Vellichor Ink

I finished the first draft of my fourth book in February of 2024. Over two years ago. It was, obviously, a very rough first draft. 88,289 thousand words of a story to immortalize the cottage we’d lived in, the dog that meant so much to us, and to give voice to a witch who would not let me ignore her.

I finished that first draft, saved it down on to my desktop, and promptly moved on to editing the trilogy and readying it for publication.

In my down time I re-read the story. Edited things here and there, added thoughts or verbiage that came to me and demanded to be used, but that was it for a long time.

In August of 2025 I sent it out to my editor, in September I did one of my final read throughs, and in October it went to the proofreader.

The last step in the process is a cover. And, for whatever reason, I am struggling so much this go ’round. I feel like I had a pretty clear vision with The God’s Wife trilogy. My original ideas changed and morphed, but the vibes stayed the same, I think. There is something about this one that is proving so difficult. I think it’s because it’s my favorite story that I’ve written so far. Julia’s story is great. I love it. I loved Egypt and immersing myself in the world for so long. I feel like I know and love Hatshepsut. But It was my first series and my first novel and I can pick out all the things I know need work (though I think I could nitpick it forever and not be happy).

But there’s something about The Bone Cottage. It’s just something I am really, really proud of. So there’s more pressure to get everything just right.

Because maybe, if I never decide on a cover then it’ll never see the light of day and then it cant fail miserably. But it is a story I love so very deeply, and think that it deserves to see the light of day. So I need to just suck it up and make some decisions.

So, tell me… what makes a cover really great? Obviously we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I think we’re all guilty of this. So what makes an eye-catching cover? What draws you in and makes you think that you have to read a book? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Meanwhile…here’s a few mock-ups that I’ve done that just…aren’t it. The middle row are designs that Stella came up with!