Good day to you, Champions! Great news: I’m hopeful that Swan Lake (Timeless Fairy Tales book 7) should be available for preorder by the end of the week! In the meantime, I thought I would hold the cover reveal!
I think Wild Swans is my favorite cover Myrrhlynn has made for me, and I had no idea how she was going to top it for Swan Lake as the themes are somewhat similar, but she blew me away with this one! The girl pictured is, as you probably guessed, Odette. She’s a really fun heroine–perhaps a little gruff but she’s an absolute sap when you get to know her. The hero, Alexsei, who is not pictured is just about the exact opposite. He’s openly sweet, but he’s got a hidden spine of iron he busts out whenever he thinks someone important to him is in danger. (If you can’t tell, I had fun putting these two through their paces. They’re very demonstrative, unlike many of my other characters.)
Focusing back on covers! Myrrhlynn also made a new cover for the Robyn Hood books, and Rumpelstiltskin!
I used the smaller versions so this post wasn’t huge, but you can click on them if you want to see the big versions. I’m really happy with the new covers, and with Swan Lake’s, so a big thank you to Myrrhlynn for putting them together. What do you think, Champions? Which of the covers is your favorite?
Love the new Robyn Hood covers! But I have to say, my favorite cover on any of your books so far is Snow Queen 2. I loved Farrin in the first book so I was super excited to see his picture on the second book!
That actually makes me really happy to hear that! Myrrhlynn and I despaired over the cover quite a bit as we weren’t sure if readers would like just Farrin on the cover. (The genre favorite seems to be a single girl, or a girl and a guy. Extra points if the girl is wearing a poofy dress.)
Thank you, thank you for this announcement! I so need a new K. M. Shea read right about now! The cover is stunning!!!! I re-read the MBRC series the other day in the need for your awesome words. And then I read Princess Ahira :-).
Can I say something about Gemma’s cover? I feel guilty, but I don’t think it fits her or the story. *hides behind hands* Is it ok to say that? Probably not. Sigh, I think I needed to say it though…..her’s and beauty and the beast are my favorites in the series. And that’s saying a lot because it’s an outstanding series! The tale has a whimsical feel…and the feel of the cover is duller and seems like an entirely different tale. I almost wish *he* was on the cover or his cloak disappearing out the window and her looking after him or something. Just ignore me. I guess I just feel apprehensive for the beloved story and it’s cover’s perception. Again ignore me….I’m am forever your fan!!!!!!
Oh it’s out!!!!!! Wow I didn’t even notice your post date. I’ve been off WordPress. Ahhhhhhhh!!!! *clicks over to amazon*
Hahah, don’t worry, you haven’t been the only one to voice that the model doesn’t seem to fit Gemma. Myrrhlynn and I are going over some other possibilities. Anyway, I hope you liked Swan Lake! (In particular I hope Empress Sonya made you laugh, she was such a stitch to write!)
Hi, I love all the covers.
My favourite book is Rumplestiltskin however the cover girl picture is awful.
I do think a cover is essential because it’s the first thing that a person looks at and unfortunately 9 out of 10 people do judge a book by its cover.
Personally, I preferred it without the girl. I love the mountainous picture in the background.
Swan lake is a stunning picture. And so are Robin Hood. They were all spot on.
Always, Rumplestiltskin is lacking finesse
I like the Robyn Hood covers best (can’t decide between them!). The Rumplestiltskin one is okay, but when reading your books I always thought that her face as more cherub like. Not so strong a chin, eyes a little larger, little things like that. I don’t know about Odette because I have not read the book. The picture itself draws me in though!
That’s why I usualy try (hard) not to focus on the face while looking at the book cover if it has one. If the face on the cover is really big I just stare at the right upper corner of my monitor while opening a book, because they do interfere with my imagined
character features. However, Gemma’s from Rumpelstiltskin features are very well established in my mind, and they are different from the cover’s too! She’s not so dark, and gives quite diffrent vibe, this one is more rich.. like coffee, and chocolate, and the Gemma I imagine is more like a dry wine if you see what I mean, her look is quite different.
But don’t mind me, this is from someone who’s favourite book covers are plain colour (if I can find them), and leather or textile lol:) That’s why I like fonts so much and how they’re typed or embossed and so on.
You are right, Gemma is supposed to be a little more like “Cute as a button.” To be perfectly honest I didn’t think people would scrutinize the gal on the cover that much. I’m like Saffron, I don’t usually pay much attention to the girl on the cover and come up with my own image of the character. Thanks for the feedback, though! (We are trying to be pickier with my newer books, so the resemblance should be getting better as we go!)
It’s lovely! I can’t wait to read it! I’ve been binge reading your works, lol. I’ve even been sneaking a few pages in at work. Keep up the great work! 😀 I loved Odette as a kid!
Love the type on the cover, nicely done.
I agree–I’m horrible at choosing fonts and the like, so it’s always fun to see what Myrrhlynn decides on. (I swear she has over 1,000 different font types!)
Beautiful! I’m partial to the Snow Queen covers. Though, once I read this one (Ahhh can’t wait) I will love this cover equally. I’m newer to your work and I can’t get over how quickly I become enamored with the characters. I love falling in love with stories and their patrons, but it’s kind of instant love at first chapter with your books! #GladI’mAChampion
Awww, I LOVE the hashtag, that’s so sweet! Thank you! Anyway, welcome to the family–a lot of us are partial to the Snow Queen covers, too. 😉 Thank you for reading–I hope Odette and her crew manage to enthrall you like Rakel did!
