The Sinuous Bargain of a Cowardly Prince
Front Cover Text
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Synopsis
(This is not final)
*This is my doing. I’ve brought her into this nightmare, placing her life on the line.
But it’s the only way I can keep her safe.* [logline]
Prince Ramiel Faundor is a bastard. Born to a consort of the king, his entire existence is the best-kept secret since the truth behind a millennium-old war. But when his older half-brother dies in battle, Ramiel must stand in his dragon-slaying sibling’s place at the kingdom’s coronation duel. There’s only one problem: every noble and soldier who does know who he is won’t dare to train him. Especially not when he hasn’t benefited from any true military training in his short nineteen years.
Ether Malaphon is a cutthroat elven warrior from the Aldorin forest, where her people and other magical creatures live in exile. Her hatred for humanity is etched into her soul, second only to her resentment for the fairies who killed her parents. Her world unravels when one of the castle’s ambassadors drags her from her village to be sacrificed to a long-dead king. But fate intervenes when a certain desperate prince strikes a bargain to save her life; she must agree to teach him how to command magic and wield a sword.
As tensions rise and fate stands in their way, Ramiel and Ether fight against the rapid flow of time—and the destiny that binds them together. But in a war-torn world founded on cruel curses and dark magic, history has a nasty habit of repeating itself…
Example Book Cover Descriptions
A River of Golden Bones: The pop of color is awesome, the focus on the words and the font itself is eye-catching and pretty. The symbols blending with the paint stroke is cool, too. I like that it’s subtle and yet in-your-face at the same time.
Sun of Blood and Ruin: I like the way the text plays with the objects in the background. The colors popping here are a bit much, but I like the involvement with the symbols! Again the focus on the title is great. I think it’s a little *too* colorful for my book.
The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak Magic: Great example of a long title, but I would want mine to be even more front-and-center. The cup takes up too much of the cover. The interplay with yellow and blue is cool – opposite ends of the color wheel is appealing.
The Cruel Prince: I think this cover is a perfect example of what fantasy covers should look like – simple, with a couple symbols to hint at the content, but not overdone. The title treatment is great (not a HUGE fan of the gold outline on the letters) and I love the crown feature.
The Inheritance Games: This was the cover that I gave to a designer originally as my inspiration. The next cover I share is that cover. I liked the interplay with elements , the banners, the mystery. I also like green as a color but I’m not married to it by any means.
The Sinuous Bargain of a Cowardly Prince (a cover I had made by a concept designer): I like this one – the thing I like most is the gold treatment on the letters. I don’t LOVE the background, the banners, or the massive amount of text on the book elsewhere. I’d like to take it in a different direction.
Wrong Direction Book Cover Descriptions
Serpent: I just.. never liked how this cover looked. It’s a romantasy, but the elements make this too busy. My book is focused on the romance, but this cover has too many complicated elements and the title font sizing is off to me.
L&L: I don’t want illustrations on the cover, not of people at least. I also don’t want a couple on the cover. Or people at all. Not the right direction at all.
Faebound: I find this one difficult to read and rather monotone. I don’t like the vertical title or where the author’s name is placed.
General Likes & Overall Vision
A focus on the title, earthy, regal tones (vibrant green, gold, silver, purple, black). Darker mood. I’d love for the title to play with the background elements a little bit; peek out of the background.
Dislikes & Things to Avoid
No people, avoid overused fonts (the one on my current concept design is way overused). I don’t want my book to look like every other “a (noun) of (noun) and (noun)” fantasy cover. I want it to be unique and still fit in the genre. Not illustrated, no pastel colors. The book is a dark fantasy with romantic elements. I want it to reflect that.
