Kristen Brand

It’s finally here. After two years, Smoke and Hellfire has a brand new cover (and series name) and I’m so excited to share it with you.

I love everything about this cover. It nails the spooky urban fantasy atmosphere of the book, and Bea and Maggie look amazing. It feels like the book I actually wrote, and I can’t stop looking at it.

But to tell the full story, I have to back up a little.

The original cover

When I first published Smoke and Hellfire, I made the cover myself.

I actually enjoy making book covers and graphics, so DIYing it wasn’t out of desperation so much as necessity. The budget wasn’t there, and I figured I’d rather have something than nothing.

The problem was, I was never fully happy with how it turned out. It didn’t quite capture the feel of the book, and the longer I looked at it, the more I knew it wasn’t doing the story justice. Cover design is one of those things where loving the craft and having the skill to execute a specific vision are two different things—and I was honest enough with myself to admit the gap.

Taking things more seriously

At some point, I made a decision to treat my author business like an actual business. That means investing in it, even when that’s a little uncomfortable. A professional cover was one of the first things on my list.

So I finally splurged. And I have zero regrets.

I worked with a professional cover artist, describing my vision, showing comparable urban fantasy covers, and scouring for stock images of models to use as references for Bea and Maggie. I wanted something that looked spooky without seeming like horror, a cover that readers would immediately peg as an urban fantasy book, and I think we nailed it.

What’s next

I’m working on the sequel (and you can bet I’ll use a professional cover from the beginning this time), but in the meantime, Smoke and Hellfire is available now. If you haven’t picked it up yet, now is a great time, and you can find it at your favorite bookseller using the link below.

If you’re a fellow author who’s been on the fence about investing in a professional cover, I hope this gives you a little nudge. It made a bigger difference than I expected—not just in how the book looks, but in how I feel about putting it out into the world.