Friday, February 6, 2015

Join Me for Cover Work and Another Romantic Knight!



Sometimes Steven and I connect on the first shot, sometimes it takes a bit longer. For instance, the first cover for LEAP INTO THE KNIGHT. I sent Steven some images I found for the characters and asked him if he was up for a challenge. I told him I wanted half of each character's face in the blade of a sword--a laser sword--like it was etched or a reflection. I had three books, three main characters, I thought this would work nicely. 


Here's a blurb to give you an idea of what's going on in Book One:


Sir Darius Lee is a Knight of the High Order.

But when Darius discovers a stranger in his room in the middle of the night, and the intruder turns out to be a beautiful woman, he begins to question how he is meant to live his life.

Princess Megan of Bethyea is being held captive.

But when two knights help her to escape and bring her back to her home planet, she finds the home she knew no longer exists.

When The Council of Twelve questions Darius about his relationship with Maggie, she tries to flee from The Academy of the High Order to prevent him from losing his knighthood.
Will Darius and Orion find Maggie before she leaves Albion? And if they do, how can they face the decision of The Council? And what about the feelings Orion has developed for the princess?
Here is what Steven sent me! --->


I absolutely loved it! It is even better than I imagined. He captured the intensity of Darius--it's great! The only suggestion I had was maybe bringing the color up a little. Making it look more vibrant.


The result? --->


What can I say, the man is fabulous!

He always gives me just what I ask for!

So in just two tries I have my first cover for the series!



And so I began my quest for Book Two,
LADY OF THE KNIGHT. This one is about
Maggie!

The blurb:

Can she betray the man she loves in order to save him?
Newly wed, Maggie is trying to figure out how life married to a Knight of the High Order is supposed to work. Then an explosion rips her husband away from her. Everyone believes him to be dead, but in her heart she knows it’s not true. How is she supposed to find him when others think she’s crazy for even looking?


Will he betray The Order to make his way back to her?

Darius’s captor wants information about Council members. If the Knight is killed keeping The Order’s secrets, his newfound life with Maggie will come to an abrupt end. Will duty win out over love?


And will he betray his best friend for the woman he loves?
Orion has learned to keep his distance from Maggie, but when circumstances throw them together in a very intimate way, how can he be expected to remain a loyal friend to Darius? He may be a Knight, but he’s human, too. He wants to do what’s right for all of them, but what’s right is becoming increasingly unclear.


When hearts are pulled in separate directions, each painful decision they make could affect them all. Join us for another ROMANTIC KNIGHT! 



Steven sent me this:



Granted, I sent him the image, but this is not Maggie. Too doe-eyed. Not strong enough. I asked him to try one of the other images I sent.







Okay, DON'T like this one!
She looks mean! The next one he sent I felt we finally got the image right.









Digging the image, it has the intensity I was after. ...But now I don't like the red. If I was looking at the book for the first time I would think it was hell fire, and the hilt almost looks like alien/devil horns. I suggest purple. 








And I get the final cover! 





I love it! I hope you enjoyed watching the evolution of this cover and will come back for more. Please share your thoughts below. Do you think the changes we made improved the cover?  






2 comments:

  1. Sounds like you have a great working relationship with your cover artist! You must have artistic genes because your original idea with the sword and half face is awesome.

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    1. Why thank you! I wish I knew more about creating covers. I'm never sure what Steven can do or can't do. But everything I've asked him to do he's accomplished. What a great gift for a writer, to have someone you can count on to do your covers right! Thanks for joining me today, Marissa!

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