Happy holiday weekend to everyone in the US, and happy weekend to the rest of us 😉
Here in England the weather has turned gorgeous. It’s Wimbledon time, and usually I’d be on my sofa, indulging in a two-week tennisfest accompanied by the obligatory Pimms and strawberries. Not this year. I’m deep in the edits for Christal’s book, and if I’m to have any chance of publishing her on time, I have to keep my nose to the screen and my hands on the keyboard.
The edits for The Seeds of Power may not be finished yet, but the cover is ready, and here it is. What do you think? I hope you like it as much as I do.
I’d love to know what signals it gives you. Does it look like your kind of book? If you noticed that cover as you were browsing on the Zon, would you click it to check out the blurb?
Thank you in advance for your comments, whatever they may be 😉
Oh—and big thanks to the lovely people at Deranged Doctor Design who did all the hard work!
Eight Ladies Writing 
Wow! Very cool cover! I had no idea you were writing this sort of book (I thought the heroine was bald and kick-ass?). This looks kick-ass and steampunky! I love the sun-stone brooch/design at the bottom. And the colors are fantastic! Can’t wait to read this!
Thanks, Michaeline! This is a prequel to the book with the bald kick-ass heroine (Alexis). The woman on this cover is Christal, who’s an entirely different kettle of kick-ass 😉 . She’s ordered to marry the handsome prince, but she has other ideas and doesn’t hesitate to execute them. Much, much later she’s also an important secondary character in the Alexis story.
Very glad you like the jewel at the bottom of the cover. That’s the Light of Calder, cause of much (most) of the trouble in future books.
It’s really interesting how a cover changes everything. I had one conception of your world, but this is very different . . . and it offers more interesting possibilities, too! Look at those textile skills! I was thinking the book was a 12th century analog, for some reason, but this is definitely further along the timeline. Closer to the pulse of our own times, I think.
Your comment about the timeline is very interesting. Karen (editor) said that if I described the books as historical-set fantasy most readers would automatically assume they were medieval. I was aiming for something closer to fifteenth or sixteenth century–no guns, and horses for transport, but with clever inventions and more sophistication. Frex, I like my people to be clean. Kierce, the hero of the Alexis book, is a soldier but with engineer/inventor type abilities. He has a self-designed bathing room in his house 😉
LOL, it’s totally true! “Historical Romance” automatically means “Regency or there-abouts” to me, so it’s important that the cover especially tells me it’s a different era (if it is). Or, on the other hand, if it’s just vague “princess days” (which is totally fine, too).
Historical fantasy for me (and I think a lot of readers) implies lots of leather and rough cloth, and those cones that women wore on their heads (hennin). Steampunk implies late 19th century. Sounds like you’ve got Elizabethan steampunk — which AFAIK isn’t a general category . . . yet. (-: It totally should be, though.
What this cover says to me:
1) Strong female protagonist. Also smart and resilient.
2) Elements of magic.
3) A work that will be both thoughtful and active.
It’s absolutely beautiful.
That’s perfect! THANK YOU, Jeanne!
It is a lovely cover, and I agree with what everyone said. My question is, where are you going to put the tagline, “Golden Heart winner”? (Or alternatively, “Award-Winning Author”)
😀 😀 😀 Thank you, Kay! 😀 😀 😀
I shall, of course, be thrilled to bits if I win, though ’tis no word of a lie to say that finaling is what I really wanted. I’m already as pleased as punch! I did consider putting “Award-Winning Author” on the cover (courtesy of the Daphne), but in the end I decided I liked the clean look of the cover without it. If I discover the tagline is likely to bring me more sales or clicks, I can easily revisit that decision later. And if I do happen to get lucky, I think a Golden Heart Winner e-medallion would look just lovely on my website.
Hey Jilly, it’s me in Chicago. My name and pic changed when I linked my gravatar to my new, under-construction website. Hadn’t quite realized how pervasive that was. On the up side, I suddenly started getting eightladieswriting email notifications again, which was a nice surprise. 🙂
This is a gorgeous cover!! I hope you plan to blow it up and frame it for somewhere in your house.
In terms of clicks, if I knew nothing about the book, I’d say there was a 60-70% chance I’d click on it to check it out.
Reasons I’d be likely to click on it:
– It is excellent quality. A good quality cover doesn’t always mean a good quality author, but a poor quality cover often means a poor quality author.
– It’s blue. I like blue and I’m a simple person.
– Love the little magic glowy dots. They’re one of my favorite signals to indicate a fantasy story. Pretty and artistically subtle, but genre reader unsubtle.
-Rich colors and textures, fabulous font.
Reason I might not click:
The heroine looks pretty buttoned-up for my taste. I have no problem with a tightly controlled heroine, but I want to know that she’s tightly controlled because there is passion beneath the surface. I like my covers to gently hint at that. But this heroine has not a hair out of place, no raised eyebrow, no quirked lip. She looks focused and intelligent and the dots show some sort of psychic or magic talent. It’s just not quite enough for me.
So, I’d probably click, but not definitely.
Oh! Meant to say, another HUGE reason I’d be likely to click is the “Elan Intrigues Book 1” tag. I just flat out won’t read stand alone books anymore. I hate getting invested in characters only to have so little time with them. Knowing I’ll get to see these characters again is a must for me to buy a book. I love it when the author makes that clear right on the cover.
Yay! That’s good news.
Elan Intrigues actually signals prequel. Elan (magical, cure-all universal panacea golden beans) hold this whole series together. The heroine of this book (Christal) becomes the mother of the hero in the main series, and she has an important role to play there. I’ve discovered that I like heroes with strong mothers 😉 .
I am currently planning two Intrigues books, plus a shorter, free one for the website. Then there will be six (I think) main series books, called Elan Chronicles until I find a better word. All suggestions gratefully received.
So there will be lots of opportunity to spend time with these characters and in this world. I’m very glad you think that’s a plus point 🙂
Hello Daisy (forgive me, it took me a minute to figure out your new alter ego 😉 ). Is that a bee on your gravatar? I’d have expected a butterfly.
Glad the 8Ladies email notifications were a nice surprise. This comment is a lovely one.
I’m glad that overall you like the cover. Partly it’s a problem of indie covers and the need to use stock models–I was glad to find a heroine that hadn’t been used on a thousand covers already– but truthfully I think it’s a fair representation of Christal. She is very buttoned-up, but with a lot of passion beneath. More than she even realises, because that’s not the era she lives in, or how she’s been raised. *Spoiler alert* She does find the love of a lifetime ;-).
I was planning to send you the book when it finally gets published. I’m really hoping you like it!
Lotta butterflies in my life, but I’m pro-pollinator no matter what the species. 🙂
That’s sweet that you were going to send me the book, but I really want to buy it! Gives me more cred when I review it on Amazon if I’m a verified buyer. Will there be a print version available? Hoping to get you to autograph it next time I’m in London or you’re in the Midwest.
There isn’t an emoticon big enough for my smile. I’d LOVE you to buy it! Thank you! There will definitely be a print version available. And autographs…absolutely! One way or another, that will happen 🙂 .
Yay autographs!!
(waves hello to Daisy — when you get your website done, drop by and give us a link! Glad to see you!)
(waves back!) Hi Michaeline! The website is just for fun, but when I’ve got it mostly together I’ll drop you a note.
Wow, actually, the gravatar is linking through to the website now. I’ve been fiddling with the gravatar specs, checking to see if it works here in the comments (because, honestly, I never comment anywhere, so this was the first time I’d tried clicking on it). Website is still mostly empty, with a few pages filled in and some half-completed pages. Will try to put more time in on it when my out-of-town guests leave next week.