Daphne M. asked Shannon Messenger:

What made you decide to make Let the Wind Rise match the paperback covers instead of it matching the already existing books? I don't mind and I love the cover but I was just curious. Thanks!

Shannon Messenger Ha--funny thing. That isn't the kind of decision an author makes. Covers are decided by the publisher of the book--and even the publisher doesn't get to just choose whatever they want. They have to focus on "The Market," which means looking at what books are selling well, getting input from the buyers who choose what books to stock in the big retail stores, etc. It's a big, messy decision made by THE BUSINESS side of publishing. And somewhere amidst all that practical, business-y stuff, you make a silent plea that you, the author, end up with something you love.

So for all those business-y reasons, they decided to do covers that focused more on the fantasy and adventure and action of the series--which I was actually super excited about, because I always feel like the real story is about all the turmoil going on in Vane and Audra's world, and the love story between them is sort of a side story. I also love the artist they hired, and was lucky enough to give some input on the scenes they chose. And honestly, while there are definitely still differences between the first two covers and the book 3 cover, I do think if you put them all side by side the differences aren't THAT huge. The colors don't clash. All three feature both Vane and Audra with a lot of sky. It's not a perfect match, but it's close--which is more than you get with a lot of redesigns.

More importantly, all three new images are gorgeous and powerful and really represent the books. So I'm not sad at ALL about the cover change (not that I didn't love my other covers, of course). But it still wasn't my decision. Even if I didn't love the new covers, the change still would have happened, so I'm very lucky that I love the new look the way that I do. :)

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