Another week, another seven days closer to the end of this pandemic, whenever that may be. I hope you’re safe and well.
And Happy Easter to everyone who’s celebrating today. Even though this is an Easter like no other, I hope you’re able to find the joy in it.
Here in England the weather has turned gorgeous, which makes it even harder to stay inside. I’m lucky that we have a small garden, and if I work at the table in the kitchen I can open the double doors and get a hit of birdsong and sunshine. It helps a lot.
I’m still waiting for the edit report on Daire’s novella, now officially called The Seeds of Exile, but I have a cover, and here it is. You might remember that I found a stock photo of a guy I thought was perfect for Daire—hair, face, expression—but who wasn’t a golden historical fantasy prince. I hoped my cover designers would be able to turn him into one, and I must say they surpassed my expectations.
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 online, would you click on it to check out the blurb?
Thank you in advance for your comments, whatever they may be.
And huge thanks to the team at Deranged Doctor Design, who are a delight to deal with, not to mention brilliant creatively and technically. I feel very privileged to be working with them.
Eight Ladies Writing 
Love the cover! Daire’s face is striking, and the background highlights him well. It definitely piques my curiosity. I also like the font used for the title and the detail at the bottom of the book with the sun in the center – elegant and eye-catching! I can’t wait to read it! 🙂
Thank you! That makes me very happy 🙂
The font is called Yana. It was chosen by the cover designer, Deranged Doctor, and I think it’s perfect for the books. One of the reasons I chose DDD to do my covers is that I love their typography. It’s such an important skill, and often overlooked.
DDD also designed the jewel/sun logo, as part of my author branding project. I’m glad you like it. The jewel is an important element of the story, and it works beautifully as a detail on the cover, and the paperback spine, and the title page, and the chapter headers.
I adore this cover and it absolutely makes me want to read the book. And would, I think, even if I didn’t know you and hadn’t read The Seeds of Power.
As for signals, it says strong, unique hero and magic!
Strong, unique hero and magic. Yay! I’ll take that 🙂
Thank you!
Holy crow, that’s a first. I am actually faintly shocked. I have never, not even once in my life, looked at an image of a character I had read about previously and thought, “Yes. That is EXACTLY how I pictured him.”
Amazing, and a testimony to your descriptive skills, Jilly. And how incredible that you found this stock photo of a guy who is clearly Daire!
You have no idea how happy your comment makes me 🙂
I found the guy last year, after I did the cover for The Seeds of Power. That’s when I learned what a time suck finding the right stock photo can be, and how important it is. I figured I’d better start early and keep looking until I found somebody I liked. Finally I found him and thought he was perfect, exactly as I imagined Daire, except for his clothes which were not period or princely. I had him in my mind as I wrote The Seeds of Exile and was really hoping that by the time I came to do the cover the image would still be available and DDD would be able to give him a makeover. Fortunately the answers were yes, and yes!
It’s so great to hear that you had the same reaction to him. He clearly is Daire!
Daisy, this is precisely what I thought. “THIS IS DAIRE!”
It’s a gorgeous cover, Jilly. Can’t wait to read what’s inside!
Yay! Thank you, Justine 😀
It’s a gorgeous cover, and it ties in perfectly with your series.
I would read all the books in this series if you put a platypus in a tiara on the cover, so no worries about that. And I’m sure I’ll love this book. But generally speaking, I’m not drawn to covers that feature men alone. That signals to me that the book is about the guy, and I’m not reading to get the guy’s story. The books of my friends and my auto-buys—of course, I’ll buy those. But otherwise? I probably wouldn’t.
You’re right about having a man on the cover, of course. I know it’s a risk–some readers don’t choose to read male-led stories.
Daire is the main character in this one, though he only gets a 20k novella, and he’ll be a freebie so I’m hoping his personality and charm will carry the day. If not I’ll have to have a re-think. You’ll be pleased to hear that the next full-length, paid-for Elan Intrigues book has a female lead who’s also on the cover. I started work on that one with DDD this week. Really hoping it’s as strong as the first two.
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