Those of you who’ve followed my newsletter since last year and already know why Anarlie cannot continue making artwork for the Harmony Ends series can skip down to below the dots.
Finding a cover artist as a no-name indie can be frustrating, overwhelming, and discouraging. You have to do it on your own. The internet makes it feasible, but making contact is just the first step.
I spent hours every day for multiple weeks combing through portfolios looking for artists who could meet my needs on my budget and within a reasonable time.
I struck gold the day I connected with Anarlie, with the help of Drawn + Drafted’s art director services. She painted beautifully, specialized in paranormal female characters (lots of DnD!), and blew me away with her sketches. Needless to say, her cover art for both Storm Claw and Earth Song are phenomenal.
I dreamed of each installment in my series with her talents on the cover, and never imagined Anarlie wouldn’t be able to continue.
Then, Anarlie had to flee her home country because of Russia’s war with Ukraine. She is safe, now, and is working hard to secure her new life. She cannot make art for a living at this time.
If and when Anarlie returns to her art, I’ll be waiting with hefty deposits upfront to support her the best way an author can. Until then, I’ll be praying for the war to end.
So what to do when you have excellent art for only two out of a prospective six books?
I muddled through for Blood Shield and Wing Strike with my meager digital art skills. It was obvious from the moment I launched book 2, though, that my series was going to be in trouble without professional covers.
I squandered time hoping a solution would fall into my lap. I was dejected and hopeless without Anarlie, and childishly, I resisted moving on.
While I stalled, at least I was writing, writing, writing away. By the time an ad for MIBL popped up on my socials, I had so much content built up and going through editing that I knew I couldn’t put-off covers any longer.
And MIBL kind of did just fall into my lap.
I did my homework. The service seemed reliable, customer reviews were good, and the sample covers were great.
So, I took the plunge. What felt like days later, Earth Song‘s new concept art was in my inbox. The edits only took a few days more. Within weeks, I had gone from floundering in the coverless abyss to staring at a brand-new, flashy design that set a remarkable tone for the whole series.
I am so grateful to MIBL for all they did to honor Anarlie’s original design concepts. Their designer absolutely captured the look and tone of my series and the book itself on the first draft. They also went above and beyond to improve the typography.
With Earth Song‘s successful makeover, I’m proud to announce there are more MIBL covers on the way. That means though, that there will be second editions coming out for Storm Claw, Earth Song, Blood Shield, and Wing Strike. And so much more.
New covers are just the begining!
Curious about any part of my cover process? Want to gush over Anarlie and MIBL’s perfect renderings of Sialuk? Tantalized by my hints about what’s coming? Let me know in the comments.
Wishing you many wonderful reads,
