Celebrating TOTEM's Covers

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I've changed the covers for the TOTEM books far more than any other books I've written. It's one of those things that I have so many ideas in my head, because so much is happening in the series. While it has driven me bonkers at times, I have learned a lot about Photoshop and what goes into making a cover that will hook a reader's attention.

I've always liked urban fantasy and paranormal romance covers with people on them. The dynamic stance, tense from danger, a dark and mysterious setting behind them, and the swirling hint of magic. Or ghosts or monsters or whatever creatures might be lurking in the pages. Getting people right on book covers takes the talents of a professional cover designer. I am not one of those. I've learned to appreciate the patience and skills of designers, and to look back on my old covers with a bit of embarrassment.

The first covers I released the series with in 2016.

There's too much going on in those covers. It was crazy how many layers are on each one. And portraits? No, no. Not for urban fantasy. It isn't dynamic enough. It has to be a full figure or no people at all.

TOTEM covers from 2019.

Okay. More of their bodies, and very cool mystical totem symbols. But it's too clearly Photoshopped and it makes me cringe a little.

Back when AI started to become accessible, I generated a set of covers. It was fun, but AI wasn't great at the time. Also, once it came out how AI works and that it steals from creators, I scrapped those covers. Deleted them completely. If I'm going to have book covers, I will make them myself or hire someone. And since hiring someone for this many books isn't in my budget...

Current covers of the novellas from 2023.

I abandoned the idea of adding in people on the covers, and I went the animal direction. I tried to blend the animals in with the background. Some worked better than others. I'm still not fully satisfied.

So when it came to making a cover for the TOTEM collection, I had to think hard what would really work for the story. I wanted to focus on the sisters and the quest, and the title of the collection came easily from that: Sisters of the Pale Claw. Family and shifter focused and mystical. Now how to do that on the cover?

I didn't want to go the people direction, and I wanted to stay away from the animal one too. So where did that leave me? An object-based cover. Object-based and pattern-based covers are immensely popular at the moment, but they also have a timeless quality that is budget friendly for indie authors. But will the cover convey what type of story it is and intrigue the reader?

What do you think?

The cover is quest focused with the totem encased in ice. It is a nod to what the setting is (Alaska) and evokes a mystery around the object. What is it? What does it do? The whole cover is dark and chilling, and hopefully brings forth tension. It's also minimalistic compared to the novella covers. The font is easy to read and very thumbnail friendly. The vast majority of people nowadays only ever see the thumbnail of book covers. So the designer must make an impact with a tiny picture.

FOUR DAYS UNTIL THE RELEASE OF SISTERS OF THE PALE CLAW!