Merry Wanderer of the Night + review

Cover Post — A look into covers with Progeny author R.T. Kaelin

Visiting today, we have R.T. Kaelin, author of Progeny: The Children of the White Lions. He's stopping by today to talk about how he came up with the idea for the cover, what decisions went into creating it, and why he chose such a stark look for an epic fantasy. Let's welcome him!

The idea for the cover came to me very early on in the process of writing the book. The title of the novel is “Progeny” with the subtitle—and the name of the series—being “The Children of the White Lions.” The White Lions—a group of heroes from the past—were going to be a very important part to the story and history of the world, and the cover is a simple reflection of the origin of their moniker.

I purposely chose the cover to be a stark, simple look for a number of reasons. Most fantasy novels have a million different things happening on the cover. Or the art tries to capture too much of the essence of the story and it ends up feeling forced. I wanted the opposite. Put Progeny on the shelf in your local bookstore, run your eyes over the selections, and see how it stands out.

The design is also somewhat iconic in the sense that the subsequent books in the series can have the same basic look and there will be no mistake as to what series the books belong. My plan is for there to be other logos and the title of the next books to be in different colors, but the basic design will be the same.

The current cover is actually a second version. For the first five months the book was available, it did not have “The Children of the White Lions” on the cover. Also added was “Vol. 1” on the spine, and a collection of review quotes on the back cover. One of the nice things about being an indie author and publisher is that I was able to make that change on my own.

That would be a nice benefit — being able to make the changes you chose! Thanks so much for stopping by today R.T.!

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Cover Post — A look into covers with Progeny author R.T. Kaelin + review