So instead, Patricia and I chat about the book, and she gives me a rough, (relatively) spoiler-free synopsis. This better helps me create images that are visually interesting regardless of what specific actions are taking place on that cover. Lastly, knowing just enough about a story means I have to rely on visual solutions for my cover, rather than narrative ones. My own sense of intrigue and speculation often carries through to the final image, and helps create a sense of mystery that a prospective buyer will empathize with, and hopefully be enticed by. Because of that, I find that a little bit of naïveté can be a good thing. The purpose of the cover is to make you want to read the story. The purpose of a cover is not to tell the story (That’s the story’s job).

Knowing too little makes for a generic image, but knowing too much can be equally difficult, as I typically begin to feel too beholden to all the fine details. Secondly, I find that the more I know about a story, the less creative I am when trying to come up with an evocative cover.

Firstly, I often have to rush through manuscripts, or only get to read them partially in order to meet my cover deadlines, and I would hate to spoil a story I’m truly excited to read just to get a job done on time. But to be honest, I kind of like it that way for quite a few reasons. Which means I don’t have a completed manuscript to work with, hence the phonecall with Patricia. So early, that the book hasn’t actually been completed yet. Who is taking them? As Mercy investigates, she learns of the legend of the Harvester, who travels by less-trodden paths and reaps the souls that are ripe with a great black scythe.īecause of the series’ popularity, the Publisher begins advertising the book quite early. Until Wulfe vanished, all of them were powerless loners, many of whom quietly moved to the Tri-Cities in the hope that the safety promised by Mercy and Adam’s pack would extend to them as well. And these are not just ordinary people but supernatural beings. Someone is taking people from locked rooms, from the aisles of stores, and even from crowded parties. So Mercy goes out to find her stalker-and discovers more than just Wulfe have disappeared. The mistress of the vampire seethe informs Mercy that the pack must produce Wulfe to prove their innocence, or the loose alliance between the local vampires and werewolves is over. But when he disappears, the Tri-Cities pack is blamed. Since he’s deadly, possibly insane, and his current idea of “fun” is stalking Mercy, some may see it as no great loss. In ‘Soul Taken’, Mercy Thompson, car mechanic and shapeshifter, must face her greatest fears in this chilling entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series. I of course accepted excitedly, and immediately contacted Patricia Briggs to chat about her upcoming novel. Late last year, the Art Director of Ace books contacted me to see if I was once again available to paint the next Mercy Thompson cover.

Mercy thompson book 4