Companion series refresh

The Royal Companion was the first book I ever published, and honestly, I had very little idea what I was doing back then. I chose a pretty cover, a sweet cover, one that was completely wrong for the genre, and misled my poor readers.

Who remembers the original cover below?

Imagine how surprised readers were when they opened the book and read the first few lines…

They hanged the man outside of the church, in front of his family, his neighbours, and a white-faced priest clutching the book of God. The body swung gently above the spectators, eyes bulging, head tilted at an unnatural angle. The only noise was the creak of the rope and the violent sobs of his widow.

“Don’t be fooled by the cover,” wrote one reader. “This is a very dark story.”

Oops.

It took a few attempts, but I definitely got there in the end with this cover…

This cover has done a great job for many years, and I will always keep a copy on my bookshelf as a reminder that a good cover (especially one that is appropriate for the genre) can make all the difference.

But trends change over the years, and covers date. And the time has come to give this series a makeover. Now, this process has taken MONTHS, because I wanted these covers to be both genre appropriate and to capture the mood of each story.

So here they are! I hope you love them 🙂

Do you have a favourite? Tell me below.