4 Replies to “First Cup of Coffee – April 23, 2021”
The red dress is very eye-catching and contrasts nicely with the blue grays of the background. Covers that show items are not very exciting to me but I grew up very spoiled by cover artists like Michael Whelan, Romas, Rowena,
John Jude Palencar, Jody Lee, and so many more. Maybe Ravven can redo the covers if you get the rights back.
I used to own a four-way reversible tank (the front panels and back panels both inside and out were different colors) and I would wear three of the sides. It was purple, metallic white, I think a green, and the fourth may have been blue. But it was very well made with a weighted type fabric and it had a layer between the panels so it always draped nicely no matter which way it was on. I think how well the item is made is the key to rather it can actually be used in reverse or not.
I loved The Chronicles of Dasnaria. I appreciated the content warning blog post you did at the time and I did wait to read it until a few weeks before book two was released, but I don’t think Jenna’s story would have had the same impact and sense of triumph if those events had been presented solely as backstory or glossed over. I simply tell people that the first book in the trilogy is not a romance, but that the trilogy itself very much is. The covers feel very generic, but at least they aren’t terrible.
I think another important element in cover design is that the image and font need to look good thumbnail-sized. Ideally the author’s name should be legible at the smaller size as well. When you are looking at search results on Kobo, Amazon, etc the cover thumbnail is the first impression.
oh, that tank sounds cool! How well it’s made makes all the difference, for sure.
I’m glad you agree on the impact and sense of triumph needing the visceral impact of those early scenes. No, the covers aren’t TERRIBLE – just terribly meh.
Good point on thumbnail. Authors talk about that a lot, but I thought it might be too into the weeds for readers. Clearly not!
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The red dress is very eye-catching and contrasts nicely with the blue grays of the background. Covers that show items are not very exciting to me but I grew up very spoiled by cover artists like Michael Whelan, Romas, Rowena,
John Jude Palencar, Jody Lee, and so many more. Maybe Ravven can redo the covers if you get the rights back.
If I get the rights back, I would absolutely have Ravven do them! I can even see in my head what they’d be.
I used to own a four-way reversible tank (the front panels and back panels both inside and out were different colors) and I would wear three of the sides. It was purple, metallic white, I think a green, and the fourth may have been blue. But it was very well made with a weighted type fabric and it had a layer between the panels so it always draped nicely no matter which way it was on. I think how well the item is made is the key to rather it can actually be used in reverse or not.
I loved The Chronicles of Dasnaria. I appreciated the content warning blog post you did at the time and I did wait to read it until a few weeks before book two was released, but I don’t think Jenna’s story would have had the same impact and sense of triumph if those events had been presented solely as backstory or glossed over. I simply tell people that the first book in the trilogy is not a romance, but that the trilogy itself very much is. The covers feel very generic, but at least they aren’t terrible.
I think another important element in cover design is that the image and font need to look good thumbnail-sized. Ideally the author’s name should be legible at the smaller size as well. When you are looking at search results on Kobo, Amazon, etc the cover thumbnail is the first impression.
oh, that tank sounds cool! How well it’s made makes all the difference, for sure.
I’m glad you agree on the impact and sense of triumph needing the visceral impact of those early scenes. No, the covers aren’t TERRIBLE – just terribly meh.
Good point on thumbnail. Authors talk about that a lot, but I thought it might be too into the weeds for readers. Clearly not!