A Cover at Brain Stage…
It is still in very early stages, but the cover for Kathleen Herbert’s first book of her Cumbrian Trilogy (first published in 1982) is set to be my next project. Trifolium Books plan to republish her trilogy, which is currently out of print, under a new trilogy title of Kingdoms of the North.
One of the cover elements of the first book, Bride of the Spear, will be a striking cloak pin made by Connie Jensen, accomplished jeweller and MD of Trifolium Books. See her initial design sketch below. The rest of the cover is still in construction, mainly in mine and Connie’s heads. At this stage we throw our ideas at each other and see if any of them stick. Often the inspiration will come from a single photograph.
Kathleen’s early covers were illustrations, often overly romantic and sometimes deceptive of their gritty, dark and accurate content (see below for some examples). Our aim is to completely freshen up these fantastic books and make them available to a new audience as well as her die-hard fans.
I hope the new photo inspires you! And I am sorry that the Raven Cloak Pin hasn’t materialised- yet- but the Moon Pendant is probably more relevant for the Northern Kingdoms Trilogy as a whole.