The House of Crimson and Clover series is going through a redesign of covers. The new covers for St. Charles at Dusk and The Storm and the Darkness are both available wherever the books are sold, and I’ll be revealing the cover for my upcoming novel, The Illusions of Eventide, on November 16th (book releases December 14).
Why the redesign? Several reasons, really.
Cost– While I loved my designer, and his work was both polished and professional, it was not fiscally reasonable for me to continue paying that much for covers at the rate I am trying to publish. I won’t give exacts, but it is sufficient to say I was spending the equivalent of a small car payment each time. For an indie who is not yet making significant income from my books, I eventually came to terms with the fact that this was not sustainable.
Theme– Though my existing covers were beautiful, the more I worked through the themes of the series, the more I realized the covers did not reflect the tone. This is a Paranormal Southern Fiction series. It is often dark. I want covers the evoke a sense of mystery, and foreboding.
Creative Flexibility– I’m still learning a lot about what it means to visualize your intent. But it remains true that I am the only one who can realize the design swimming around in my head. I’m able to create exactly the cover I want, when I want, and use it however I want. I can build my marketing around it. And I can do so in a way that is highly agile.
So, without further ado, I introduce you to the new covers for St. Charles at Dusk and The Storm and the Darkness!
Come back on the 16th to see the cover for my upcoming release, The Illusions of Eventide.
...and then there was Sarah 
Love the ambiance of the covers. Definitely sets the mood.
While I’ll always support designers, I completely agree with every decision you made regarding these. I think it’s important as an Indie author be able to reflect the theme of your books successfully and have flexible control over that expression. These covers have consistent branding and a nice look. You could have easily paid money for covers of inferior quality, so it’s awesome you were able to bring that overhead in-house.
Thank you for this comment Jenn! It was a difficult decision for me to make, but having full creative control is part of what makes the indie experience so unique. I was so nervous about my ability to take this over, but I’m pleasantly surprised to find I CAN do it. And that’s a very liberating feeling 🙂
No joke there. I was a professional graphic artist for years and designing my own book cover that first time still gave me hives. That said doing it yourself is just good business sense. You did a fantastic job!
These are both really terrific and seeing them together like this. Wow! What a great job for the feel of the series. You are so smart.
Thanks Susan! I’m really happy with how they turned out, and they look great in print as well. My favorite, though, is the one for Eventide and I’ll be posting that one tomorrow.