I have received several comments about my book covers. Although some of you noted that you like my designs, others haven’t been as kind. They’ve said that they passed by my books because they were looking for covers with steamy romantic scenes, they didn’t like my art work, or they think it makes them look like young adult books — which they are definitely not. All of the above may be true, but I wanted this writing project to be done based on my own skills. Since I love to draw, I decided early on that I would create my own covers. Although some of the typcial steamy covers make you drool, I would have to hire out to get that kind of art work on my books. Alas, I promised my husband to keep my costs down to a minimum, especially since I wasn’t sure if anyone would be willing to buy any of my books. By the way, I added an adult warning on the description of the series in hopes to inform any potential readers of the intended reading level of my books.

Why did I chose masks as my main theme?

My books are about a character named Tianna who is on a journey of self-discovery. With the blood of multiple races flowing through her veins, she struggles knowing who she is and her purpose in life. The masks represent her ‘trying on’ the different parts of herself, searching to find the hidden nature that best represents who she really is. Truth be told, I also thought that if I ever had paperbacks made of my books, it would be cool if the masks had reflective eyes that would watch you as you passed by the book rack.

For grins and chuckles, over the next few blog posts I’ll provide my thoughts on how I designed each of my covers. Let’s start at the beginning of the series.

Cover Art for Book 1 Unquiet Slumber

Unquiet Slumber Cover Art

I started with a mask with closed eyes to show that Tianna is unable to see who and what she really is. The black background represents the darkness she is trapped in with the vines, gray spotted background, and the claw marks representing parts of the nightmare that she’s been haunted by all of her life. The mask is edged by part of the Faye symbol that is etched on her back.

Tianna’s Faye Mark

This image was given to her in a dream and she has no idea what it means. As a reader of the series you know that the Faye part of her is starting to emerge in order to help her embark on a long and hard journey where she’ll be forced to face all of her slumbering natures that are waiting to awaken.