The Safe Lands Book Cover Development: A Brief Interview with Jill Williamson

Jill WIlliamson Interview
(c.) Zondervan
I'm so thrilled to post my first author interview!  I've only been reading Jill Williamson's work since I discovered her Blood of Kings medieval-styled fantasy trilogy last year.  I love her believeable characters and her world-building is amazing.  Besides fantasy, she's written sci-fi, suspense, dystopian, and non-fiction guides to writing!  The only Jill Williamson books I haven't gotten to yet is her teen secret agent novels and her non-fiction.  Anyway, Jill graciously agreed to answer a couple of questions for me about the book cover process:

Thanks for visiting us here at the Artist Librarian!  Can you briefly describe what the book cover process was like for the Safe Lands dystopian trilogy?

Jill Williamson book cover design process
(c.) Zondervan
Jill Williamson (JW):  The publisher asked me for ideas of things that I might think were good for the cover and descriptions of characters. So I wrote up a document with all that information and sent it in. I'm not sure if they share that with the cover artist or not. But that is all the say I had in the cover for book one.

 The same process happened for the cover for book two, but when they sent it to me, it was the green cover that ended up being used for Rebels. I told them that while the cover was beautiful, it didn't work for the plot. None of my characters left the Safe Lands in book two. So they ended up designing a new book cover for Outcasts, and used the green cover for Rebels.
  
Jill Williamson Safe Lands Book Cover process
(c.) Zondervan
Outcasts ended up being my favorite cover of the Safe Lands trilogy, so it's interesting to hear it originally was to have Rebel's cover!  I'm glad Zondervan developed the purple one instead.   Was working with Zondervan, a larger publisher, a similar process with your previous Blood of Kings trilogy with Marcher Lord Press?

JW: Some things were similar, some things were different. Zondervan works a little farther ahead than Marcher Lord Press. So I usually got my edits six to nine months before the book release, while with Marcher Lord Press, I sometimes got my edits a few weeks before the book release. Zondervan also has marketing and sales people, so there were many other people who emailed me, while with Marcher Lord Press, I only spoke to Jeff. Zondervan also sent me on a couple book tours, which was very fun. So they have a much larger budget for promoting their books than Marcher Lord Press does.

Jill Williamson interview book covers
(c.) Zondervan
Thank you again, Jill, for being my first author interviewee!  I really like the unified look of the Safe Lands Trilogy as a whole.  Not only with details such as the wing-type crest design used in the title type but the cloud textures as well.  The secondary colors go well together in a triad color harmony (someone was paying attention in color theory class!) and ... something kind of fun to note:  This was probably unintentional, but the book cover designers of the Blood of Kings trilogy also used secondary colors (greens, oranges, purples) as well.  Check it out below!

The Safe Lands Outcasts Book Cover Art Process
(c.) Marcher Lord Press
About Jill Williamson:
Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms and the award-winning author of several speculative fiction novels including By Darkness Hid, Replication, The New Recruit, and Captives. She got into writing one day when someone was complaining about teen books and she thought, “I could do that! How hard could it be?” Very, she soon learned. But she worked hard, and four years later, her first book, By Darkness Hid, was published and won several awards.
Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant, who was raised in Alaska. She loves teaching about writing, which she does weekly at www.GoTeenWriters.com. She lives in Oregon with her husband, two children, and a whole lot of deer.
- See more at: http://www.jillwilliamson.com/bio-bibliography/#sthash.QwWsEase.dpuf
Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms and the award-winning author of several speculative fiction novels including By Darkness Hid, Replication, The New Recruit, and Captives. She got into writing one day when someone was complaining about teen books and she thought, “I could do that! How hard could it be?” Very, she soon learned. But she worked hard, and four years later, her first book, By Darkness Hid, was published and won several awards.
Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant, who was raised in Alaska. She loves teaching about writing, which she does weekly at www.GoTeenWriters.com. She lives in Oregon with her husband, two children, and a whole lot of deer.
- See more at: http://www.jillwilliamson.com/bio-bibliography/#sthash.QwWsEase.dpuf
Jill Williamson is a novelist, dreamer, and believer. Growing up in Alaska led to love books, and in 2010 her first novel, By Darkness Hid, won the Christy Award. She loves working with teenagers and gives writing workshops at libraries, schools, camps, and churches. Jill lives in Oregon with her husband and two children. Visit Jill online at www.jillwilliamson.com
Which Safe Lands cover is your favorite?  Does it throw you off if a book trilogy or series suddenly has a different book cover style? Read my review of The Safe Lands #3: Rebels!


2 comments

  1. Agree with you -- the covers are fantastic. Sometimes the covers are too soft or artistic. I likeds these -- Favorite cover: Outcasts, but favorite book: Rebels.
    Thanks for sharing the interview!
    Carol G

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    1. Outcasts is my favorite book cover also (purple is one of my favorite colors)! I don't know if I could choose my favorite book from the trilogy though. =) I love learning about the book cover art process, so I'm glad others enjoyed it as well!

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