I often talk to authors who have very little say in their covers, but today I'm hosting Belinda Vasquez Garcia, who had total control. The Witch Narratives Reincarnation was featured alongside Unbreak My Heart in Kirkus, and I thought the cover was so incredibly arresting that I had to ask her about it. Here's Belinda:
"In choosing my cover image for The Witch Narratives Reincarnation, I searched through stock photos. I was looking for a photo I had found on the internet and was using on my website at the time. In keeping with my covens, The Sisterhood of the Black Rose, this photo of a black rose with its leaves flung out like arms was so haunting (right).
"There are drops of blood on the stem, as though the black rose has been wounded. To me, this bleeding black rose represented Salia, my main character, a 3rd generation witch forced by her mother and grandmother to follow their paths. However, though I found this picture on various photo websites, it was not on any sites of stock photos that could be purchased.
"I was disappointed, but then stumbled upon a picture with an elaborately made up eye. Since Salia longs to be an opera singer, the dramatic effect of the eye was perfect. She is, also, half-Native American so the feathered eyelashes were perfect. And along the eyelid are a cluster of red roses. Salia practices red magic and is not yet a full-fledged member of the Sisterhood of the Black Rose, so the red roses were perfect. I then chose as close to flesh-colored as I could get for the back of the book cover and the bottom quarter.
"Also, the book is the first in a series, and I purchased other similar eyes for the other books to give the series a common look and feel.
"Mm, I have been told that my cover is eye catching!"
Thanks, Belinda! I was completely drawn in by this shot, and I'm glad to hear there are more eyes coming for the rest of the series.
What do you guys think?