Book Covers

And Here's the New One

One of the best sales pitches for a book, especially on the Internet, is a good cover.  I am so lucky to have a good friend, David Melanson, who designs my covers for me. I select a scene from the novel and Dave renders it using a computer graphics program.

Once we had the first cover, Jamus and Whim were "invented" so it became easier to decide on the next cover graphics.

Selecting the scene is my job.  For the second book, since it is about Jamus' and Salene's marriage, I decided on an "engagement" pose for the two of them. Jamus was invented, and Dave had to design Salene for this one. He picked the background.

The third cover for The Wall Between reflects the new relationship Jamus has with a very special character.

Now I am pleased to introduce a brand new cover for the fourth book. The title was originally Cave of Shadows, and we had a nifty cover for that:

The cover suited one story perfectly, but the book is a collection of stories. When I reexamined the stories involved, I realized that cover did not quite tell the idea of all the plots. The stories all involve  the Way of Mirrors and how Reflections, distorted by the forces of Darkness, can twist their way into the real world. Dave and I  reconsidered and came up with the title Silvrin Shards. "Silvrin" is the material mirrors are made of in the novels and "Shards" refers to broken pieces which suggests the idea that the reflections are somehow broken or disrupted.

That led to one of the significant and dramatic scenes in one of the stories as a much more attractive cover.

So, here it is, in all its beauty:

Thanks, Dave. You are a master cover designer!