~ Time to Update Covers, Part 2 ~

Here are a few more new covers. I liked both of my old covers, just felt I needed a fresh look.

OLDER COVER

NEW COVER

OLD VERSION

NEW VERSION

Any thoughts?

~ Time To Update Covers! ~

Recently I realized that some of my covers are over five-years-old now. Some close to ten! While I loved the covers I had, I needed something fresh. Working with cover designer Francessca Weber on a group project (box set) I was really impressed by her talent. Check out what she did to these covers!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

What do you think about the transformations? Do you have a favorite?

~ Three's A Charm! At Least In Steven Novak's Case! ~

Howdy! Today I wanted to chat about the making of the cover for the third book in my ROMANTIC KNIGHTS TRILOGY. When I first started thinking about covers for these books, I had an idea. Three books, three main characters, seemed like a no brainer. I asked Steven Novak, my cover artist, (novakillustration.com) if he could put half of their faces on the blade of a sword, either like a reflection or an etching, and then make it look like a laser sword. 

Book One, LEAP INTO THE KNIGHT, was the story of Darius and Maggie's love affair and had Darius on the cover. The very first cover Steven sent me was perfect! I couldn't believe that he had gotten it so close to the way I visualized it in my head. The only change I asked for was to bring the color up a little. 

Book Two, LADY OF THE KNIGHT, has all three characters, of course, but it revolves around Maggie and some tough choices she has to face. This time the cover creation was harder. The images I chose just weren't working well and the red background color we started with made her look angry. But, after some work, I was pleased with the final product. (The full story is in an earlier blog post. http://forthecoverconscious.blogspot.com/2015/02/join-me-for-cover-work-and-another.html)

       

                         

Book Three would be Orion's story. He is both looking to clear Darius' good name, and make amends with Maggie. Here's a blurb~



Maggie’s grief is nearly crippling.

She’s afraid she may never find happiness again, especially when someone seems to be targeting her loved ones.


For Orion, no other woman is like her.

So to take his mind off Maggie, he continues to investigate The Eleven. Will he find evidence to confirm his suspicion that all is not as it seems on the Grand Council?

Can Orion, Maggie and The Forgotten Ones take on The Eleven and win?

The Eleven members of the Grand Council hold all the power. Can the ragtag group Orion gathered help him to restore his Master’s good name? Or will taking the risk mean losing the people he loves? One thing’s for certain, it’s bound to be a Knight to remember.

So, Orion in a sword, right? Not that difficult. Here is what Steven sent me:

Good start! He's keeping the branding consistent with the way the text is set up, and the general sword image. But this is the character's right eye, where the other two were the left. Also, the hilt is reddish, not like in the others. 

Okay, now we're more in line with the other covers, but I'm starting to wonder about the red. The book is about fighting the forces of evil, so it works in that sense. But it is also the last in the series and ends on a note of peace, as all is resolved. Red doesn't seem to fit that. I ask Steven if he can do it in green.

I'm liking it, showing it around to a couple of people, getting them to vote on what color they like better. Of course the vote is split somewhat down the middle. I'm thinking that someday I may want to do a boxed set of the trilogy, so I decide to put them together, to see if that clears up the green/red issue.

Now, this is a matter of taste, of course, but I feel like the green, purple, blue are all kind of soothing colors and the red just doesn't match the mood. I asked Steven for one more thing. Could he make the green darker. Here's the cover.

And voila, the final product! But poor Steven is not off the hook yet. I need a teaser. I send him some images and quotes to choose from, and he came up with this...

Love this, but, you know, I'm me, so...I ask Steven to make the right side more black than green and then backlight the book. I also want the print larger, even if he has to make the book smaller. Here's the final. 

So, a lot goes into making teasers and covers, especially if you're picky, like me. But the reward is having something you are satisfied with, or even thrilled with. I will forever be grateful that I found, and chose to work with Steven. He's got a great eye, fabulous imagination, and, above all, is patient. 

So what are your thoughts? Would you have chosen differently? I did see one thing that I would still change, if I hadn't already paid Steven months ago and had the book up everywhere. There are two question marks after the tagline. 

Here's a little teaser I did for the whole trilogy.

~ NO DAMAGE DONE TO THIS COVER! ~

I may have to rename this segment "The Steven Novak Worship Corner" because I just love my cover artist's work! Today I'm going to share with you the development of the cover for my newest release DAMAGE DONE.


Okay, so this one is set in Ireland...I'll give you a blurb ~


When an unhappy youth leaves him damaged, will Teddy Mckee be able to find love?

“Teddy Passmore McKee was born in Cork, Ireland, with a limp and a chip on his shoulder that threw his balance off all the more.” When he falls in love with the dark haired beauty born of an Irish father and a Spanish mother, will Gabrielle Quinn be able to restore his balance? And what about the charming Sean Hennessey? When Gabby catches his eye, too, will Teddy’s playboy best friend cause his own damage?


Fourteen years later, will Teddy and Gabrielle’s son be able to overcome the damage done to him in his childhood?

