The Art & Science of Cover Reveals
covers Are Key
As an author and a book designer, I have strong feelings about covers. (Check out my portfolio for examples of covers I’ve designed.) Covers are a book’s billboard and are often the very first thing a reader sees, so they should be amazing. Unfortunately, I really don’t have a clue about the art & science of cover reveals. Not that the headline for this blog is bait and switch, or anything. Honest.
About the art of the cover reveal: I just learned how to use Adobe Express to make reels and I’m now sort of addicted. I may need counseling. As for the cover itself, it’s a work of carefully calibrated art designed to give a sense of the story at a glance and to be eye catching. I hope it does the trick. (Feel free to let me know what you think!)
About the science of the cover reveal: I tried to find reliable metrics on when to post, where to post, and how to post and came up empty. So, as they say in the academy, further research is needed.
That said, I chose yesterday as the day to do a cover reveal for NEMESIS IN LOVE, the first book in my new series, THE PANTHEON LEAGUE, not because yesterday had anything to do with covers, per se, but because it was the first day in the 2025 government shut down and this series is absolutely, positively, about the future of American democracy.
As a romance series, each book will focus on one couple, but their love story (and, happy ever after) is set against the background of a near-future dystopian America run by the world’s first multi-trillionaire who is, as one might imagine, not a great guy.
THIS HAS A SOUNDTRACK, so be prepared. Cover reveal for a near-future dystopian American "romantasy" set in a world in which mortals, demigods, and goddesses go head-to-head with the dark forces undermining democracy and sowing discord around the world.
The problem with writing a series like this is that every day I wake up (or I’m up in the middle of the night doomscrolling) to discover that a plot point I planned or a scene I envisioned is in the freaking news. It’s happening. In the here and now. Not in some imagined futuristic dystopia. So, that’s fun. (Not!)
For instance, one of my characters has to leave his PhD program because of funding cuts. Another character is arrested during a raid on a college campus protest over disappearances and deportations. Another character’s father was disappeared when he was just a baby.
And all that is happening now.
And this morning, I read that a 10-page compact for political capitulation in exchange for preferential funding has been offered to several elite colleges and universities, some private and some public. The Board of Regents for my alma mater, The University of Texas - Austin, appears to have reacted enthusiastically. We'll see what the others do.
According to the New York Times, the compact offers "multiple positive benefits" and would require colleges to "freeze tuition for five years, cap the enrollment of international students, and commit to strict definitions of gender." Also, they would be required to "change their governance structures to prohibit anything that would 'punish, belittle and even spark violence against conservative ideas.'"
While a tuition freeze sounds good, the rest is garbage and appears to require the acceptance of restrictions of free speech by the government. This is dangerous, especially for public institutions.
In the introduction to the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” offered by the current Administration to these institutions, the last line reads: “Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below, if the institution elects to forego federal benefits.”
Hmmm…that sounds a bit like someone from a gangster movie saying: “Nice house you’ve got there, I’d hate for something to happen to it if you don’t play by our rules and buy our protection insurance.”
So…we’re in dark times.
In the meantime, this author/publisher believes in the First Amendment. This author/publisher believes in the free expression of art and speech and gender and identity that love is love is love and is fully and completely against banning or restricting such expression. And I express all this in my fiction, so I hope readers don’t complain about the book being too political because…
WARNING: it is about politics. It is about freedom. And honor and loyalty and love. And it has open-door sex scenes. So I invite you to saddle up, and ride out with me and the rest of the Pantheon League to save America.
(Also, if you’d like to be an early reader/reviewer, let me know. And pass this along if you’re so inclined. It has sound, so be aware.)