It took time to get books two and three where they needed to be. I finished them even before I published the first novel, but polishing up the writing and churning through the beta-reader process turned out to be a lengthy task. Partial rewrites needed to be made, but with the final few readers, several stubborn issues seemed to have been resolved.

In the summer of 2025, an important decision needed to be made. Would I commission the second and third cover in the style of the first, or start over? You’ve undoubtedly seen the outcome: three new covers. But why? First, I found it very difficult to think of two additional compositions that would match with the first cover. Second, the response to the original cover wasn’t what I hoped it would be. I can see why, even though I personally still like it.

As I’m writing this blog post, the designer is trying out ways of showcasing the different types of text on the outer cover: title, a catchphrase maybe, subtitle, author name and blurb. I’ve scrolled through 60 pages of fonts to find the one I wanted, and I’m crazy levels excited to see the outcome. With the cover art already in hand, I know it’ll be good.

And just like that, the journey of writing and publishing this trilogy is at an end.