Let’s Talk Book Covers for The Devourer’s Sonata

That is the cover image for my upcoming dark fantasy novel, The Devourer’s Sonata, which releases on 21 July of this year. And the cover design is markedly different and busier than any other cover I’ve either designed or had designed for me. And I think it’s something worth talking about, as cover design is the “first impression” of a book.

Normally, my preference has been for abstract covers that connect to the themes of the books in a manner that (hopefully) invites reflection on why the image was chosen. And I tried to do that for this book. I started with some very bad photoshopping of a skull onto a harp as a mockup. I know my Photoshop skills aren’t up to par, but I wanted to have something to show a designer if I went that route.

However, in the process of exploring my bad Photoshop skills, I searched various stock image sites for “silver haired warrior woman with sword” and a dozen other variants. Eventually, I came across the image you see (I added all the flames with other stock photos).

I’ve had people on the covers of books before, but my preference has been for illustrated/cartoony people and not photo-realistic images—especially where the people on the cover look directly at me. That’s a personal ick; I admit that. Probably stemming from growing up in a house filled with those images of Jesus with the eyes that follow you everywhere.

But this book has been different for me. I’ve written fantasy before. I’ve written sarcastic sapphic heroines before. I’ve written silver-haired lesbian vampire-type characters who wear a lot of black and fight with a rapier and pistol before.

So, what made this different?

The focus shifted. While I give all of my characters arcs for development, The Devourer’s Sonata where I focused even the structure of the novel on the protagonist’s development by using Maureen Murdock’s heroine’s journey, which focuses on a woman’s internal development, finding the power within herself and then healing the wounds that caused her to disconnect from that power source. And once healed, she is then able to go forth and heal the world.

To that end, I chose an image that conveyed strength, determination, and passion. Things I wanted to emphasize in Danika’s development as she journeys to find her estranged father and this ancient text he died searching for and then later to contend against an entitled bard who believes if he cannot have what he feels he deserves, he will avail himself to any source of power that will help him make it everyone’s problem.

So, that’s the story of the cover for The Devourer’s Sonata, a standalone dark fantasy novel with a sapphic romance subplot releasing on 21 July of this year!

-Robin