Cover Reveal (& Giveaway): Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis

Hello all! Today we are delighted to reveal the cover for Stephanie Burgis’ upcoming novella Snowspelled!

Without further ado, behold! The smugglerific cover!

The Cover:

Cover artist Leesha Hannigan’s website: www.leeshahannigan.com
Cover designer Patrick Samphire’s website: www.patricksamphire.com

Stephanie Burgis on the cover:

When I finished writing my novella Snowspelled, I knew one thing for sure: I wanted to commission original cover art for it – something I’ve never done before.

Oh, my MG publishers have all commissioned wonderful fantasy artists to illustrate the covers of my MG fantasy novels, from Kat, Incorrigible to The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart. But when it came to the just-for-fun, shorter side-projects that I’ve put out myself over the years (including my first-ever novella, Courting Magic), I’ve always relied on cover designers who used stock photos to put together lovely, magical covers without any original art being required.

This time, though, I wasn’t happy with that option. No matter how hard I looked through online libraries of stock photos, I couldn’t find any photos of models in Regency-era clothing who matched my vision of my powerful, strong-willed magician heroine. None of the models who looked just-about-right for her were even shown in any active poses – and Cassandra is someone who is always striding forward to take action in one way or another.

There were one or two photos that I could possibly have lived with, if I’d really had to, and I was trying really hard to force myself into living with one of them for the sake of financial practicality…

But then the fantastic Ilona Andrews (author of many of my favorite romantic fantasy novels in the world!) recommended my novelette The Art of Deception to her readership; the sales went wild for one astonishing and memorable weekend; and by the end of that Sunday night, nigh-on-miraculously, I had enough money from the sales of that particular novelette to commission original cover art for Snowspelled after all.

I can’t even describe how much fun it was to go hunting for fantasy artists! I got to immerse myself in so many different gorgeous galleries of art. When I came across Leesha Hannigan’s work, I knew I’d found exactly the right artist for my story.

Not only did Leesha read the whole novella herself before coming up with her cover concept, but she was incredibly thoughtful, responsive and flexible in imagining all sorts of small and perfect added details for the cover based on the alternate-historical world of my story.

When I saw her final cover art, I actually gasped out loud in delight and astonishment. There was my heroine on the cover! And she was in just exactly the right setting, with just exactly the right mood. There were no compromises involved whatsoever – and it was better than I’d ever imagined.

And when I saw the final cover (with text and additional detailing by cover designer Patrick Samphire)…wow!

I hope you guys love it as much as I do.

About the book

In nineteenth-century Angland, magic is reserved for gentlemen while ladies attend to the more practical business of politics. But Cassandra Harwood has never followed the rules…

Four months ago, Cassandra Harwood was the first woman magician in Angland, and she was betrothed to the brilliant, intense love of her life.

Now Cassandra is trapped in a snowbound house party deep in the elven dales, surrounded by bickering gentleman magicians, manipulative lady politicians, her own interfering family members, and, worst of all, her infuriatingly stubborn ex-fiancé, who refuses to understand that she’s given him up for his own good.

But the greatest danger of all lies outside the manor in the falling snow, where a powerful and malevolent elf-lord lurks…and Cassandra lost all of her own magic four months ago.

To save herself, Cassandra will have to discover exactly what inner powers she still possesses – and risk everything to win a new kind of happiness.

A witty and sparkling romantic fantasy that opens a brand-new series from the author of Kat, Incorrigible, Masks and Shadows and Congress of Secrets.

Volume I of The Harwood Spellbook.

About the giveaway:

Stephanie Burgis is giving away one print of the fabulous cover art. Use the form below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Snowspelled, will be published in print and ebook on September 4. Pre-order the book: Amazon/Smashwords/Kobo