Leanna Renee Hieber has a set of haunting covers, and the third book in her Strangely Beautiful series came out in May. She's here to share the story behind the cover of The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess:"It’s uncanny how much of what I envisioned translated onto this cover.
"Since I’ve been very active in the marketing process, I was asked early on what I was hoping for / interested in and had an in-person conversation with the art director (whom I love) and was delighted that we were all on the same page, my editor included. Once the 'look' of the series was already established with book one, and it worked really well for the series, I knew the parameters and style we were working with, so it was honestly just a matter of deciding background image and colours. My publisher has done a great job of creating a distinct STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL series look, my three covers are gorgeous all together (see below). What I love about my books is that the covers are unlike anything else out there today, which is quite a feat.
"When I first saw the cover, I thought that it was pretty much spot-on perfect! I made cooing noises. The only tiny thing I may have tweaked was giving the goddess more luminous, shimmering looking hair, something truly other-worldly.
"I didn’t share the tidbit about the hair because in this business you pick your battles and that was such a tiny thing not worth battling over (I save up concerns for bigger picture issues), plus the colours often print differently than they register on screen. I’ve been so impressed with how utterly unique my covers are, and how spot-on to the feel of my books they are, there’s really nothing to complain about. I feel very lucky! [See the full jacket below.]
"I believe the cover shows a mixture of stock and altering images, and including that iconic script font that I love so much. (It dominates the covers and is an integral part of the branding of the look of the books).
"The more I see it the more I love it, which is such a gift in this industry!"
Thanks, Leanna! I think all of these covers seem like they have a veil of mist or smoke over them, a bleary-eyed feeling, and that certainly sets an emotional tone before readers look at page one.
What do you guys think?