I'm now back in the office after a pretty amazing vacation. Before I make my poor colleagues sit through travel stories and slog through endless photos, I'm going to see if anyone can guess where I was based on this picture of a GPS device. (This newfangled doodad was NOT my friend. If I had a dime for every time the goofy thing said "route recalculation"...)

A visually arresting image is the first thing readers notice about a cover, as Art Director Kerri Davis explains in this post. But in that brief moment of attention you also have to have the right words to whet their appetites and invite them to actually open the issue and sample all the delicious content. So how do we make 'em dig in?

Word games. Cover blurb time is word play time at Hammock. Depending on the audience, we might play with puns ("Arts, Cynics and Old Lace" promotes the history of the lace-making industry), tease with phrases that carry double meanings ("Iron Lady" profiles the woman who helped build the Brooklyn Bridge) or play it straight with needed solutions ("Beat Burnout") or timely information ("Warriors' Weekend").

Promises, promises. Who doesn't want to be better, stronger, faster, smarter? We try not to over-do it, but if we can deliver the goods to help our readers do their jobs or live their lives more successfully, we'll promote it with blurbs like "7 Steps to Faster Growth," "10 Ways to Save Gas" or even "How to Cook a Colonial Breakfast." That said, we don't over-promise--if it's not the first time we've done this or if she's not the only woman to have done that, we won't say so just for the hook.

I'm talking to you. We question, listen to and study our audiences to learn what topics they want to read about most--and then give the people what they want. What excites our readers? Do they enjoy stories about genealogy? We'll use related words on the cover to signal, "Hey, we heard you! Take a look at this story about finding your family photos online."

Want more? Take a look at this expanded post on Hammock's Custom Media Craft blog.

My friend Albert Roberts (no relation—that we know of!) is a re-enactor at Historic Mansker's Station, an authentic reconstruction of a 1779 frontier settlement in Goodlettsville, Tenn. He received word late last week that the city is closing Mansker's Station on June 30 due to budget cuts.

Several years ago, American Spirit, the magazine we publish for the DAR, covered the fort’s annual Yule Fest, a celebration of an early American Christmas. The fort’s dedicated re-enactors and authentic living history demonstrations have made the 18th century come alive for thousands of visitors. We believe it’s a site worth preserving, and we're happy to hear that the volunteers at Mansker's Station are rallying to keep it open. Learn more at Albert's, excuse me, the Doctor's blog.

While I’m plugging friends’ good causes, I wanted to send a shout-out to Gin Phillips, Hammock freelance writer extraordinaire. On Wednesday, June 25, she’ll be reading from and signing her first novel, The Well and the Mine, at local independent bookstore Davis-Kidd. Set in 1931, her book follows one family in an Alabama coal-mining town after a nine-year-old girl sees a woman throw a baby down the family well. The novel touches on death, race, hard work and family in the Depression-era South.

Gin is already enjoying positive buzz: Award-winning Southern novelist Fannie Flagg wrote the introduction, the book got a great review in O magazine and Gin was named one of Barnes and Noble's "Discover Great New Writers." Check her out if you’re in the neighborhood!