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So, if you haven’t figured out my now… I’m sort of a rebel. I do my own thang. Go against the grain. Walk my own path. You get the picture.
And shocker, not shocker, this also applies to all of the Orion’s Order book cover designs. Yes, all of them.. Well, books 1-4 at least. Because, yes, I’ve already seen what they’ll all look like and have since like the beginning. LOL. For books 5 and beyond, I’m not sure yet but I know, I’ll know, when I know… that’s not confusing or anything. LOL but let me explain...
Since the beginning, not only did I know but boy did people sure make it point to let me know that the book cover design for Calypso’s Heart does not match the market and is not genre appropriate.
Well, eff that.
Not saying that market research and all of that stuff that I wish didn’t come with the territory of being a self-published author, doesn’t have it’s value and place. Because it most certainly does. (And side note, you mean there’s more to being an author than just writing the stories? LOL oh how naive I was in thinking that at one point haha ;) ).
Anyway, back to the “not genre appropriate” covers of Orion’s Order series. You see, and I’m sure you’ve actually seen, that romance covers often have people on them. And specifically for steamy romances, they have half-naked, muscley male, situations going on. And for paranormal romances, just throw in some sort of supernatural elements that tie into your story. And there you have genre appropriate covers.
Now, I’d like to share where the cover for Calypso’s Heart (and all of the covers that I’ve seen for that matter) came from. Well, I actually don’t know where they came from-other than that crazy place inside my mind where these stories are too. But I remember the exact moment I saw the cover in my mind.
So, I was at the gym, on the stair master, doing my stepping thing and I was also on the phone with my sister… naturally, because yes, I am that lonely and awkward person in the gym on the phone. But no, I am definitely *not* that annoying person on the phone in the gym that’s loud as hell and where everyone can hear the conversation whether they want to or not.
Anyway, I digress… again… back to the cover. So, I was stepping, I was quietly talking to my sister, and I remember saying something like, “I still don’t know what the cover is going to be for Calypso’s Heart.”
And then I kid you not, immediately this image popped into my head and then I just knew that was the book cover. I saw the golden wolf eyes. I saw the heart necklace. I saw the black background. And then I described it to my sister and wrote it down.
Literally, didn’t make that up. That’s how the cover came to be. Well, with the help of the amazing LJ at Mayhem Cover Creations. She’s done such an amazing job putting up with my crazy ass and bringing the images in my mind to life and making them that much better with her artist’s eye and graphic design talents.
So, there you have the mini backstory of how Calypso’s Heart (and all of the book covers) came to be.
Now, I’m curious … What are your thoughts on the cover for Calypso’s Heart? When you first saw it, did you like it? Was it meh? Was it eye-catching? Intriguing? Terrible? Not genre appropriate? LOL Whatever it is, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Talk soon! :)
M.C. Solaris
❤️Author of massively epic love stories
🧜♀️Creator of emotionally satisfying fantasy escapes
✨Healing thru storytelling
✍️ Channeler of Orion’s Order
https://linktr.ee/mcsolarisauthor