The Story Behind the Soulless Limited Edition Cover Art

Today, Gentle Reader, I have a bit story for you concerning that wonderful cover for the limited edition of Soulless from Subterranean Press.

 

This is the first time Soulless will be published for the English speaking market in hardcover so you can imagine I was pretty excited about said cover design.

So now I shall tell you the story of its creation…

Out February 29, 2016, order here.
Limited: 750 signed numbered copies for $50.00 each
Lettered: 26 signed leatherbound copies, housed in a custom traycase for $250.00

Behind the Cover

The wonderful folks at Subterranean Press have been working very closely with me for months to come up with a cover that I truly love. Not that I don’t love Soulless‘s other covers, but I wanted something different. I asked for something very Victorian looking, as if it had come from that time period, only skewed to look off and steampunky.

I also sent along these two pieces of fan art. You see what happens when you make fan art, sometimes you become part of an art consult!

hopeisaturtle tumblr – Soulless Minimalist Posters Alexia copy

 

Alexia by sweet tabby

 

My team actually contacted the artist behind the first image and she did a redesign for us for the central cameo! Isn’t that cool?

They came up with three initial designs, we all agreed we liked the same one of the three. There was discussion over including octopus elements, and also making certain there was at least a hint of steampunk. I suggested using the “o” in Soulless and turning it into a gear. Poking about the interwebs I found this amazing cover for Julie Kagawa’s Talon. Isn’t it stunning?

 

Then I mentioned that I’d greatly appreciate it if they wouldn’t do pink for this first book. Not that I mind pink, don’t get me wrong, but I feel for some readers that pink is a barrier to entry. I thought they might go with wine or burgundy, but I’m DELIGHTED to see they chose green. It is, after all, my favorite color.

 

I do hope you guys love it as much as I do. I can’t tell you how pleased I am with the end result.

Soulless covers that have come before…

 

 

 

 

{Gail’s monthly read along for January is The Raven Ring by Patricia Wrede. You do not have to have read any other Lyra books.}

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GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Shy Dumbo Octopus Hides Inside Own Arms – Nautilus Live

Your Tisane of Smart . . .
British Tea Etiquette: How to Drink it Downtown Abbey-Style

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  
“He was more like something out of Dickens than anything human.”
― P.G. Wodehouse

Quote of the Day:
“A lesser moustache, under the impact of that quick, agonised expulsion of breath, would have worked loose at the roots.”
― P.G. Wodehouse, Uncle Fred in the Springtime

Tags: Cover, SOULLESS