Judith Ashley: Book covers

Monday, January 22, 2018

Subtle Messages

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual practices that nourish the soul and celebrates the journey from relationship to romance.

Earlier this month I wrote on Secret Messages. Today I’m talking about Subtle Messages and using The Sacred Women's Circle book covers as an example.

When you look at a book cover, there are certain things that, depending on what you read, you want to see (or maybe not see). I love to read historical romance so seeing a castle, period dress and a more ornate font tells me at a glance that this book might be one I’d like to read. I then check out the back cover blurb to see what the bare bones of the story is about. Then I make my purchase.

I also like to read contemporary romance and those covers are going to look different than the historical romance covers. Two of my writing friends write paranormal romantic suspense and I do read their books although I don’t normally read in the genre.

In The Sacred Women’s Circle series, I wanted my covers to depict more than just ‘contemporary romance’ because the stories had so much more than the outer journey of the heroine and hero. I also wanted readers to get a hint at what was an additional story line without telling them on the back cover. And I latched on to Lois’s idea (she is a friend of mine) about another way of ‘branding’ the books.

And here is the key to the Subtle Message you’ll see on each cover:

Overlay

Color

Crystals

Tell me what you see and if you would have noticed without my pointing them out.

Learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB!

Monday, February 8, 2016

Book Covers

My book covers have been created by the talented Christy Caughie of Gilded Heart Designs. However, Christy is also a Victorian romance author with Avon and has made the decision to no longer create book covers.

My loss, readers’ gain.

However, Christy is finishing The Sacred Women’s Circle series covers to my delight and relief!

I posted at Romancing The Genres on book covers and setting.

Today I’m talking about subtle design elements in book covers. Not that I’m an expert or anything but with the input of my friend and graphic designer, Lois Regn, I think my covers are special.

Why? Because my covers have subtle messages mixed with the stronger heroine image. Overlays—muted images overlaying the stronger background/setting picture. is one. These overlays are connected to the sub-title of each book.

I talk about the other subtle image in my Romancing The Genres post so check it out. You may win a copy of one of these books.

Lily’s subtitle is “The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl.”

Elizabeth’s is “The Lady and The Sacred Grove.”

I’m sure you can figure out Diana’s if you've heard of The Tarot. And The Tarot plays a major role in Diana finding her path to happiness.

Ashley’s is “Ðragonflies and Dreams.”

Hunter’s is “The Dancer and The Drum.”

Gabriella’s subtitle is “Chaos and Symmetry” and involves sacred geometry. I don’t have that cover ready to show you (hopefully in March) but I have found a picture of an urn sitting on a railing, the sea behind it.

Next week I'll show you the pictures I'm considering for the overlays in Gabriella and Sophia. And look for the unveiling of those covers later this month or in March.

Sophia’s working subtitle is “Begin and End.” I know what I mean by that but it may be more difficult to build into overlays on that book’s cover. Sophia sent out the flyer that brought these women together to create a Sacred Women’s circle. She has experienced the highs and lows of life during the stories of the other women. I know her story – just not sure of the subtitle.