As much as we like to say, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” It simply isn’t true. The cover is what draws a potential reader to click on the title or pick it up and read the blurb. Then the blurb should be good enough to convince the potential reader to buy it, and go from potential reader to reader.
Last week my socials shared the cover to Bondwitch, and I would like to share how the cover was created.
I started to create the cover in my mind when the list of potential publishers dwindled, and I thought I would be self-publishing; which meant I would have to figure out the cover. You can buy premade stock covers, but I wanted my cover to match my story, not just kind of match my story. So I knew that I was going to have to find an artist who could create what I wanted.
I have always loved the original cover to Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. The snow white hands offer the tempting red apple. Forbidden fruit equates to forbidden love. That cover captivated me when I was sixteen, and it still captivates me today. So, with the Twilight inspiration in my mind, I also wanted the idea of a hand holding something. I envisioned a hand holding floating spheres to represent water, fire, earth, and air.
When I signed with The Wild Rose Press, the contract stated that the publisher pays for the cover art and has final approval of the cover art. I was perfectly fine with that because they’ve been in this business for at least seventeen years, so they know what they are doing. So, I pushed my idea onto the back burner and focused on editing my story.
When it was time to do the cover art, I received an “Art Cover Information” form to fill out. The form asked me general questions about my story like the tone, the time period, the geographical setting. The form provided a list of TWRP artists and links to look at their previous work, then I could pick my top artist – but it wasn’t guaranteed they would be the one assigned to my book. I then got to provide links to book covers that matched the aesthetic I wanted emulated in mine.
Then came specific questions to help create the deeper details of the art. And with those questions came some helpful statistics. According to research this is the order of cover components most likely to sell:
Covers without any people
Covers with just a male
Covers with a couple
Covers with just a female
Research indicated that my vision of a hand holding elemental magic would work! (That isn’t to say the other covers are bad, because they aren’t. I simply felt validated that my original vision was a good one.)
Another bit of helpful advice the form gave me was to NOT request too much detail. I think it said to try to go for less than 5 components, perhaps only 3. The form explained that too much detail was hard to decipher on the thumbnail images that readers would be looking at online.
With that helpful information, I decided to decrease the number of magical spheres. And this is what I requested:
What element do you consider most important: a visual representation of magic
High Pitch Concept: When a young witch’s powers are unlocked, her family’s enemies descend upon her community; forcing her to flee across the country and train in secret.
General vision: a feminine hand, palm up, a sphere that represents one of the elements (preferably fire) floating above the palm
The artist given my book was Jennifer Greeff, and my goodness, I think she did an amazing job!
She gave me exactly what I asked for and then some. And I already have the gears turning in my brain for the covers for the rest of the series.
What’s your favorite book cover? Why? (Or top three, if you’re like me, and you can’t choose only one to save your life.) Let me know in the comments!
I have said in previous posts that my favorite fantasy/paranormal beings are witches. My second favorite are vampires. I especially love vampire romances. When I was on the older end of playing pretend, I played this solo game by myself where I was the new girl in a small Transylvania town. Since my pretend self was different, I got teased at school, which opened me up to being targeted by the local vampire coven. No, I promise Twilight did not inspire that game. I played that when I was 12, Twilight came out when I was 16.
Speaking of Twilight, like many young women of my generation, that series was my introduction to paranormal romance and paranormal fiction. I inhaled the first two books in three days and set myself on the path to other great series: Beautiful Creatures, Witches of East End, The Vampire Diaries, Sookie Stackhouse, The House of Night.
Vampire stories are in abundance. And some people think that means they are overdone. But like any other product, publishers accept stories based on what they think will sell. Plenty of readers enjoy vampire romances, and are eager to read more. I am one of those readers. So, if you haven’t already found this delectable series, I highly recommend theAlpha Council Chronicles by Brenda Sparks.
This adventurous six book series takes readers through the courtship of six different couples around the world. Throughout the series readers get to visit Las Vegas, Georgia, Russia, Wyoming, and Australia. These couples are connected through the male vampire in each partnership, as these men form a group known as the Alpha Council. The Alpha Council ensures that vampires around the world stay hidden and don’t kill humans indiscriminately. One example of vampire morals in this world: “good” vampires do not drink from pregnant women or children, and they don’t drain their food.
In Ms. Sparks’ world, vampires can have biological children with each other; but fertility rates are low, and female vampires who do become pregnant have a high risk of miscarriage or death during labor. Born female vampires have an easier chance of becoming pregnant than turned female vampires, because turned female vampires’ bodies have been damaged during the turn and need centuries to heal.
Vampires have soulmates called heartmates, and they know who their heartmate is when they taste their blood. If their heartmate is human, they have to cautiously court them, introduce them to the vampire world, and convince them to turn. If their heartmate is already a vampire, courtship should technically be easier – though the two books that have that coupling prove it’s not always sunshine and rainbows. And when their heartmate is a previously unknown species, well, things get very interesting.
