Starting later this month, you’ll see a new look to my book series for teens, Between Worlds. My graphics designer made some changes to her business, so it no longer made sense for the two of us to work together. I’m unveiling the new look today!

Meet Michelle Fairbanks of Fresh Design

I found Michelle Fairbanks, a Canadian book cover designer, through a referral. With almost 20 years’ experience in graphics design, Michelle took the time to get to know the series, and we bounced a lot of ideas back and forth. Not wanting to ask a graphics designer to have to work with someone else’s designs, I gave Michelle the go-ahead to redesign the series from scratch.

A Change in the Design of the “Between Worlds” Books

At the beginning of Michelle’s process, we brainstormed a lot of ideas, including whether to depict Juliana and Elisabeth on each cover, as the original covers do. We chose not to for two reasons, even though book series for teens often have people on the covers.

First, creating Elisabeth for each cover was becoming increasingly difficult. Because of the specifics of her time and fashion, my previous designer and I always had to settle for “good enough.” That doesn’t do Elisabeth justice.

Second, the hardest thing to do is to summarize a novel in one sentence. In the world of graphics, that’s one image. But once you get that image, it says more than words can say. In a sense, it gives the reader a similar experience to what Juliana goes through when she picks up Elisabeth’s journal of drawings.

Simple + Bold: Perfect for a Young Adult Series

I hope you’ll agree with me: the new covers boast a fresh, bold, simplified look for the series. When I recently asked a group of teens I didn’t know about the covers, they all said they’d definitely pick these books up off the shelf to see what they’re about. That’s the purpose of a good cover.

I’ve also re-written the back cover copy, and the interiors will have a new look, too. I don’t know how fast my distributor’s channels work, but you should be able to order the new covers by the end of September at the latest.

New Cover Design Rollout

If you want any of the old covers to complete your current collection, I still have some in stock and would be happy to ship them anywhere in Canada for free. Signed, of course. Email me with the books you’d like to order and your address. (I can’t ship to other countries because of tax laws.) If you live in Waterloo Region, Ontario, or will be visiting, all three local Indigo stores currently have them on their shelves.

I’m a one-woman show here in Waterloo, so you’ll see the new covers roll out over the course of September. However, I’ll do my best to make sure that all books for sale are updated on the same day.

I hope you love these new covers as much as I do. Between Worlds 5 is still on schedule and will be released in November. Sign up to my enewsletter (on the right, there) to get the latest news about Between Worlds and other writing projects directly in your inbox.

Thanks for reading!