of his schedule. I would think that just in ATL with all the actors and models there would be a variety of images of black women to choose from.
You’d think, wouldn’t you? But not so much. I found one that’s absolutely gorgeous, and a few others that are racially ambiguous, we’d definitely have to darken their skin and I hate doing that.