Writing a book is fun and enjoyable, despite the work, but seeing the cover really makes it exciting!

The first draft of Prophecy’s Malignant Son is now about 90% complete, and is still on schedule to be finished next month. In the meantime, John and I have begun thinking about how best to market the book. (As all my loyal blog readers will recall, one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to prepare a marketing strategy for the new novel.)

From what I have learned so far, part of marketing involves good cover art. When John and I published 60th Hour, I used KDP’s cover creator and played with an old photo I had taken of the interior of a state capital rotunda. The result was not completely embarrassing, but certainly nothing I would want to repeat. For the second book, I wanted cover art that would let potential readers know immediately that it was a fantasy novel.

Unfortunately, unless I am behind a camera, I have about as much artistic talent as the average carrot. Even my photography is more luck and learning than actual artistry. I had considered using a photograph of a castle for the book cover, but I was afraid that would make it look like a travel guide. (Prophecy’s Michelin Son?)

Fortunately, our eclectic band of authors at Emerald Cove also contains talented artists. One of these is Danny Atwood, whose “furry fandom” inspired cartoons have earned him hundreds of followers on social media. So I did a rough sketch of what I had in mind and then commissioned Danny to draw it. Here is the full result showing the front and back cover (including a square space for the back cover blurb):

I’m very pleased with the result. Now I have to write the language to go in the back cover blurb. My first, tentative draft is as follows:

Fabren Arcalion, apprentice to the late Wizard of Hayware, knows the truth about the Prophecy of Lennar. That truth killed his master and now threatens his life. Hounded by those who wish to silence him, Fabren flees with nothing but the clothes on his back and two small coins in his pouch. Then his luck changes when he meets Daraline Graciel, the archivist who originally discovered the Prophecy. Together they must act swiftly, because the Prophecy is already at work in the kingdom’s capital, and things are going from bad to worse.

If you have any thoughts about the blurb, feel free to leave a comment. I’m sure it needs lots of work.

-Susan 2/19/21