DAW wanted to go with a new cover artist for The Stepsister Scheme and future princess books. Yesterday, my editor passed along the name of my new cover artist.

...and I'm not going to tell you. Not because I want to be cruel, but because nothing is guaranteed. I've watched this process with other authors and books, where one artist was assigned to do the cover, only to have family emergencies get in the way of being able to produce the work. Or else the artist painted something that simply didn't work. For whatever reason, the author's book ends up with a completely new artist at the last minute. So until we have approved artwork in hand, I don't feel right blabbing the name.

I will say I'm pleased with the choice. This isn't one of the names I had passed along as a possibility, but having looked through his gallery, I'm very much looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. His work is colorful and attractive, and he does a good job of giving each character his or her own look, so I think he'll do a good job with Danielle, Snow, and Talia. I'm told he's also excited about the concept for the books, which is a good sign.

I was very grateful to Mel Grant for the work he did on the goblin covers. One thing that helped is how much Mel enjoyed the stories. The cover artist doesn't always read the books, but Mel did, and it showed. I don't know if the new artist will have the time to read the books or not, but at the very least if he's excited about the idea, that will hopefully come through in the final product.

So, throwing it out to the readers, what are the most attractive covers you've seen lately, and what makes them work? Feel free to paste thumbnails in your comments.