Behind the Crow's Rest Cover Art

So by now you all have likely seen the cover for the Crow & Pitcher Press edition of Crow's Rest, due to be released on May 22. But just in case, here's what it looks like:

What may be news to you is that the cover features my own artwork, as well as a little Photoshop magic from my designer. I scheduled a shoot at Preston Castle in July 2017 with model Renee Sprouse, with an eye to getting some shots for the covers of all three planned books in the Faerie Crossed series. (The view through the arch is another of my photos from Bunratty Castle in Ireland, incidentally)

I wanted to use my own artwork for the creative challenge of it, but also to avoid licensing conflicts or fees. It made it slightly more challenging for designer Kelley York of X-Potions Design but I'm well pleased with the results. The photos we've selected for Merlin's Stronghold and Spellmeet are going to be fantastic too!

I've been holding back on sharing some of the photos while we made our final decisions on which ones to feature on the next two books, but I wanted to share some of my other favorites from the shoot here. Enjoy!

As you can see, we edited out Renee's tattoo in the cover--it just didn't fit Avery, although it's a cool design. And Renee looks remarkably composed, considering it was 106 degrees the day of the shoot! We were both so tired by the end.

There is one more photo that I'm using to make an all-new teaser in May. So check back for that one! Pre-orders for Crow's Rest should be live soon too, and the best way to get the inside info is to sign up for my newsletter, Crow Tracks.

Cover Reveal for Crow's Rest from Crow and Pitcher Press

I've been working hard behind the scenes to get Crow's Rest ready for a May 22 release, and I can finally share the cover! I started out by teasing on Facebook and my websites with a partial cover:

And now, the entire thing! (you can click on it to see it bigger)

I hope you all love it as much as I do! Kudos to Kelley York of X-Potion Designs for another great cover. She actually did the design on the earlier edition of this book, released through Spencer Hill Press in 2015, which was styled after a mockup I did with stock art.

This time around I didn't want to hassle with licensing and permissions, so we used entirely my own work (plus a little painting by Kelley, like the skirt). I paid to do a private photo shoot at Preston Castle with model Renee Sprouse and we got some great shots for this cover, Merlin's Stronghold's cover, and for assorted teasers. It was well worth the time and expense--and almost worth the 105+ degree day of the shoot.

The archway and brick, and stone rail, were taken on the front porch of Preston Castle, a haunted former boys' reformatory I've been photographing for about a decade.* I knew it would make the perfect framework for introducing Avery, and leading us into a magical world.

The path beyond the arch is at Bunratty Castle in Ireland, in the Folk Park which features tableaux of villages and cottages from surrounding areas. My husband and I stumbled into the grounds directly after landing, and my own skewed perceptions (from jetlag) lent them a surreal quality indeed. The real path is paved, but Kelley and I liked the wilder look of a grassy walk found in Stourhead Gardens (taken on the same UK trip).

Kelley expertly fused all these elements into an image that I hope conveys a bit of the story, with Avery's feet planted in one world but her attention captured by another. We have more great covers in store with the rest of the series, plus in the weeks leading up to the release on May 22, I'll be sharing teasers (some with the shots that didn't make the covers) and other fun content.

Stay tuned for more!



*I've collected my photos of Preston Castle in an art book, Capturing The Castle: Images of Preston Castle (2006-2016), which you can purchase on Amazon, B&N, etc with links here

The Cover That Almost Was, And the Cover That Is

Today is my cover reveal day! It's over on Operation Awesome (among other places), so please go check it out--I'll wait!

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Are you finished staring at that luscious piece of artwork already?!? I think I'll be staring at it for weeks to come. At least, when I'm not working on the copyedits.

But I wanted to share some more images--at one stage of the cover art process, I mentioned to the higher-ups at Spencer Hill Press that I have access to models who fit the main characters, Avery and Daniel, very well.

My niece, Renee Sprouse, is trying to build up her modeling portfolio (she also acts,dances, and sings--is it still a Trifecta if it's four things? A Quadfecta doesn't have the same ring to it) and her then-boyfriend was actually named Danniel! They both have a slightly retro/rockabilly/vintage look going on, and great taste in fashion. Danniel has also done some modeling and is a musician--too perfect!

I got permission to do a test shoot with them, and then if that worked out well we could schedule an actual shoot at Preston Castle. So I grabbed my photographer friend, Eliya of Eliya Photography (the same one who did my author photos), loaded up Renee and Danniel, and we headed to some local photo spots--including an historic cemetery and a shopping center with Italianate architecture. Eliya and I both took photos, and these are some of my favorites from my portfolio:

So even though we ended up going a very different direction for the Crow's Rest cover, I wanted to make sure these great photos had their day!