Cover Reveal: WINGS (A Black City Novel)

We're super excited to reveal the cover for WINGS (A Black City Novel), the third and final installment in the Black City trilogy by Elizabeth Richards! Isn't it gorgeous?

What Liz thinks

I'm absolutely in awe of this cover. I love the blue theme, not only because it matches Natalie's eyes but because it's also the color of the rebels' flag. Plus, butterflies are a key motif in the book, so it ties in the themes really well. So much love! It's definitely my favorite of the three covers. *hugs cover*

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Good News Everyone! LANDRY PARK Has a Cover!

I have to admit something: publishing can be a little dull sometimes.  I am saying this fully grateful for the (mostly due to luck) gift of being published, and I am saying this fully cognizant of eighteen-months-ago Bethany, who was so desperate to get published that she would probably stab me in the face for saying that it isn't all foot massages and beer tastings.

But truth?  It's not.  It's validating and wonderful and yes, I get the greatest gift of all, which is getting paid for making things up in my brain and being able to use the word "tintinnabulation" correctly in a sentence.  But there are long periods of waiting in publishing.  You sell your book and then you wait for an edit letter.  You turn in the edited book and wait for the next edit letter.  You turn that in and wait for line edits...you get the picture.

But getting your cover?  That's one of the highs that makes up for all the lows, all the weeks with no word and wondering if maybe getting published was an elaborate hallucination that I'd crafted in my head.

And this cover?  It especially makes up for everything.

I love so many things about it.  I love the graphic, sci-fi feel.  I love the blue light--which is a central element in the story.  I love the estate and the girl--I love it all.  And I definitely love the feeling of knowing that my book has a cover, a real cover, and that means it is finally a real book that real people might read someday.

And THAT is the best feeling of all.

Why ASHFALL Has a New Cover

Three weeks ago I posted about receiving my author copies of ASHEN WINTER in hardback--it's the sequel to my debut novel, ASHFALL. (To summarize the post: squee!) I also got author copies of the paperback edition of ASHFALL with its new cover. Fellow blogger and author Lissa Price (I just called Lissa a fellow. Snicker. Sorry, Lissa!), asked a great question in the comments: why'd the cover change?

To answer the question, let me refresh your memory on what the hardback ASHFALL cover looks like:

I love this cover like Santa Claus loves reindeer. The artwork is a composite of photographs taken and digitally manipulated by Ana Correal--see more of her amazing artwork here. It's perfect for my book--tough, dark, and a little bit foreboding.

So why did it change?

In the world of book sales, there's one retailer that wields a huge influence over covers. Not the biggest retailer, that'd be Amazon. But Amazon carries everything--you can have the worst book cover ever, and Amazon will still sell your book. The most influential retailer of physical books is this one:

As I understand it, there was a rumor that someone at B&N didn't like the hardback ASHFALL cover. That they thought it was too dark and grey--a fair criticism, although life after a supervolcano would be pretty darn grey for a while. I have no idea if the rumor was even true. But here's the thing, B&N is so important to physical book sales, that even the rumor that someone there didn't love the cover was enough to spur a change.

Does this bother me? Not in the least. Because I got new covers out of the deal:

They're also by Ana Correal. See, more color! I love these even more than Santa Claus loves his reindeer. Even more than he loves reindeer even if he loved them in highly inappropriate ways, which he doesn't, but I'm just . . . oh, never mind.

And that's why the cover of ASHFALL changed. Look for the shiny new covers in a bookstore near you on October 8th!