I’m not sure if this is a professional thing to post, but I’m excited about it, so I’m going to do it anyway. I received the rough sketch for the cover art of Rags and Muffin, which I enthusiastically approved. I’m on pins and needles until I get the final version.
I decided that, for this book, I wanted a cover that moved away from the cartoonish look we used on Jake and the Dynamo. I went with a company called Miblart, which has a good-looking portfolio and a price range that wouldn’t bust my budget. So far, at least, I’ve been quite happy with the service I’m getting, and I’ll probably write a review of the whole experience once the book is on the market.
Miblart’s least expensive and most heavily advertised covers involved photoshopped photographs, but for a larger fee, they also offer to make original art, which is what I went with. As a matter of personal preference, I don’t like pictures of real people on book covers. Real people look paradoxically fake when they adorn novels.
Miblart has been quite professional. They asked for a ton of information up front and for further clarification afterwards. When they wanted details on Rags’s clothing and the building in the background, I sent them pictures of Japanese models in Gothic Lolita and a screenshot of Volcania from Captain Power, and they said okay instead of calling me an idiot. So that’s good.
The sketch image delivers an unexpected—and terrifying—interpretation of Rags and Muffin. I really like it, especially since these characters actually are, in their own way, terrifying: Rags basically has a supernatural ability to ruin the life of everybody she comes in contact with.
If things keep skipping along, we’re looking at an October release date.
