Hi! *waves* How are you? Good, I hope. 🙂 Today, I want to share with you the cover evolution of The Night Weaver, because it’s been one heck of a journey. All books are a journey, to be honest, but this one went through quite a few changes since its initial release in 2018. I’m actually super excited to share this with you. Eeep! So, let’s jump right into it:
Cover Evolution of The Night Weaver
The Original Cover
If you don’t know by now, The Night Weaver was originally a self-published book. Why? Well, at the time I was a bit jaded by the whole industry, which is why I didn’t even try to submit the manuscript to publishers. It happens. Right? That said, I also wanted to experiment with self-publishing a bit, because why not, you know? Anyway, so I decided to cut my costs a bit by creating my own cover art …
Look, I never said I make good choices. LOL!
This is what the original cover art for The Night Weaver looked like:
As you can see, there are some obvious (and glaring) design issues happening on this cover, especially when it comes to the lighting. Still, I wouldn’t have published the book if I didn’t kinda sorta like the cover art. It simply didn’t sell, which is why I redid the cover a short while later …
The Next Cover
When I redid the cover, The Night Weaver was still a self-published book. I wanted something artsy and eye-catching, something that maybe wouldn’t look like a black square as a thumbnail image. *snickers* I also thought autumn colors would be sooooo me (they are, but we’ll get to that in a bit).
I’m a stubborn woman at the best of times, so when I want something a certain way, it takes a lot to convince me to do it differently. With this one, I wanted gritty and grungy and autumn. I totally understand the autumn bit, but the “gritty and grungy” feel makes zero sense now. Don’t ask me to explain my brain. Anyway, so after I did the initial concept of the second cover, my agent (who wasn’t my agent at the time) convinced me to have artist Scott Roberts make the image less “amateur cover artist” and more artsy.
I’ll be honest, I still like this cover and it has a very soft spot in my heart. Shhhhh.
That said, I can’t deny that my favorite version is the current cover …
Current Cover
When you sign with a publisher, there is usually a clause that states they have the right to redo cover art. Well, when I signed with Vesuvian Books, they (thankfully) decided to enact that clause in order to make The Night Weaver fit in with the cover art of their other books. I am so grateful they did.
When I saw they had a Marcela Bolivar original in mind for the cover, I was beyond excited, because not only does her artwork have the fantasy elements I enjoy but there’s also some creepy undertones I can’t get enough of …
And to top everything off, Michael James Canales from MJC Imageworks did the title treatment and added all those pretty flies! And yes, I totally dig the flies. 🪰 They are Monique flies. Bzzzzz.
Like I said, it’s been a journey, but I’m so incredibly blessed to have so many great people in my corner.
To everyone who usually have to deal with me (my agent, publishers, editors, and all the cover artists): I’m sorry if I’m a difficult customer at times and thank you for putting up with me. ❤️ I appreciate all of the late nights you put in and the hard work you do. You guys are the real stars of the show. 🙂
Love ya,
Monique
Check out some other Extras:
- The Night Weaver Dream Cast
- The Night Weaver Series Playlists
- The Night Weaver Inspiration Boards on Pinterest
- The Night Weaver Pre-Sized Graphics
- Read-Alikes
