Sneak Peek Teasers & First Draft to Final – A Look at BLADES OF ILLUSION’s Cover Design
Hello my lovely readers,
So I’m ankle and hip deep in the draft of BLADES OF ILLUSION. The sequel to Blades Of Magic, Book One in the Crown Service series. If you haven’t started the Crown Service series yet, now’s your chance! Book One is still $0.99c and the reviews are pretty clear on it’s awesomeness. ;)
“Terah Edun is one of the best authors I have read, she entrances you with her story lines…” – Amazon Review
“Unique and imaginative magic systems, and strong female characters (evocative) of Brandon Sanderson.” – TDIR Blog
“Full of adventure….that sets up a different cadence (from Courtlight) with its own unique signature in fantasy.” – Amazon Review
“Great first book and it definitely left me eager for more…” – Pretty In Pink Reviews
“A mesmerizing novel (in) a series that holds a touch of Tamora Pierce’s writings with a waft of early Mercedes Lackey…” – Eyes 2C Reviews
“Entertaining and gripping…” – Goodreads Review
Readers have told me it’s one of the best action & adventure stories I’ve written yet. They love Sara Fairchild’s determination, strength and way with a blade.
Sara kills with impunity. But she also lives with regret. Regret for her actions. Sorrow for her parents. Worry over her magic. She is a mufti-faceted and headstrong young woman who I hope you see as a character as richly deep, genuine and talented as Ciardis Weathervane of the Courtlight series.
Sara Fairchild is here to stay and as I said in my Author Newsletter I am deeply grateful to all of my readers who took this new main character into their hearts and minds. Sara’s popularity is unprecedented and I do so hope you enjoy her second book when it releases at the end of this month.
The first book is now available on: Amazon US Apple Barnes & Noble Kobo
You can grab it at any time and catch sequel teasers starting now.
TEASER TIME
Starting today, May 5th, I will be posting excerpts from Blades Of Illusion on my Facebook page on every 5th day!
Like the page to see them first! www.facebook.com/TerahEdunAuthor
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Now I’d like to speak a moment on cover design. :D
Disclaimer: I’m the designer and it’s a lot of fun.
Cover design is a tricky process. It can bring a lot of joy and a lot of mind numbingly crazy moments. I have designed every cover from Sworn To Conflict onwards. Why? Because I’m picky and I like to be able to tweak my design to my own desires.
Some covers are easier than others. I’ve found that designing the Courtlight covers is a much easier process than the Crown Service covers for instance. A Courtlight cover might take me a day or less to perfect but every Crown Service cover so far has taken weeks and I don’t expect that to change.
Blades Of Illusion had 51 mock-ups, which you can see below.
I went from different models, to different backgrounds, to different color schemes. If you look from top to bottom, you’ll see I started out with a robed figure and kept that person straight through until the last nine mock-ups. It took me that long to realize he wasn’t what I needed. So I blended in his model with THE one of Sara Fairchild. Then I took him out, in effect starting over.
I just didn’t know what I wanted or how to correctly portray it. Eventually, after a friend’s suggestion (Daniel Arension is his name and he has great dragon books BTW), I decided to see if I could focus on one model and whether having Sara Fairchild in a different pose would work. Turns out it worked PERFECTLY.
Eventually the cover you know came about and I have to say it fits the new book to a T. This book is about the battleground, darkness, mystery and a young woman surrounded by intrigue. While the first cover was about a woman with hope. Hope that she could resume a life despite her father’s disgrace. Hope that she could find a job and an occupation to support her family despite doors being shut in her face. Now Sara’s turning her back on those conventional dreams. She’d determined to right the wrongs of her past and find out exactly what happened to her father. Why he was executed for desertion. Who the Kade mages are. Why this war is raging.
See? I told you. Dark themes. So I hope this gives you some insight into the cover design process and you’re ready for book two in the Crown Service series to release on May 31st.
Filed under: Blades Of Illusion
