Sea of Twisted Souls – How Did the Cover Come About?

Sea of Twisted Souls – How Did the Cover Come About?

Today’s the big day! Release day! Now the trilogy is complete (again)! I hope you’ll take a look at the Mystical Island paperbacks and consider adding them to your collection.

Today, I’d like to talk about the final book’s cover. Like the title, the Sea of Twisted Souls cover gave me more trouble than the other two. I knew right away I wanted to carry over the floating island theme – and the story provided the perfect event. Rather than floating in the air, this time the island floats over a mass of churning ocean and rocks. This was a fantastic translation of the original cover’s concept, which included a swirling vortex of souls beneath the island.

Of course, my cover artist, Beth, put this together with ease. She even added tons of details I didn’t think of, including smoke pouring from the island’s infamous volcano and the bathhouse nestled among some trees on the mountain’s slope. It’s those little details that really make the cover shine.

But even with the volcano-erupting island and its dramatic backdrop, the cover seemed lacking. There was a lot of empty space. And most notably, there were no characters on the cover. Having characters on the cover is important; it gives potential readers an idea of who the story is about. It gives them someone to connect with and care about right from the get-go. That’s why I was so keen on including characters in every cover.

But while it was easy to integrate characters into the first two covers (Catilen and Damian looking at the distant island to which they intended to venture for the first book, and Catilen and her twisted reflection for the second book), I couldn’t figure out how to make the characters in the third cover part of the scene. I’m still not entirely sure I succeeded with the final concept though, as always, Beth did a fantastic job putting it all together.

This is the first cover that doesn’t feature Catilen. Instead, Morulin graces the cover. It seems fitting, since her journey is central to the story’s theme and conflict. Joining her is the enigmatic Pilgrim, a dimensional traveler she befriends during his visit to the island. I chose these two as the central pillars of the story because the interaction between them is, ultimately, what helps Morulin define and shape her future.

These two personalities face off on the cover, eyeing each other warily. I like to imagine they’re standing on shore, facing off to decide who will ultimately determine the island’s fate. There are a lot of mysteries Morulin needs to solve; how much of what the Pilgrim says is truth? And how much is easy lies? Who can she really trust to help her save her island home?

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to seeing all three paperback spines on my bookshelf this week!


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If Morulin’s family can’t heal their fractures, they might lose their dimension-hopping home…

It’s been sixteen years since Damian disappeared. Morulin’s twin brothers are preparing to take over the island while she struggles to find her place in its future. The last thing she needs is the emotional hurricane caused by Damian’s return.

Morulin isn’t interested in making amends. She’d rather spend her time with the enigmatic Pilgrim, a dimensional traveler with information critical to furthering her personal studies. Until someone attempts to assassinate the island’s new heirs and Damian lays the blame squarely on the Pilgrim’s shoulders.

Is Damian trying to frame an old rival? Or has something more sinister come to visit their island paradise?

Win a copy of the entire trilogy signed by me! (It’ll probably be a long time before I run another giveaway like this!)

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