Over the next couple of weeks, whilst we wait for The Larkspur Legacy to be published, we (that’s the Royal ‘we’, i.e. Jenine, my P.A.) thought it may be fun to look at the other professionals behind my books. Those people who help transform my file on a computer into a real life published and saleable book.
To start the ball rolling, and to coincide with my cover reveal today, we are talking covers and cover art with a chance to chat with Andjela, my very talented cover artist who has been working with me for over six years.
Let me hand over to Jenine…
Firstly let us meet cover designer, Andjela Vujic. Tell us a little about yourself, Andjela.
While I have a degree in scenography, my art extends to painting, dancing and graphic design. I have been designing book covers for the past nine years, and it remains my biggest passion. I am currently producing the majority of the book covers for Foreshore Publishing in London. You can find me on instagram https://www.instagram.com/agazar_design/
Now to Jackson, how did you initially find Andjela?
When I first started as Jackson Marsh, I went to People Per Hour and put up a work request. Something like:
I am looking for a cover artist to design the covers of my MM Romance and mystery books.
Out of the many offers, Andjela was the designer whose work I felt was most on my wavelength — the most professional — and she seemed flexible. Now, I contact her with a cover idea, and tell her a few basics, such as: What I imagine, what props are involved, the weather (if an outdoor scene), the date/period, and if there’s to be a model/face, I try and send her a similar looking person to the one I want.
At what point do you start imagining the cover? At what stage do you contact Andjela?
I usually start thinking about the cover once I have completed a first draft. By then, everything of importance is in the story, and from it, I extract either a moment as in the covers of ‘Fallen Splendour’, when we see Clearwater (or Andrej) rearing their horse on a clifftop,
or ‘Keepers of the Past’ when we see Joe racing to stop a murder.
Both involve horses, in the way ‘Twisted Tracks’ involve a couple running for a train.
In other words, a moment of excitement from the story.
Other times, I feature the characters, as in ‘Banyak & Fecks’ because it’s more of a biographical story.
Sometimes, I take ‘props’ from the story, and highlight them, such as the cover for ‘Agents of the Truth.’
How easy is it to communicate your ideas, does she understand what you are looking for quickly?
It’s easy, and yes, she knows what I want even when I don’t!
For ‘the Larkspur Legacy’, I wrote,
A sailing ship with three masts, sails, (the year is 1890) in a storm, heading towards us, like the train in the cover you did for ‘The Clearwater Inheritance’. It’s during a storm, and needs to say ‘dramatic journey.’ The book is about a travel, adventure and mystery. So: stormy, the image suggests movement, maybe with a map and compass in the sea like the music was in the ‘Inheritance’ cover. How would that look?
I had another idea too, and she tried that, and I realised it wouldn’t work. She often does me several mock-ups and doesn’t mind how many times I ask for tweaks.
So, you are both on the same wavelength?
Yes, it seems we are. I only have to send the basics, and she knows what I like and, somehow, comes back with exactly what I was picturing, even though I didn’t explain it very well.
I asked Andjela a similar question…
When Jackson sends you his ideas for a cover is it easy to visualise what he wants?
Yes! We have been cooperating for years now, and we have always had great communication. He is one of my favourite clients-always clear on what he wants, which makes my job a lot easier. His initial idea is often the one we go forth with, in the final design.
You were nominated for a Goodreads award for the cover of ‘Seeing Through Shadows’. Congratulations!
I am so glad to hear that. That cover was a pleasure to create.
Which is your favourite cover that you have designed?
Seeing Through Shadows and Negative Exposure 🙂
Jackson, ‘Shadows’ was nominated for best cover by Goodreads, in your opinion is this Andjela’s best? Which one is your favourite?
I like all of them for different reasons. ‘Seeing Through Shadows’ is great because it gives us a ghostly atmosphere, features the owl, and is slightly misleading, which is what I wanted. The colours are also perfect for the mood of the story.
One of my favourites is ‘Negative Exposure’ because it shows the image of either a young male posing for an erotic photograph (a part of the story), or a body lying dead on a rocky shoreline, which is also appropriate. The colours are spot on too.
Mind you, I love the artwork for ‘Banyak & Fecks’, the black and white for ‘Fallen Splendour’, and the drama in ‘Starting with Secrets.’
As for the Larkspur Legacy, as you can see from that email excerpt above, the guides for the cover were:
- A sailing ship with three masts
- 1890 (1891)
- A storm
- Dramatic journey, travel, adventure, mystery
- Map & compass
From that, we have the cover which suggests adventure and danger. Within it, however, are also important props from the story. Also, as this is the end of a series, I wanted to do what I’d done with the final Clearwater book; show a moving object, rather than a person. ‘The Clearwater Inheritance’ showed a train ploughing through music in the snow. ‘The Larkspur Legacy’ shows a ship ploughing through rough seas against a map. What all that means will become clear when you read the book. Click the photo below to see the new cover…..
Don’t you think it’s fabulous? I’m nearly all the way through my beta read and I can say that it perfectly depicts the thrilling adventure you will be taken on!
Before we finish Andjela has an early birthday surprise for Jackson 🙂 Click on his face for another reveal…
(even Jackson doesn’t know what’s underneath!)
