Ceres Cover Reveal

I’m so excited to do the Ceres Cover Reveal! Without a lot more words, here it is. (Because who doesn’t like instant gratification?):

I can’t wait for the release of Ceres in June 2016! And I’m excited for you to meet some of the new characters that I have fallen in love with. (Don’t worry—lots of old ones are in there too!) I’ve spent a lot of time on this book, and it needed something a little extra special when it came to a cover.

Our books feature a large, diverse cast of characters that can’t be portrayed by just anyone. And our cover style uses photos of actual people as well as complicated, detailed backgrounds. Add in the need for a SF atmosphere, and ours is a difficult style to replicate on a book-by-book basis. It requires a lot of time and effort sourcing images, putting together mock-ups, and deciding if the feel is right.

Which is why I am so happy to do the Ceres cover reveal. And I’ll let you in on a secret: I made it! In our three-person team, I’m the graphic artist. I’m responsible for almost all of the images that you see on our website, Facebook, ads, etc. I have a background in this sort of thing, but I have to be honest: it took a while to resurrect all my Adobe skills! It’s been fun but intense. I’m going to throw a little plug in here for my next post, where I’ll tell you more about the original process of getting covers made. It’s an entertaining—and mistake-laden!—story and includes some great takeaways. But to finish up, here’s a list of what I love about this cover:

1. Features a person of color

This is my top item because the diversity of the books’ cast is integral to the series, and it has been so hard to find dynamic, well-shot images of diverse models! Many freelance photographers are based out of Russia and Eastern Europe, and their models lack diversity because their locations lack diversity. Nathan, Josh and I all have a very American melting-pot perspective and want that highlighted not just in our words but on our covers.

2. Makes great use of the Universe Eventual branding

I wasn’t sure that the metal R was going to work well, but it looks perfect. We initially thought maybe orange for this cover, but I’m in love with the purple. Probably mostly because I love purple.

3. Nice visual interest and micro-storytelling

If I’d never seen this book, I would have so many questions about it. I would definitely pick it up and flip through. Hopefully, you feel the same!

I think it’s a winner, but what I’d really love to know is what you think. Leave us a comment here or on Facebook and tell us what you think of our Ceres cover reveal.