“Even through bloodshot eyes he could see she was different.” But can Michael leave behind the bottle, and his womanizing ways, to win over the lovely Tess Flanagan? Tess has sustained some damage of her own. Can she and Michael overcome the terrors of the past and learn how to love each other?


And if they do, will they be able to elude those after them who want to create their own damage?

On the run after an altercation leaves their boss in a pool of blood, will Michael and Tess be able to stay one step ahead of their pursuers? Or is it simply too late to correct the damage that has been done?




I sent this blurb to Steven along with this, copied and pasted from my email:


So, a lot going on here! A book told in two parts. The love triangle of Sean (good looking blond), Gabrielle (dark-haired, dark eyed), Teddy (brown hair, plain features, but handsome) in the first part. And the love story of Tess (long,red hair, green eyes) and Michael (looks a little like Johnboy Walton).


What I see: I like the covers we've been creating lately! The REAL ROMANCE COLLECTION generally has that banner with my name, some handsome hunk or couple or something, and the setting at the bottom. Setting is Ireland so you could go with green fields, thatch roofed cottage, sheep, or cliffs and sea (there's an important scene that takes place there). We've also got barns, bars, and churches as major scene settings. Color wise I'm thinking maybe mostly white, with a splash of green for font and/or banner. But as always, I'm open to your brilliance. I attached some images that I got off of BigStock to make my teasers with. Oh, yeah, and I'll be wanting a couple of your fab, teasers, too. I'll send some quotes in a separate email when I get the MS back from my first editor in a couple of weeks.

In short, the cover needs to say Irish romantic suspense and be consistent with my branding. I'll show you the first two covers from the collection.

THE HEART TEACHES BEST is FREE for the month of August to celebrate my release of DAMAGE DONE! (Had to get that plug in there!) ;)








The first cover Steven sent me for DAMAGE DONE was phenomenal. I just loved it. But it was wrong for my book.

We have the whole sexy thing here, the pub, even bikes. (Sean rides a motorcycle and that's touched on several times in the book.) But with the image blown up more, I notice the girl's nails, and to me, they're hideous! And it's just not saying Irish to me. The pub could be a bar, and we all know there's a huge difference there. I'm just kidding, but I needed more Irish. These were images I sent him, by the way. I'm sure he was like, but these are the images she sent me! But being the great guy that he is, Steven made me up another cover from the images I sent. Now, keep in mind, you may not agree with the decisions I made to come up with my final cover, and that's fine. I really did love this cover. Sigh. I even love the colors. So here's what he came up with next--->

Again, I love it. We have the Cliffs of Mohr, they say Irish. I like the couple. She looks pensive, the bottom's a little spooky, I think that can hint of suspense. I'm actually pretty sold on this...but I want to mess with it some more because I'm just that much of a pain in the backside. I feel like the all white with the fonts is washing it out a little bit, and my girl has red hair, and I don't really want to change it. It's kind of one of her outstanding features. So Steven works his magic and I get this--->

Much closer. We've got a tagline now. I'm feeling the Irish. But there is a strand of the girl's hair near her face that's blond and bugging me. I also ask Steven to change the title, which I just told him to make green, back to white. That's how I roll.

The next cover is great. 

The title looks good in white, he's gotten rid of the blond hair...but we still need a little more tweaking. I've been looking at the girl's hair and it looks fine when it's small, but big it comes off brassy. And there is a green mist behind the title now that gives it a sci-fi feel. Plus my editor wants me to take the "to them" out of the tag.

The girl's hair looks slightly less brassy. It's a subtle difference but I think we are as close as we're going to get. The final change I ask him to make is again to the color behind the font. The white, I feel, washes it out. I ask Steven to make it grayer, like in the first cover with this couple. And here's our finished product. --->

Did my changes make it better, or screw it up? We'll all have our opinions, but I feel Steven has done an excellent job of capturing my book in visual form.

I hope you enjoyed this. And now, if you think you'd be interested in the pages behind the cover, here is where you can purchase DAMAGE DONE:

You can find DAMAGE DONE at:

Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00LU7719K

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/damage-done-mj-schiller/1119955011?ean=2940149795697

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/damage-done-1

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id899251690




You can find M.J. at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MJ-Schiller-Romance-Author/286382241460365?ref=hl

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mjschiller/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mjschiller

Tumblr: http://mjschilz.tumblr.com/

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Google + : https://plus.google.com/u/0/110797684036386240402/posts  

What are your thoughts on cover art? 

Does the cover weigh in a lot when you're choosing a book?

Is there anything that tends to annoy you on covers?

~ HOW WE GOT FROM HERE TO THERE WITH THE COVER FOR THE HEART TEACHES BEST ~

This week I am adding a new feature to my blog called For The Cover Conscious. Here I am going to show how book covers evolve to become the image that the author chooses to use. I'll examine my covers, and others, to give you an idea of all that goes into cover design. I may even interview some cover artists.


I am going to start off by examining my newest release, THE HEART TEACHES BEST. I will take you step by step through the process, putting up a new cover design each day this week, until we get to the final masterpiece!

