The Character On The Cover Looks Nothing Like The MC!

image by J. Caleb Design all rights are mine

The Roxi on the cover of my novel doesn’t match how I describe Roxi in the book.  Today I will go through the differences and explain how they came about.  

Spoiler alert, it has NOTHING to do with my cover artist.  J. Caleb Design did amazing work.  He is patient, open, and easy to work with.  He would have adjusted whatever I wanted and made it look good.

1. Roxi has blue eyes on the cover and brown in the book.— blue eye color pops with the background and brown doesn’t, yeah it’s that simple.

2. Roxi has tattoos on her chest, while book Roxi only has tattoos on her arm, shoulder and back.—Roxi is wearing a cool jacket and the only way to communicate her tattoos from this pose was to have put them on her chest.  Yes, I could have asked for another pose or outfit, but the whole appearance seemed fitting and I didn’t want to make major changes to artwork that was working.  Anyone who’s tried to get cover art knows sometimes changing the smallest thing ruins it and can leave you feeling "how do I to fix it?”

3. Roxi’s tattoos are draw in black line work on the cover but in the book they have full color descriptions—The black line work stands out as color would not in this cover.  I suppose I could have used a dark background and brightened Roxi’s image with color tattoos, but it would have messed with how the title and my author name pop, and it was just cleaner to suggest the true nature of her tats over showing it.  

4. Roxi’s hair is shorter on the cover vs the book description—I tried a character with longer hair, it took away from the sense of movement this character has AND it made Roxi look unapproachable, which is something she may desire but is not a great look for a main character to sport on a cover.  I kinda loved that cover design but EVERYONE else HATED Roxi and found her unapproachable in that character design… I learned a lot about me and my internal perspectives in this process.

5. The bridge Roxi’s walking over is a real place (Big Spring Park’s Japanese Friendship bridge) and it has railing—Again tried a cover with a railing, it was cool but too busy.  Put emphasis back on Roxi by lowering the bridge.

Overall, I think my cover captures the spirit of the book, even if it lacks a photo realistic representation of its contents.  What do you think?  Should I have made Roxi’s image match my descriptions?  Do you like the cover, or would you have gone a different way?  Should Roxi even be on the cover?

Hungry for more book cover content?  Check out Cover Art: Truth in Advertising? where I explore  more general reasons the cover may not match the book.  

Looking for more posts about the writing and publishing process?  Check out more posts on my novel publication process: Going Through Copy Edits, 1st Daft vs 2nd Draft, Goal Planning: Getting Through the First Draft, and Post Book Launch: Reflections.  

Want to know more about my novel?  Check out my childhood stories recapping themes in my life I hope prepared me to write this book: Remember the Magic of Santa?, Closet Monsters: Gone too Far?, and Garden Gnomes and other Evils.

OR check out my series where I find similarities between my novel and other popular media.  Hopefully it gives you a better idea whether there are elements in my book you may enjoy. Lost Girl Comparison, American Gods Comparison, and The O.A. Comparison.

I have an extra out on my blog too. See Roxi perform an Imbolc Ritual and get a little extrai "Follow Me: Tattered Veils" flavor.

MY BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT AMAZON!!!  Please go look at "Follow Me: Tattered Veils" and see if it might be a story that interests you.

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