The Cover Story

Cover artist Zalantina Zareva 

We all know we aren't meant to judge a book by its cover.  I mean, really. The saying's used as a reminder not to base our opinions on outward appearances. But...

It happens all the time.

For example, check out these fun facts listed by Aaron Gouveia:

Tall people are paid more.

Overweight people less.

Blonds, gym addicts, women wearing makeup, 'attractive' people' all get more, unless you are female and VERY attractive. Then you can forget about being hired for the position traditionally held by men.

Bottom line; we humans judge books, and other things, by their covers and like it or not, we might as well use that trait to our advantage.

Cover art by Alexander Jannson

Which is what the marketing department in a publishing house is for. They decide what's trending in which genre and do everything they can to apply that to your book, without outright stealing the design.

Though apparently there is stealing at times.

Meanwhile, when it comes to Fantasy, unicorns on the cover are down, dragons up. Crowns and thrones going like hotcakes, stilettos not so much. 

Note: crown and castle double whammy!

In YA Romance, the girl in the dress is still a classic, though being replaced by crowns and thrones and castles/citadels.

The designs shift but the facts remain, the cover is the first thing that draws a reader to the book.

It also tells a story of its own, hopefully, one that correlates to the pages of the book!

And now, in the digital age, it has to look awesome when the size of a postage stamp as well.

For me, I'm all about the artistry of the cover, but that is so individual, it's near impossible for a marketing team to predict.

How about you? What draws you to pick, or click a cover?

Thoughts?

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Kim Falconer's New YA Fantasy Series is out March 2020 - The Crown of Bones. (Writing under A.K. Wilder)
Also, check her urban fantasy  - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel and the SFF Quantum Enchantment Series. 

You can find Kim on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Or pop over and throw the bones on the AKWilder.com site.

Contact at kimfalconer.com or akwilder.com

Supernatural Underground News

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It's almost the equinox, so that seems like a great time to catch up on Supernatural Underground news!

The Heir Of Night is Just .99c Now (USA Only)
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First off the blocks, Helen Lowe's multi-award-winning The Heir of Night (The Wall Of Night, Book One) is a Kindle Monthly Deal all September!

This is a book recommended by Juliet Marillier, Robin Hobb, and Nebula Award-winner, Catherine Asaro – so if you haven't read it already, now could be your chance. And if you have, The Heir of Night could make a great gift for the Fantasy lover in your life!

You can check it out right here:
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E-book of The Heir of Night — 0.99c on Amazon for September

It's not alone either, some other great 0.99c specials include Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely, Kelley Armstrong's The Gathering, and Dark Alchemy by Laura Bickle.

Get 'em while they're hot!
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Cover Art Lead-In For Kim Falconer's New Series – Ascension (Working Title)

Kim tells us  – 

"Even though my release date for the new, Young Adult Fantasy series, Ascension (working title), is 12 months off, my publisher at Entangled Teen has sent me the ‘cover art’ form. 

It’s extensive, asking about the mood, themes and sub-sub-sub genres the book might be linked to, all the way to character studies and specific references. There’s a section to put links to cover art mood boards, like the one I’ve been making on Pinterest -
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https://au.pinterest.com/kimdfalconer/cover-art-mood-board-for-ascension/ 

And, I’m asked to include an extensive list of covers I like and why, what elements grab me. What don’t.

Also, they ask what I don’t want on the cover. I said, “No unicorns or pole dancers.”

We should be safe, given there are neither unicorns or pole dancers in the story, but believe it or not, this happened to Karen Miller, an author friend of mine. She sold rights to her fantasy series (I think it was The Riven Kingdom) to Russia and, you guessed it, they put both a unicorn AND a pole dancer on the cover. No, the story wasn’t remotely about either...

Which leads to the purpose of the cover – to intrigue the shopper to pick up the book, read the blurb and buy it! 

Meanwhile, I am immersed in cover art, and loving it. There are so many beautiful books out there!"

Great news, Kim. Here at Supernatural Underground HQ we're looking forward to the Ascension series – and we're sure the cover will rock!
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Stina Leicht's Blackthorne (The Malorum Gates) Is Out!

Stina Leicht's Blackthorne – a Flintlock Fantasy –  was published on 8 August and already has a fab review from reviewer Kelly Anderson on B&N's SciFi & Fantasy Blog:

"...nail-biting thrills of the hunt—when the prey is human lives, and the stakes are extinction... I definitely want to find out what happens next, and you will too."
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It sounds like a great read so if you want to to curl up with some Flintlock Fantasy, Stina's series could be just what you're looking for – although the first in the series is Cold Iron.

You can read the full review here:
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Blackthorne Deepens A Fascinating Flintlock Fantasy World 

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And that's our Supernatural Underground round-up for now, but we'll be back with moar as it comes to hand!

Judging Books by the Cover

Her Silent Silhouette by Arcipello

Hi Everyone,

It's exciting times as I talk cover art, blurbs and quotes with my publisher and editor at Harlequin Australia. The Ava Sykes series starts with The Blood in the Beginning, steamrolling towards a July release.

Meanwhile, I'm putting a lot of consideration into the cover design talks. As Jeff Goins says:
 

Books don’t just speak with words. They also speak with the way they are designed.  

When my agent asked me to create a mood-board of favorite cover art and why it sparked me, I didn't hesitate. Here are some favs, but note: I purposely didn't choose any today that are linked to Sup or other authors I know and love. This is a pure, outside source, fact finding mission.

I'm looking forward to sharing with you what the Harlequin Design Team came up with for Ava Sykes!

For the de-saturated colors

For the cool cape morph

For the contrast!

For the Elements

To go deeper, you might want to watch this fabulous TED talk about designing book covers. Very quirky-smart entertaining!

How about you? Have an all time favorite cover? Feel free to share in the comments. xxKimmy

Kim Falconer is a Supernatural Underground author writing paranormal romance, urban fantasy, YA and epic science fantasy novels.

You can find out more about Kim at the 11th House Blog, and on FaceBook and Twitter.

She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook.