Guest Post - Elizabeth Isaacs talks about her book covers

Elizabeth Isaacs talks about both her book covers for her book 'The Light of Asteria'

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First Cover

Second Cover  

 “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” My grandmother used to remind me of this all the time—pointing out everyone from the homeless man who took care of strays to the preacher who had an affair. The message was that no matter the outward appearance, it was the character inside that counted. And so I find it appropriate that years later I am using her advice in a literal vein.

My personal preference in book covers has always been something simple and elegant. Something that has meaning to the book and is like a little treat after the last page has been turned. I can still remember reading the box car children series, which had a significant scene illustrated on the front cover. My friend and I would hold the book in our hands, each taking turns guessing about the plot. Only after we’d read it did we understand the cover. It’s a different mindset from the modern traditional publishing world.

Asteria’s first cover was a labor of love. Even though the design was professionally done, I still was responsible for finding the pictures, picking out the font, writing the back blurb, etc. My best friend and I spent hours pouring over photos, looking for something that was significant. I fell in love with the purple moon and the amethyst night. It is symbolic of Kailmeyra and so it seemed a perfect fit. When I left the original publishing company I wasn’t allowed to take the cover with me, and so I revisited the issue and contacted Neil Noah, an amazing graphic designer, who suggested we go in different direction. With the second book, The Secret of the Keepers, well under way, he suggested that we consider designing the cover for continuity. We needed something that would allow the books to stand alone and yet identify them as part of the Kailmeyra series, something that would look great standing spine-to-spine on a bookshelf. And that’s when I decided on a simple black cover. There’s something classic about it, and it makes the font and focal point really stand out. Too, the amulet is so significant in the story, it only seemed fitting it should be on the front cover.

While I’m sentimental about the purple cover, I love that the black is so striking. The trend at the moment is to have a cover with faces or layers of pictures on the front, but I’m finding that Asteria’s simplicity is setting her apart.

I’m relieved that the feedback for the new cover has been extremely positive, but I never expected to find the purple cover on websites marked as a “limited first edition” and selling for over 200 dollars. I now wish I would have saved a few! Seriously, it’s humbling to see the response to Nora’s story, and I’m so grateful that no matter what the cover, readers still want to escape to Kailmeyra. 

Finds Elizabeth

Website

Goodreads

Amazon (UK/USA)

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Thank you for sharing your thoughts and story on how the covers came about! I love that you thought so much into them and they have something to do with the story.

I love purple so l have to say my favourite is the first one BUT the latest one is very striking, l love black books with bright colours on.