Indiecember is almost over, but I wanted to get one last post in to recommend some more indie books I've read and loved. If there's one thing we can all take away from Indiecember, it's that reviews are so, so important to indie authors at any time of the year, not just in December. If you've seen a book on these lists that you think you might enjoy, I would encourage you to pick them up, read, and review them even after December is over.
We all know the saying "You can't just a book by it's cover," but let's be honest - we all do just that sometimes. And as an artist and budding graphic designer, I'm probably a bigger sucker for a great book cover than most people. Today I want to share some of my favorite book covers on indie books, BUT there is one other catch. I limited myself just to books that I have read, enjoyed, and can wholeheartedly recommend to others. And I also allowed for series if I loved all the book covers in the series (which is often the case). Here they are:
The Tales of the Wendy series by Erin Michelle Sky and Steven Brown
When I first saw and heard of The Wendy, it wasn't the title or the description or anything else that drove me to buy the book. It was the cover. Did I mention that I'm a huge sucker for great cover art? Sometimes that works out for me, and sometimes...well, book covers aren't always reflective of a book's quality. I was delighted to discover that the book behind this particular cover was just as incredible and well-crafted as the cover itself, and I'll forever be grateful to the cover artist for drawing me into the story with such gorgeous artwork. I have it on good authority that the third cover is going to be equally spectacular, and I can't wait to see it out in the world alongside these two beauties.
Speaking of books that I bought because I loved the cover... Next up we have Waters of Salt and Sin by Alisha Klapheke. The cover illustration here makes me smile and stare in awe every time I see it. It's so pretty. The details are fantastic and the composition really draws your attention. As soon as I saw it, I wanted to know more about that character and the ghostly beings she's interacting with, and the story definitely delivered on that.
Alice and Broken Glass by JM Sullivan
Red/black/white color schemes on book covers are my kryptonite, I swear. There's a reason I designed the covers of Secrets of PEACE with those colors. And I mean, say what you will about the Twilight books, but their covers were spectacular. These covers are just as gorgeous, and the story inside is one I thoroughly enjoyed. It's a reimagining of Alice in Wonderland that follows Alice through a zombie-infested wasteland in her quest to save her sister Dinah. That's right - Alice in Wonderland, but with zombies. And a wicked awesome book cover. I mean really, what more could you ask for?
Get in My Head series by SM Holland
SM Holland's series about young people living with mental illness is poignant, beautiful, heartbreaking, inspirational, and full of hard-hitting truths, but again, it was the covers for these books that first grabbed my attention. I love the watercolor style used here and the way the characters eyes are all uniquely marked out by the title text. They're all such great covers and I'm so glad they helped me discover the incredible stories within.
The Ziva Payvan Trilogy by EJ Fisch
EJ Fisch is a talented artist and graphic designer in addition to being a talented writer, and I absolutely LOVE these newly redesigned versions of her original Ziva Payvan trilogy. The designs are so coherent and work really well together despite being entirely different colors, and that text really stands out against the slightly more muted backgrounds. The old covers were great to and were basically the same design, but these newer ones are definitely an appealing upgrade.
That's all I have for you today. I hope you guys are doing well with Indiecember. Did you find any great new books? What are some of your favorite book covers?