Creating the Cover Art for The Wind Mage of Maijev

I’ve been rummaging through my older newsletters for blog content (circa 2018/2019), and I came across an email with my behind-the-scenes process of how I put together the cover of The Wind Mage of Maijev.

So, today, I’m revisiting that. 😊

Below you can see the stock images that went into it, and then the final version:

Since the storm plays a major role in the story (including the cause of most of the conflict), it seemed fitting to include that element. Plus, the walls leading to the entrance seemed to work well with the walled city of Maijev. Livena, the main character, isn’t particularly excited about her magic, so I removed the outspread arms, but still, she faces the storm… which she ultimately must face if she is to deal with her magic.

Here’s the final version:

I used the same photomanipulation technique for the next book in the Legends of Cirena series, The Gryphon and the Mountain Bear, but afterward switched to Daz 3D renders so I would have more flexibility with how I illustrated the covers.

An example of the Daz style covers comes with book #7 in the series, The Wind Mage and the Wolf:

SBibb - The Wind Mage and the Wolf Cover

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As a note… I try to keep The Wind Mage of Maijev ebook available for FREE, so if you’re interested in reading this one, grab it from your favorite retailer!

(Just be sure to double-check the price before buying. Amazon especially is notorious for switching the permafree price back to its paid price, since they rely on price-matching rather than allowing authors to set the price to free).

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Happy reading and writing! 📚