While I have a sense of what I want for the cover of Southern Discomfort, it’s still hard to pin down, despite studying other genre covers (more here). This week I tried soliciting other opinions.
First, in one of my Facebook groups, I asked if it would bug them to see a book cover with a dark-skinned protagonist — Maria’s a dark Sicilian by ancestry (with one black great-grandparent) — then discover inside that she’s not a person of color (Italians, even dark-skinned ones, count as white).
Some of the respondents said they wouldn’t care: they don’t expect covers to capture characters perfectly. Others said they’d consider it a bait-and-switch. Some said dark-skinned Sicilian wouldn’t look black so no problem. A few people said they found the very idea that Maria defines herself as white offensive — we’re not black or white, we’re people! While I take their point, lots of people do identify by ethnicity or race so I’m comfortable not going their way.
I also bounced my thoughts off my friend Samantha Collins, who did the art for Questionable Minds.
Sam happily undertook the cover art for both Southern Discomfort and Savage Adventures. We talked a lot about imagery, the feedback from the group and possible alternatives like the “figure on the cover with plot-related imagery,” for example Orin Sale’s cover for The Girl Who Sees.
The protagonist is a stage mentalist who discovers she has real magic. The cover gets the “urban fantasy protagonist standing there” that’s a staple of the genre but the cards make it distinctive. Enough I bought the book.
Crossroad of Bones (cover by Deranged Doctor Design) has some of that too, though not quite as striking.
I’m not sure how much any of that clarified my ideas enough but that’s why I’m a writer and not an artist.
#SFWApro. All rights to images remain with current holders.
