The House of Crimson & Clover turns eight this fall. It’s really much older than that, if we’re tracking from the point of inception, 1999, but September 26th, 2011 was the date of the first publication in the series.
The books have come a long way since then. The last book came out on the series’ 6th anniversary, in 2017. Some of the books have hit the Top 100 (and even Top 20) on Amazon, and rose to the top of the charts on Apple Books, Nook, and Kobo as well. A couple have been reedited. They’ve all been through multiple iterations of cover designs. The decision to introduce readers at The Storm and the Darkness or The Illusions of Eventide has gone back and forth.
I’ve come a long way as well since 2011. I’d like to think I’m a better writer. I’m definitely a better designer, and if you didn’t know, I’ve designed all the covers for this series—the good, the bad, and everything in between.
What I’ll be introducing over the next week or two, slowly as I take the necessary time to change what’s required, is the culmination of all of those designs, and of my skills as a designer (which are still, always, evolving).
Without further ado, here are the new covers for the twelve books of The House of Crimson & Clover:
In addition to cover changes, I’m taking this opportunity to provide final clarity on the reading order by renumbering the series. Instead of The Storm and the Darkness and Shattered both being listed as prequels, they have been renumbered to Volumes I and II. This puts The Illusions of Eventide, previously Volume I, to Volume III. Labeling the first two books as prequels, I believe, caused confusion in readers who believed they were optional to the reading order. The true first book in The House of Crimson & Clover is The Storm and the Darkness.
I’m working to get these updated at all the retailers, but in the meantime, if you’re in love with the existing covers, now’s the time to grab them before they change!
Here’s a trip down memory lane, on the design progression of The Storm and the Darkness:
I’ll end by giving a quick rundown of what’s in flight for me writing-wise:
- Finishing The Seven Series. 1975 just released, and 1976 is coming July 31. I’m getting ready to start the first draft of
- The second Midnight Dynasty Series book, A Storm of Revelations, comes out Tuesday! This one’s a wild ride, and I think you’ll love it.
- I’m working on a somewhat secret project, but I’ll tell you this: it’s bigger and more ambitious than anything I’ve ever done, and it’s a fantasy series. The world-building alone has taken me many hours, and I’ve just started writing in the world. Once The Seven is truly done, this will be my main focus for the time being.
Happy Reading!
Sarah
I am absolutely humbled and thrilled to announce that Kobo has named “House of Dusk, House of Dawn” as a Top 10 Fantasy/Sci-Fi Cover of 2017! This is such a tremendous honor. Many of you know that in addition to writing the books in this series (duh), I also designed all the covers.
Many authors create playlists for their books, filled with the songs that inspired scenes, characters, or storylines. Throughout the House of Crimson & Clover series, I’ve shared my playlists for the books on my website. Some of these songs were helpful background noise. Others are at least partly responsible for how a book turned out.
Yesterday was my 5 Year Publishing Anniversary (or “Pubiversary” as some of us call it. Authors are allowed to make up words, right?). The day was a busy one for unrelated reasons, so I didn’t get to celebrate as I should have. But five years is a long time, and my celebration will come in the form of reflection.
Outside of a few Google searches, I knew absolutely nothing about self-publishing. I had no idea where to even start, and, at the time, I didn’t know any other authors (nor did I have a clue where to find them). I met a designer (referred to me by a friend) for coffee and tried to articulate the book and my vision for it, and failed miserably. He ended up designing a stunning cover, but it wasn’t what I was looking for, and I blame myself. Learning to articulate my work clearly and concisely was a skill that would come later. But it was a professional cover, and I published St. Charles at Dusk with it.
And then, on September 26
In 2014 I was invited to be a featured author at Anne Rice’s Undead Con in New Orleans. I was invited back in 2015. I had a chance to speak with Anne personally and tell her what her work had meant to me, and how she had inspired my work almost more than any other author.
Around this time, I finally envisioned the design that would define my brand. I spent endless hours redesigning my series, my website, my marketing materials. I began to understand that the reason I struggled to market before was that I was inconsistent in how I saw my work, and that included picking a genre and sticking with it. By focusing my brand into something others could see and recognize as mine, I was able to target the readers who should be reading my work.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with their loved ones! Many of you have asked me about release information for Volume VII, and so I’ve been busy with a holiday surprise of my own.
2015 was a crazy, exciting, tumultuous, eventful, wonderful year. Looking back, I’m thrilled at the results, and looking forward to an even more eventful 2016.
...and then there was Sarah 