Friday, September 11, 2009

A Word From My Cover Designer


A few posts back, I posted the cover for my forthcoming novel, The Stolen Crown (March 2010), and someone asked me the name of the cover designer. I posted it in the comments, and I was delighted to hear from the designer herself, Cathleen Elliott at FlyLeafDesign. It seemed a shame to have Cathleen's remarks about the cover design process get buried in the comments, so with her permission, I'm reproducing them here:

There is an early scene where Kate sees the secret marriage taking place. She is given a gold chain to keep quiet. This image spoke to me most in the way that the gold chain is there and it is also wrapped around her neck like it is silencing her. She is tugging on it. Which I think is symbolic.

The apple is really just the whole forbidden fruit thing. It's a general feeling about these forbidden marriages. The way she is holding it is seductive and secretive. The apple (figuratively speaking) is the moment when man was driven out of the garden and there was a separation between God and Man. Not that this is a religious reference but here it symbolizes the division between the houses York and Lancaster.

There is also the scene with the apple. Susan, I thought you chose the apple in that scene because there were talks of leaving Kate. That he should just say "She seduced him"

As for the dress it can be so hard to get everything just perfect in one image. This dress is slightly more modern but the feel and the symbolism were right on. The dress is close but mostly serves as a beautiful backdrop.

Yes, I do read the books I work on. It's one of the best pleasures of my job! Lucky me! :-)

There is nothing that makes me happier than a happy author and readers. You all made my day. Truly.


I've posted the cover again, so you can see what Cathleen's talking about without having to go to the sidebar. Thanks again, Cathleen!

EDIT: I'm stopping by to add that the series design work for my three Sourcebooks covers--i.e., typography and the overall layout--was done by Kimberly Glyder at Kimberly Glyder Design (who has a blog here and a website here). Here they are so you can see all three of 'em side by side and note the common elements:



8 comments:

Melanie said...

This information about the cover design process is fascinating. I will be buying "The Stolen Crown" when it's released in any case, but it's especially neat to know what goes into putting a book together.

Anonymous said...

Good to know the designers DO read the books they work on.. I do think that cover is very pretty.

Jenny Girl said...

Very cool knowing that's what the designer was going for instead of just a standard old picture. Totally goes with the story. She knows her products :)

Debbi said...

How interesting to hear the designer's thought process! Can't wait 'til the book comes out.

trish wilson said...

Talking of covers I'm intrigued by the castle on your blog cover. Is it Alnwick by any chance?

trish wilson said...

Talking of covers I'm intrigued by the castle on your blog cover. Is it Alnwick by any chance?

Carla said...

How interesting! Thank you to Cathleen.

Greg Avila said...

As the Art Director for all three covers, I want to thank both Cathleen Elliott for her design of The Stolen Crown and Kimberly Glyder for the design of The Traitor's Wife, and Hugh and Bess.

We here at Sourcebooks feel that the creativity and designs by both designers are truly what make each of the three covers wonderful.