There’s an old adage that goes something like “don’t judge a book by its cover”. In today’s digital age, though, I don’t think the adage rings as true as it once did. Absolutely there are amazing books out there with so-so covers. There are also so-so books out there with amazing covers.

I’m hoping my books are somewhere in between. Thanks to Jake at Jcalebdesign , I have an amazing cover. Actually, to quote his tagline, I have a “badass cover”. Whereas I don’t know if I meet the high standard for “badass stories”, I’m hoping those of you who have made it this far at least find my stories better than so-so.

And now, a little more than a year after I started down the self-publishing highway, the end of The Blessed of the Dragon series is nigh. There’s just one more book left to finish the series. Which means I had one last opportunity to join collective artistic forces with Jake to design the final cover.

With each of the first three covers, I was amazed at Jake’s ability to bring excerpts from each book to life. He knew just what details from each excerpt to focus on and which ones to omit, not because they were unnecessary to the scene but because too much detail will bog down the limited amount of space available for a book cover. There’s obviously more going on in each instance but he zeroed in on what was most important and gave the greatest visual snapshop to those who stumble across the book in a sea of competing opportunities. And he did it again with the final book in the series, The Death of the Sun.

The first book in the series, The Path of the Synthesizer, was published a mere eight months ago. It’s cover depicted Yolken, the main character of the series, standing on the precipice of a giant waterfall, facing a decision. With the Blessed hot on his tail, he needed to quickly decide his path forward. Those who’ve read the book would now recognize the significance of the sword Yolken is holding.

The cover of the second book, The Island of Kvorga, captured another pivotal moment for Yolken. He traveled to the mysterious island of Kvorga in search of help rescuing his brother. There he learned the fate of Dradonia rested on his shoulders. His return was met with his first face-to-face confrontation with the Blessed. Worse, his brother rejected his aid. The purest expression of the Blessed’s magic is fire–Draego’s Fire, to be specific–and they don’t hesitate to utilize it. Fortunately, Yolken was taught how to defend himself. He fought off their attack and, due to a little help–okay… a lot of help–he managed to escape the Blessed’s carefully laid trap.

The cover of the third book, The Dragon King, captures the moment when Yolken purposefully threw himself into the lion’s den. Knowing the challenge he faced–restoring balance to a dying sun–Yolken sought help from a man who wanted him dead–the Emperor of the United Realms. Yolken willingly put his life on the line in an effort to bring an end to a centuries long war in order to save Dradonia. I particularly like the Dragon Scepter and the dragon’s perched above the throne looking forward ominously. The detail of the emperor and his Dragon Guard’s armor is exquisite.

And now…

…the big finale.

The opening scene of The Death of the Sun, the final book in the Blessed of the Dragon series, finds Yolken standing atop the tallest building in the empire–a place he didn’t want to be–pondering a problem he didn’t know how to solve.

Knocked out of balance by centuries of war and greed, the sun was dying. And somehow it was up to him to fix it. But he didn’t know how. The very notion was insane. Impossible. He was just one man. And he barely understand the gift of Synthesis.

The Death of the Sun is the epic conclusion a story I’ve been working on for the better part of seven years so naturally I wanted an epic cover. And Jake was up for the task. What ensues is the beginning of the end of The Blessed of the Dragon. But before you scroll down to see the cover I just want to say how great it was working with Jake. If you haven’t already, hop on over to his website and take a look at some of his other work. And if you are writing a novel that you one day might self-publish, I would highly recommend Jake. I’m already excited about working with him on my next project which I’m tentatively planning on publishing in the spring of next year.

So…

…without further ado…

…the cover of The Death of the Sun!