I love your books, but why aren’t any of your heroines people of color?
I don’t want to speak for the author here, but assumed Dylan (from the Little Selkie) was a woman of colour from her physical description, but like the Roman Empire of our world she lives in a world where race is not a category. And I read the Robber Maid as a woman of colour as well. Many characters, a bit like Hermione in Harry Potter, are open to that visualisation if you choose. But most of them are also inspired by European fairy tales, and I get the strong impression each fairy tale country in the series is inspired by the place and time of the most famous version of the story.
Hi everyone! Mog is correct the fairy tales Kitty has focused on so far have been based on the more well known European variations, and that is reflected in the people, buildings, food, and basic culture described in the books. After the Timeless Fairy tale series is complete Kitty has a few spin offs she wants to do that would have more of an Asian or Middle Eastern theme. 🙂 And yes the Robber Maiden is a person of color and quite frankly I wanted to put her on a cover for Snow Queen, but finding a good stock photo was impossible. There were plenty of white-girl photos that would have worked but I felt it would be insulting to whitewash her so she got cut instead. 🙁 So a large part of the problem is the types of photos that professional photographers post on the stock photo sites – if you know someone who is a professional photographer ask them to submit non-white girl photos!
Bingo! You are right on. Eventually I’ll be tackling stories like Arabian Nights, but right now I’m trying to finish this arc with the European fairy tales. (And yes, Dylan and Phile are both women of color!) Thanks for piping in, Mog! 🙂
Myrrhlynn and Mog gave a good explanation below, but I wanted to pop in and confirm their comments: Dylan (from the Little Selkie) is a person of color, as is Phile from the Snow Queen. 🙂
Additionally, each country in my Timeless Fairy Tales is modeled after a specific culture and time. B&B is French, Verglas is Norwegian, Erlauf is modeled after the historical Austrian-Hungarian Empire, and so on and so forth. (You can see this in everything from the names to the food they eat, to the architecture of the buildings I describe.) There’s a bunch of countries I haven’t gotten to yet–Baris, Phile’s home country being one of them–so there will be other cultures coming. (I already have a few in place for Asian and Middle Eastern stories!)
I hope that made things more clear. Thanks for reading! 😀
I like the new Robyn Hood covers. The Rumpelstiltskin’s new cover is pretty but prefer imaging what the main characters look like on my own.
Yes, if I’m being honest sometimes I wish YA would find a new cover style. The female characters in poofy dresses has been big now for about five years now. But I’m glad you like the Robyn Hood covers! 😀
I love love love it. As in, please make me your wallpaper love them!
I’m glad you like it so much! 😀 I’ve thought about getting a cover or two of mine framed, but I don’t think I could limit myself, and then my office would be just frames of my covers–which seems more than a wee bit egotistical. 😉
The covers look awesome! If I hadn’t read these books (other than Swan Lake, of course! 🙂 already, I definitely would read them just because of the covers. 😉 Tell Myrrhlynn they look great for me! Though the old covers were still pretty good too…
Thank you! 😀 I will be certain to pass on the praise–though she usually does browse the comment section when she knows I’m releasing a cover so there’s a chance she’s seen this. Hopefully Swan Lake will live up to it’s cover! 😉
Woah!! It’s lovely! I already wanted to read the book but I’m a sucker for good covers and it only makes me want to read it more.
I also think the Swan Lake cover turned out lovely! I happened to be around when Myrrhlynn made it, and it was quite funny to hear her muttering to Odette while she was trying out different wings on her. I believe at one point she accused her of looking like a pigeon. 😉
Kitty: Available for preorder.
Me: (Gasps, clutches heart, gasps then swoons) It can’t be. Yes, yes, yes! Mwahaha!
BTW, I like the new covers much better (no offense to your artwork!
I’m so glad you like the new covers! It has been both fun and difficult to pick out photos for the new covers with Myrrhlynn. (She sorts through hundreds of them, I just help pick the final image.) And yes, Swan Lake will have a very SHORT preorder, so if my timeline isn’t messed up it should be available for pre-order before this weekend and released for purchase by next Friday-ish.
I love these covers, they are so beautiful. I love the swan lake cover.
I’m so glad you like them! I feel like the Swan Lake photo/model is a great fit for the book. It was a little more difficult to find a picture for Rumpelstiltskin as Gemma isn’t quite so eye catching. 🙂
Wow! Those covers are amazing! I really like the Robyn Hood ones.
Ahaha yes, poor Robyn Hood was over due for a cover update. I was impressed Myrrhlynn was able to find such a perfect picture though! 🙂
Love, love love all of them, but Swan Lake is my favorite. I can’t wait to read it!!
I agree! I love the girl featured on the Swan Lake cover. (I also got to hear Myrrhlynn build it, and her running commentary had me dying in laughter.)
It is perfect! Your sister’s work is amazing, as is yours! 😀
Why thank you! 😀 It is fun that we get to work together for this sort of thing.
Why thank you! I’ll be sure to tell her that! (People tend to comment more on the book/story than the cover, even though the cover is often what draws new readers in, so I try to let her know how much her covers are liked!)
Those covers are awesome! I can’t wait to read Swan Lake!
The Robyn Hood covers are certainly a HUGE improvement. (To be fair, I made the original Robyn Hood covers myself. I know my way around photoshop, but graphic artist I am not!)
I love these there beautiful!!!
Thank you! 🙂 I’ll be sure to pass your praise along to Myrrhlynn–the artist!