For the last of our current series of posts about cover design, it’s time to share the covers for the Mysterious Fields trilogy. I love the elements Augusta pulled together to evoke just the right feeling for these covers.
Overall design : Mysterious Fields
Because these three books form a tight continuous trilogy (unlike any of my other books!) we really wanted the covers to fit well together. All three have the same basic elements:
- Damask background (for the late Victorian feel)
- Appropriate clothing! Augusta worked off a number of reference images for this.
- Electricity (a key theme in the books)
- An inset item
- Silhouetted figures who – over the course of the trilogy – move from distance to togetherness.
And then we have the pipes, to lean a bit more into the gaslamp feel of these books. People are exploring the intersection of science and magic, not always with the best results.
Enchanted Net
Welcome to Enchanted Net, book one of the trilogy!
This cover has a lovely scene from early in the first book, when Thessaly and Vitus first meet at a masquerade ball. (He has kindly fetched her a glass of wine.) In a later scene, they run into each other in Trellech’s main library. That’s where the book in the top corner comes from.
The purple is here for the Fortiers – it’s part of their heraldry. Enchanted Net opens with Thessaly’s betrothal to Childeric Fortier, golden son of the Fortier family. (He’s an older cousin to Garin. Isembard’s not yet born at this point.) As you might guess by “Thessaly and Vitus have a happily-ever-after ending”, that’s not who she marries.
But it’s also purple for this scene, where Vitus’s costume includes amethyst (a nod to his work as a talisman maker).
Silent Circuit
As Silent Circuit begins, Thessaly and Vitus have been unable to see each other. They run into each other in the Trellech library for a second time. Vitus is able to recommend a book that helps with one of Thessaly’s current problems. They’re not quite touching here, but they’re closer.
And that bee? The original Childeric, a Merovingian king, has a particularly famous set of grave goods.
The green of this cover is a nod to the land magic. This book includes a Council challenge, and Childeric’s role as Heir to the land magic at Arundel. (It also spends some time with the Fortier family rites for Lammas, at the beginning of August.)
Elemental Truth
In the final book of the trilogy, Elemental Truth, we get to a satisfying conclusion. Here we’ve got the abundant generative golden yellow, a warm colour that brightens everything around it.
And here, Thessaly and Vitus get to dance together, unafraid to show their love. The ring in the corner is a nod to Vitus’s growing professional reputation as a talisman maker.
And a little more colour
I was amused when I was updating the website and took a look at the current book grid for the Fortier and Landry families. Except for Winter’s Charms, they all have a remarkably similar feel to the colour palette. This wasn’t entirely intentional (especially that run of golden yellow), other than the fact I do like the shades we chose here. If you want to check the other books out, enjoy!
