GIGI PANDIAN: Have you ever judged a book by its cover? I’m guilty. I
love it when a book I adore has an equally compelling book cover. (Yes, I’m a
book hoarder—but that’s a story for another day…)
But what exactly goes into creating a book cover? My
latest mystery, The Masquerading Magician, comes out today, so I thought I’d
share a behind-the-scenes look at how I ended up with these book covers for my
Accidental Alchemist series about a centuries-old female alchemist and her impish
gargoyle sidekick. The books have covers that are not only beautiful but
perfectly capture the spirit of the books. It didn’t happen by accident. Here’s
the story of how these covers came to be.
My publisher, Midnight Ink, asks me for cover design
ideas before their Launch Meeting, a meeting that takes place close to a year
before a book comes out, that’s attended by editorial, sales, publicity, and
design staff. At the meeting, the publishing team discusses a title, tag lines,
and cover design ideas that resonate with the group. The Accidental Alchemist
was my original title, but The Masquerading Magician took a team brainstorm.
After that, a smaller group is involved in a Cover Design
Meeting, where a more detailed cover concept is created. Depending on whether
it’s a photographic or illustrated concept, the team will then contract a
photographer or an illustrator. A lot of thought goes into it! I’m a graphic
designer, but I don’t normally design book covers, so I was surprised by how
much of a team effort the cover creation process was.
With a vision in place, the team hired a brilliant
illustrator who captured the essence of my books: whimsical, mysterious, and
not too dark or gritty. A happy story, for sure—but here’s where my particular
story gets especially interesting: I turned out I knew the illustrator.
When Midnight Ink hired illustrator Hugh D’Andrade, they
had no idea he’d been one of my lecturers when I was going to art school. Once
he was hired to illustrate my covers, Hugh and I reconnected. We learned we
both have similar day jobs at nonprofit organizations in San Francisco, and
spend our free time on similar creative pursuits: while I write mysteries, he
illustrates posters and book covers with his unique, mysterious style.
Here’s a peek at Hugh’s design process. (All the images
below are courtesy of Hugh D’Andrade.)
These initial sketches were cool, but a bit too edgy for
a not-quite-cozy paranormal mystery series. After feedback, Hugh made sure
Dorian the gargoyle had a friendlier appearance. (Yup, that’s a whisk in the
gargoyle’s hand. Dorian is a French chef.)
For the new book in the series, The Masquerading
Magician, we’d already established the feel of the book covers, so the initial
sketches could be rougher, since the “feel” of the series had already been
established, so these sketches were primarily exploring the elements to be
included in the cover.
Voila! A mysterious cover that highlights the classic
magic show act that’s central to the plot of the new book.
Do you have a favorite book cover? Or perhaps a
confession about a book you bought solely for its cover?
About The Masquerading Magician
Deciphering an ancient alchemy book is more difficult
than Zoe Faust bargained for. She’d much rather be gardening and exploring her
new home of Portland, Oregon—but time is running out for living gargoyle Dorian
Robert-Houdin. If Zoe isn’t able to unlock the alchemy book’s secrets soon, the
French gargoyle will remain awake but trapped in stone forever.
When Zoe gives herself a rare night out to attend a
classic magic show that reminds her of her youth, she realizes the stage
magicians are much more than they seem. A murder at the theater leads back to a
string of unsolved robberies and murders in Portland’s past, and a mystery far
more personal than Zoe and Dorian ever imagined.
USA Today bestselling author Gigi
Pandian is the child of cultural anthropologists from New Mexico and the
southern tip of India. She spent her childhood being dragged around the world,
and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She writes the Jaya Jones
Treasure Hunt mystery series (Artifact, Pirate Vishnu, and Quicksand)
and the Accidental Alchemist mysteries (The Accidental Alchemist and The
Masquerading Magician). Gigi’s debut mystery novel was awarded a Malice
Domestic Grant, the follow-up won the Left Coast Crime Rose Award, and her
locked-room mystery short fiction has been nominated for Agatha and Macavity
awards. Connect with Gigi on her website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up
for her email newsletter.