Alpha Mine is the first book and features Stephen von Haas and Katrina Spencer. Katrina was attacked by vampires in her late teens, and then saved from one: Marcus Botticelli. Marcus gives her a home and job in Las Vegas. Marcus is a member of the Alpha Council, and when his leader Stephen visits, the pull between Katrina and Stephen is instant. There is only one problem, Katrina will not allow Stephen to drink her blood, so he must settle for falling in love with her without knowing if she is his heartmate. While their relationship blossoms, Stephen gains an enemy from an ancient vampire who does not want to adhere to the Council’s rules for modern day living. He sets his sights on Katrina as leverage and revenge.
Deadly Alpha is Marcus’ turn for love in Savanna, Georgia. He comes upon a multi car pileup on the freeway, and decides to help because he needs to get home before the sun rises. He meets a nurse, Christina Prescott, one of the victims of the accident. However, her injuries are minor, and she is able to help the other victims once Marcus frees her from her car. Christina gets a small cut on her forehead from the accident, and one drop of her blood falls into Marcus’ mouth. Sparks fly. She’s his heartmate. Unlike our previous couple, where the human female knew all about vampires, Christina is completely unaware of the supernatural. Marcus must cautiously and carefully court her. In the meantime, the Council is called in because a rogue vampire is kidnapping, torturing, and killing human women all over the city. Before they can stop the attacks, the anonymous villian targets Christina; and now the clock is ticking. Marcus must identify, find, and capture the rogue before he takes Christina away forever.
Alpha Lover takes us to Russia where Nicholai Peterhof is a prince from the middle ages who did not die during the plague, but was turned into a vampire. One of his personal moral rules is to not drink from the locals. When an American and British tourist dine in his restaurant, he seduces them into his office. The American, Juliett Saint-John is his heartmate. Not only is Juliett human and lives a continent away, but she is a widow mourning her twin daughter’s death and dealing with self-esteem issues from her first marriage. This causes Nicholai to move slower than Marcus did. In this third installment, the reader is introduced to a new species: demons. Demons are shape shifters who live in deep mountain compounds due to their susceptibility to human disease. A demon princess is in Russia hunting the vampire who killed her husband. She mistakes Juliett for a vampire since she is covered in Nicholai’s scent. This puts Juliett in the line of fire. Nicholai has to figure out how to properly protect Juliett while choosing the best time to tell her what he is.
In Alpha Pair, the reader has met both male and female protagonists before: Demetri Romanoff and Tatiana Bolovich. Demetri is Nicholai’s cousin and sire. Out of the seven members of the Alpha Council, Demetri is the one most stuck in the old ways when it comes to gender roles. Tatiana is a leather wearing female warrior who does not need a man. She’s also a natural born vampire, which makes her desirable to any male who wants children. Tatiana has known Demetri is her heartmate since Marcus’ story, but has kept it a secret due to trauma from her past. Demetri went missing following a lead about the demons at the end of Nicholai’s story, and Tatiana is called upon to find and rescue him. Demetri’s time in captivity provides information as to why vampires are being targeted by demons. During the rescue Demetri learns Tatiana is his heartmate, and the two must learn how to work together and accept each other for who they are. While they figure out how to be in a healthy relationship, the demons are hot on their tail, choosing their friends’ wedding as the perfect event to hit.
Alpha Revealed takes us to Australia where Nicholai’s sister, Natasha lives. Natasha has been in love with Alpha Council member Vladimir Stairikovich for centuries. Due to his close friendship with her protective brother and cousin, the two have never been able to try a relationship, let alone test if they are heartmates. When Natasha’s neighborhood is infiltrated by demons, she is forced to flee to Vlad’s isolated farm in Siberia. In such close proximity, Vlad and Natasha must decide if risking Nicholai’s and Demetri’s wrath is worth the pull they feel. Meanwhile, Vlad’s abusive and toxic sire has been searching for him. Even if Vlad earns Nicholai’s and Demetri’s approval, he will do anything to protect Natasha from suffering the same fate as his first wife when he was human.
Alpha Eternal is the final installment, and it covers my favorite trope: forbidden love. The vampires and demons have a common enemy, so the two species must put aside their past differences in order to stand a chance of defeating the big bad. Our final Alpha, Alexander Hall, has been assigned to spend time in the demon king’s compound as an ambassador for the vampire’s and a secret spy. A female demon named Shira is ordered by her king to be Alexander’s guard while he stays in her mountain home. Shira is convinced she hates Alexander, while Alexander is having way too much fun making her blush. In the midst of a very serious world safety issue, the two have to decide if they are willing to trust each other and defy their respective leaders. Readers also get a bonus seventh couple as well!
The Alpha Council Chronicles is my favorite vampire series to date. I would rate the entire series 5 stars, as well as each individual book 5 stars. It’s also the series that introduced me to The Wild Rose Press. If you love vampires, romance, sexy couples, and high stakes, this series is for you.
Chelsey M. Ortega 