This is the official cover of Never To Live. The first draft was quite different. It was amazing artwork but it portrayed Elwyn, the protagonist, in a much different light. Elwyn’s personality is fragmented into multiple parts, and the ‘fragment’, or ‘personality’, the artist displayed wasn’t how we wanted Elwyn’s initial presentation to be. We went back to the drawing board.
I believe this cover portrays Elwyn much better than the first draft did. I love how the artist included Elwyn’s weapons, the twin swords and chain, and the follcora neckband that’s wrapped around her upper arm. What’s a follcora? You’ll have to read the book to find out. :)
Another element of the cover that I love is Knite, the panther. I didn’t expect him to be included in the art, but now I can’t imagine it without him. He is a pivotal part of several moments in the book that deeply affect Elwyn. And I just love Knite. He’s pretty awesome. :)
Here is the back of the novel. My publisher and I bounced the back blurb back and forth several times. I came up with the original idea and sent it to him. He changed it and sent it back to me. Then we took turns editing sentences, cutting things, adding things, until we had this. We both gave our thumbs up and he sent it along to the cover designer. This is how it turned out.
Here’s what the back blurb says. It kind of got cut off. :)
Imprisoned, Elwyn endures torture so horrific she drives herself insane to elude true madness.
She finally escapes, but at the deadly cost of the only remaining friend she has.
Now, unless her broken mind is playing another cruel trick, she discovers she is turning into the monster she despises most of all.
Amidst fighters and fairies, demons and dragons, traitors wear the face of friend as she searches for the lost fragments of her mind.
Now Elwyn is the only one mad enough to face the Monster of the Kings, but she is more likely to destroy herself before even finding him.
Just B. Jordan is an award-winning author of fantasy and sci-fi. She graduated high school a year early and received her first publishing contract at the age of 18. To Ashes We Run is her most recent novel. Find it here.
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