Back Cover Copy: I didn’t expect to be thinking about this yet

The cover artist for the Death’s Lady series has been really quick off the mark. Here is a draft of the proposed cover. Ignore all the text; it’s just placeholder text borrowed from Book Three.

As you can see, there’s a sword. I did look at an option that didn’t include a sword, as Death’s Lady herself doesn’t appear in this story. I mean, people refer to her, she’s important in the backstory, but Tenai doesn’t make an appearance. So I thought about leaving the sword out. But the cover just looks better with it there.

Meanwhile, that placeholder text! I assured the cover artist I would have a real title for him by the end of the week. Aargh! I hate making decisions.

Almost worse, back cover copy is just never easy.

Now, of course this is a novella associated with the trilogy; few readers are likely to pick it up first — I’ve minimized really serious spoilers, just in case, but really, most readers are only going to get this novella if they’ve already read the trilogy. That does reduce the importance of the back cover description. On the other hand, it would still be nice to have back cover copy that gives a reasonably accurate impression of the story. Here’s my first effort:

A long time ago, Kuomat stepped away into the woods, abandoning his place in the world of men. For years, he’s lived as an outlaw, with little to do with ordinary townsfolk. But when Jenna asked him for help in the name of Death’s Lady and of the king of Talasayan, Kuomat stepped into the affairs of the great.

That did not go unnoticed.

Now Kuomat has one chance to step out of the forest and return to the world ... if he can bring himself to take it.

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