"Upgrades, People, Upgrades": Changing the Cover of Unraveled

A couple days ago, I revealed the new cover for Unraveled, my debut novel. I only vaguely foreshadowed that the Stormbringer Saga was getting a "minor update" in a previous post, so this probably comes as a surprise to a lot of people. I purposely kept it on the down low for so long because I just didn't know when I would get to reveal this change, but now that it's official, I can hopefully provide some insight.

Put simply, I wasn't happy anymore with the original cover. Maybe I was "my own worst critic," or maybe my criticisms were valid. For anyone who doesn't know, I spent quite a bit of time and effort designing and then drawing the cover myself. However, I am not an artist. Budgeting on barista wages, I just couldn't afford to hire a professional, but some quiet part of me was also afraid of passing this project off to someone else.

In other words, I was very possessive and protective of it—as I had every right to be, given it was to be my debut. Unfortunately, I did let that pride get in the way of producing something really strong right from the start.

By the time I signed on with Azala Press sometime October 2024, I had already revealed the original cover for Unraveled. My new publishers were incredibly supportive and excited to welcome me into the author family, and that included letting me keep the cover I made.

Originally, I felt at ease. Pretty much everything was lined up for my upcoming publication day in January 2025, and the book was in trusted and capable hands. However, as the hype naturally faded and the year went on, I slowly grew to dislike the way my book looked. I might even go so far as to say I hated it. Sitting beside other books, I just knew the quality wasn't up to standard. The design, I think, was solid enough, but the execution wasn't there. At one book fair I attended, I distinctly remember someone taking a long look at my cover art before asking, "Is this self-published?" That was likely the nail in the coffin, so to speak—though it's not at all to say that self-published works don't look as professional as traditionally published books. I've seen plenty of stunning cover art for indie books; this incident was just another confirmation of what I had felt for a while: Unraveled needed to look as captivating as the story itself was. It deserved it, at the very least.

So, finally, in December 2025, I told my publisher that a goal of mine for this year was to change the cover of Unraveled. I sent over a few rough sketch ideas, and she helped me find an artist who could carry out my vision. The result is what I truly believe to be a major improvement.

What you see now is the result of deeper understanding for my story and how readers pick and choose their next reads. I wasn't trying to create anything groundbreaking or especially unique; rather, I wanted each element to reflect the story I had told: a story of tenuous and unlikely alliances; of friends changing and growing apart; of legendary power that reveals itself first to be deadly, not life-saving.

Diving deeper into the design elements… (Minor book spoilers ahead!)

Two Hands Reaching for Each Other (Or Falling Away)

The hand reaching downward belongs to Meiryn; the one reaching upward is Reina's.

You may notice that Meiryn's hand looks to be a bit paler yet cast in deeper shadow. This is a reflection of how, in this book, she is constantly left in the dark about many things: Reina's true identity, the dealings with the Hunters Guild, the larger plot with the Drāga. Those of you who read Unraveled and know Meiryn's inner thoughts may remember that she depends heavily on Reina to feel safe in a vastly dangerous world. The lack of warmer hues in Meiryn's hand represents the way she feels when Reina is initially taken from her: as though life itself has lost its light.

Conversely, Reina's hand is shrouded in light—yet she strains upward, as if she is drowning in all the lies she wears like armor and is seeking someone (or something) to save her. This lightning isn't just a new power she can wield after a fateful encounter with the Last Tempest of Rhonestiel; it's literally bringing to light everything she thought she could hide. The truth hurts, but it hurts more when forces beyond our control drag it out for everyone to see. If you look closely, you can even see a bit of scarring on Reina's skin, inflicted by the lightning magic she shares with the storm dragon, Aelythius.

Lightning

Gold, just as described in the book. One iteration featured lightning that was colder, close to white. I almost went ahead with it to maintain a cool-toned color scheme, but a few things swayed my mind: 1) staying true to the book; 2) utilizing at least one contrasting element to catch people's eye; and 3) it just looked so good. It's a bit reminiscent of Japanese kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery with urushi lacquer mixed with powdered gold or silver.

The resemblance to kintsugi wasn't intentional, but it does add to the visual appeal.

Purple Storm Clouds

In the book, I describe the storms conjured by Aelythius to be as black as night, heavy with clouds that obscure the daylight. The original color scheme was a deep, moody violet with a somewhat muted gold. Digitally, the ombre from a dark sky to a brighter purple background looked fine, but the translation from the digital artwork to a physical book was ultimately lackluster.

The colors in the new cover are much brighter and bolder, but I did want to keep that original violet-and-gold color scheme—a fond reminder of where we started. And, I won't spoil things, but I will tease that gold is a common thread that'll show up in each book cover to follow, so you can at least count on that.

"Where Are My Dragons?!"

One of the first things people might miss in this new cover is the dragon silhouette, but don't worry—Aelythius is still there, he's just been shifted to the back cover. His silhouette flies freely within the storm.

The reason for this is simple: in Unraveled, Aelythius is limited to a haunting presence in the back of Reina's mind. We get a couple tense, high-action scenes with him before he's gone again. While I can say (without spoilers) that he'll have more page time in future books, he currently remains a looming entity that is felt and heard more than seen. It's not his time to shine just yet—for that, I ask for your patience while giving you in return my promise to make the next books in the series as riveting as the first.

If you take just one thing away from all my rambling and over-explaining, let it be this: Being an author, like everything else in life, comes with hiccups and mistakes and lessons.

Do I wish I'd swallowed my pride and tried to find a cover artist I could afford to commission before Unraveled was published? Yeah, in all honesty, I do, but I can't change what happened. I can only go forward with a greater understanding of the standard I want to uphold for my books, and how to achieve it.

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TL;DR: I changed my debut novel's cover because I wasn't happy with it, and because I finally had the means to do so. Now, I am extremely happy with the new look and can't wait to show it off at future signing events.