Thursday, January 16, 2014

Cover Reveal + Giveaway: Thorn

Cover reveals are always fun for me because I'm mildly obsessed with photography, typography and graphic design, and I just love getting that first taste of a book through the artwork on the cover. Today's reveal is particularly exciting for me though because I had the great pleasure of working with author Intisar Khanani to create the design. I was lucky enough to collaborate with her on Sunbolt, the first book in her Sunbolt Chronicles series, so when she asked me to design the cover for Thorn I jumped at the chance.

Below the cover you'll also find a short excerpt and all the details on a fabulous giveaway. I hope you guys like the cover as much as I do, I was beyond thrilled with the final product!

THORN
(Young Adult Fantasy)


For Princess Alyrra, choice is a luxury she’s never had … until she’s betrayed.

Princess Alyrra has never enjoyed the security or power of her rank. Between her family’s cruelty and the court’s contempt, she has spent her life in the shadows. Forced to marry a powerful foreign prince, Alyrra embarks on a journey to meet her betrothed with little hope for a better future.

But powerful men have powerful enemies—and now, so does Alyrra. Betrayed during a magical attack, her identity is switched with another woman’s, giving Alyrra the first choice she’s ever had: to start a new life for herself or fight for a prince she’s never met. But Alyrra soon finds that Prince Kestrin is not at all what she expected. While walking away will cost Kestrin his life, returning to the court may cost Alyrra her own. As Alyrra is coming to realize, sometimes the hardest choice means learning to trust herself.


GoodreadsAmazonAppleB&NDieselSony

• • • • • • • • • • 

EXCERPT

“Princess Alyrra,” the king says. My eyes flick up to his, my legs frozen in their curtsy. He studies me as if I were a prize goat, his gaze sliding over me before returning to my face, as cold and calculating as a butcher. “We have heard tell of you before.”

“My lord?” My voice sounds unnaturally high even to me.

“It is said you are honest. An unusual trait, it would seem.”

I open my mouth, close it, force some semblance of a smile to my lips. My brother has gone rigid, his hands pressed flat against his thighs.

“You are most kind,” my mother says, stepping forward. The king watches me a moment longer, leaving my mother waiting. I cannot say what he thinks, why he would mention something sure to raise old grievances, why he would care. Or is he only toying with us? Laughing at us?

He turns to my mother, offering her a courtly smile, and at her words he accompanies her up the three stairs and through the great wooden doors of our Hall. My brother and I trail behind him, a mix of our nobles and the king’s entourage on our heels.

“Honest Alyrra,” my brother mocks, his voice loud enough for those nearest us to hear. “What a very clever, sophisticated princess you must be.”

I bite my lip. It is going to be a long week, watching my back and hiding down corridors. And with so many guests, the wine and ale will flow freely, which will make things even worse. Just leave, I think at the king’s back. Just go home and leave us alone.

• • • • • • • • • • 

INTISAR KHANANI


Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. Born in Wisconsin, she has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. She first remembers seeing snow on a wintry street in Zurich, Switzerland, and vaguely recollects having breakfast with the orangutans at the Singapore Zoo when she was five.

Intisar currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two young daughters. Until recently, she wrote grants and developed projects to address community health and infant mortality with the Cincinnati Health Department—which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy.

Intisar’s latest projects include a serial novella project titled The Sunbolt Chronicles, about a young thief with a propensity to play hero, and her arch-nemesis, a dark mage intent on taking over the Eleven Kingdoms. She’s also developing a companion trilogy to her debut novel Thorn, which will feature a new heroine introduced in her free short story The Bone Knife.


• • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

59 comments:

  1. Hey Jenny! Developing this cover with you was an awesome experience--it was amazing to watch the design develop and take form. I am really excited to continue to work with you on future projects. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I couldn't agree more Intisar, I had a blast designing this cover with you! Even when we had 23094820934 color schemes we were trying to decide between:)

      Delete
    2. I think there were a couple more color schemes there you forgot to add in to your count... :P

      Delete
  2. Holy Awesomeness Jenny this cover is sooooo pretty!!! Love love LOVE it!! Love the details and the colours and .. well, everything! You are so talented :)

    Oh and I will definitely read something from Intisar Khanani as her books sounds truly great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THANK YOU! I'm really proud of this one, and I'm excited to read it as well. It sounds like an us book:)

      Delete
  3. How cool that you got to help with the cover, Jenny! A perfect spin on your career. And it looks gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! I'm actually designing covers full time now, so I'm really excited:)

      Delete
  4. the cover is lovely, simple yet stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the cover; it's just perfection and looking forward to read a novel by a fellow Arabian author.
    I am excited.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ooh, I love the cover of this one - gorgeous! - and it sounds really intriguing too. Onto my TBR it goes! Thanks for sharing, Jenny!(:

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Keertana, I was so pleased with how it turned out:) Hope you give it a try!

      Delete
  7. I love the new cover! If I saw it at a book store, I would definitely check it out. The colors are awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Christina! We had a heck of a time narrowing the color scheme down, but I love where we ended up:)

      Delete
  8. That's most definitely a gorgeous cover -- love the scrollwork and the use of colors!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, I just LOVE that cover! It's so different, and the actual person is vaguely reminiscent of a Dutch painting I know, too. Plus, those colours...holy wow. I'm definitely intrigued by this one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, thank you! I had so much fun with the illustration on this one, it was everything I hoped it would be when Intisar and I first started chatting:)

      Delete
  10. That is such a gorgeous cover! I love everything about it. It really stands out among other fantasy covers.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You never fail to amaze me, Jenny. It's also damn good timing because I was just thinking about you and your book covers when I woke up this morning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Amanda! I'm super proud of this cover:)

      Delete
  12. The cover is absolutely beautiful. I like the rich colors.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love that you helped design this Jenny, it is so vibrant and eye catching!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Ali! It's one of my favorite designs that I've done:)

      Delete
  14. Such a beautiful cover, Jenny. I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Dude! I'm like, 160% in love with this cover. It's very eye-catching and totally weird and absolutely wonderful! I don't think I've seen anything like it.
    You're made of awesome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THANK YOU MAJA!!!! I'm just so happy with it:)

      Delete
  16. What a beautiful cover! I really love the look of Sunbolt, but I think you may have outdone yourself. Fantastic! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. You are so talented and this cover is just beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love the cover. It's like a textile pattern but not. It's a bit mesmerizing

    ReplyDelete
  19. I KNEW IT! I was thinking it looked like your design. YAY!!!!! You are amazing Jenny! I'm so going to have to share this on da blog! :D

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love the cover it is fresh, and weird and eye catching. I enjoyed the excerpt too. Thanks Jenny this one was totally new to me

    ReplyDelete
  21. Absolute *standing ovation* !

    Jenny's going to have to watch out, or she just might end up designing the rest of my covers for The Rest Of Her Life. :P

    ReplyDelete
  22. I like the colors and style, if I am gonna say anything negative...hm..eh..looks a bit MG? The only thing I can come up with and not really in the end

    ReplyDelete
  23. The beautiful colors and the font style are all incredible, but add the exceptional simplicity of the design, this book cover instantly becomes outstanding!

    ReplyDelete
  24. You did a fantastic job! Such a cool opportunity. The colors really pop against each other. I have never heard of Thorn but this sounds like a great series.

    ReplyDelete
  25. You made this?! I am so envious of people who can make stuff like this. The first one looks great too. That is really awesome, Jenny!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love it! It's bold and beautiful :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. I like the cover I think it is cute! The colors are very vibrant and pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Jenny you amaze me with your talent! This cover is gorgeous! I love the vivid colors and striking design! The story sounds wonderful and magical as well. :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. I think the cover is just stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Love the cover! Absolutely stunning. :o)

    ReplyDelete
  31. This cover is GORGEOUS. So unique and different from other fantasy books out there! I LOVE how it's not some random girl staring sadly into the camera.
    BRILLIANT.

    ReplyDelete
  32. The cover is very striking!

    ReplyDelete
  33. I love, love, LOVE this cover! It's stunning, eye catching and MEMORABLE! I would pick this up by the cover alone (though it sounds wonderful!). I'm jealous of the author for traveling so much in her life!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Lovely colors and design in the cover.

    slehan at juno dot com

    ReplyDelete