You’ve got to know what we’re trying to represent in this cover, so here’s the blurb:

Cooper Sullivan is the cop in charge of investigating a murder outside of a Los Angeles night club. The famous romance author, Sydney Essex, has been found strangled in the parking lot. When the young officer returns to the scene of the crime the night after the murder, he gets involved in a fight in order to protect a woman, who he realizes afterward, is the victim’s sister. Soon he finds himself torn by his attraction to the irresistible blond teacher, and his need to maintain a professional distance.

Laney Essex is distraught over her sister’s death, so the high school English teacher returns to the bar where the crime occurred to find answers. To her dismay, she is only left with more questions, many centered on her developing relationship with Cooper Sullivan. Is the pull she’s feeling towards him reciprocated, or is the handsome detective only showing her professional courtesy, or, perhaps, even pity?

When Laney receives a threatening phone call from Sydney’s murderer, it quickly becomes evident that the man who killed her sister is after her, too! Can Cooper figure out who the killer is before it’s too late? And if he does solve the case, will it just be another file stamped “CLOSED” in red and locked away in a drawer, or will the sparks that have been flying between the two finally ignite?



So my cover needs to say romance. It needs to say suspense. And it needs to say, “This is an M.J. Schiller novel.” Branding.

And let me just mention here, covers are very subjective. You might love what we started with and hate what we ended up with, and that’s fine. I’m just trying to show you my thought processes as I made my decision.



The first thing my artist—who is brilliant, by the way—came up with is this: 

I’m going to be blunt here. More blunt than I was with my designer. I HATED this cover! He looks like he’s at a disco—which wasn’t, actually, too far from off, because the murder happens at a nightclub—but not the feel I was going for. When you’re looking for a certain “feel,” it’s hard to communicate it to another person. I also didn’t like the “phantom” legs and the city shot I was looking for was from above the city, looking down at the lights. There is a scene where Cooper and Laney are up in the hills over L.A. looking down on the city. Did I communicate that effectively to my cover artist? No. As you can see here, he just inserted the tagline from my previous cover as a place holder until I got him a real tag.

Tune in tomorrow to find out how my artist responded!

Part Two- 

At this point you might be beginning to understand how patient a cover artist has to be. This is my cover. The first thing my reader is going to see to represent my story. I’m going to be picky! And it’s very hard to communicate what you want at times because you’re not even sure what you want…until you see it. But because God loves me, He shined down on me and gave me Steven Novak of Novak Illustration. Steven sent me this. Okay, much better. The lights of the city are much closer to what I was looking for.  The “feel” is right, but it’s not screaming suspense, in fact you can’t even tell he’s a cop. I like the banner, or block of color, behind the title, though. But there’s something wrong with the posture and the way the guy’s hands are.

Part Three -

Steven—no doubt cursing me at this point, but still being extremely pleasant to work with—sent me two possible covers to look at next. Cover number one (to the left). I’m digging this. It has more of the feel, we’ve got the badge giving us the cop thing…but the hands are still bugging me.

Cover number two (below). REALLY digging this! But it’s missing the romance element. I

suggest we add a woman’s hand on his arm. And color. It needs some color. Maybe the title in red. And hey, my name’s not on there. And now I have a tagline: Murder might be her last lesson.

 And this is the cover I got next:

Really falling in love now and getting excited about this cover! But the girl’s hand looks too claw-like. It looks like she’s trying to take the gun from him. It’s also at an unnatural angle. You are blending two images here, so it’s almost impossible to make it look natural…unless you’re ace cover artist Steven Novak! So I ask Steven if he can move the girl’s arm closer to his and give her red fingernails. Here’s another place where it’s hard to communicate because I’m not sure what he can physically do. (Although Steven seems to be able to do anything I ask him!) I ask if the red for the banner and title font can be made a more vibrant, metallic, shiny red, or a red that pops more. 

Hand placement is better , but her pinkie finger seems to hang in space. The banner and font color definitely pop more, but still not what I’m looking for. Have you ever tried to describe a color to someone? I Google shiny, red , metallic and come up with a picture for him. 

Seriously loving the banner here! Love the tagline, the city, the image. Title font color is off though. Steven, can you wave your magic wand, please?And thus we ended up with the final image. It says romance, with the woman’s hand, suspense, with the gun. We’ve got the image of the city. The banner is similar to the banner on UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR, which gives me the branding—in other words, makes it clear that this is an M.J. Schiller book and part of my Real Romance Collection. All these books have a similar look. It’s eye catching, has just the right amount of color, I love it! And poor Steven doesn’t have to hear from me for a couple of months. 



It’s not as easy as it seems, is it? Lots of nuances 

to consider. So what do you think? Did you find it interesting to see how it all came together? I love finding out stories behind how things came together, from a book, to a piece of music, to a cover. Let me know what you think! And thanks for reading.

You can buy THE HEART TEACHES BEST at:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Itunes

You can find M.J. at:

www.mjschillerauthor.blogspot.com, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+