Anatomy of an Erotic Romance Cover: Crossfade

The fourth Anatomy of an Erotic Romance Cover! How exciting. I'm here today to talk about the new series SILVER CITY STORIES.

So, a little history lesson. Back in the middle of 2019, I had an idea for a story. I finished writing it in January 2020. Then Covid hit, and we here at Broken Wings Media just mentally checked out. No more writing. No more editing. 

Even though we were lost in a void of existential dread, I was still plotting. This one story inspired a whole series I now call SILVER CITY STORIES. I have several stories planned. Somewhere along the middle of 2020, one such story grew in my mind. The only problem was that, chronologically, it took place before the story I had written in 2020.

Oh well, I guess story 2020 is book 2 now.

I thought it was going to be something like 7,500 words. It really wasn't. It was far bigger than that.

From July 2020 to January 2021, I had written this 25k word book. I named it CROSSFADE.
As always happens with me, the cover was made before the manuscript was finished.

It all started with a visualization of sound.

You know how it is, you're looking for a free sound-byte for some reason you can no longer remember, because what is time, anymore? While poking around royalty free music collections, you find one sound that looks exceptionally yonic.

And then you get fucking inspired.

I recreated the visualization in Photoshop and gave it extra colours. Some more glow. Some more pink. More suggestive.

After perfecting the sound, finding a suitable image was simple. 

Courtesy of Roman Khripkov on Unsplash.

The colour scheme was fun, because I had decided the SILVER CITY STORIES would be vaguely neon and bright, with lots of purples and blues and pinks. I had already made the cover for that 2019-2020 book, so I just sort of snatched some of the filters and overlays from it.

I ended up with this first version.

But it was too eye-searingly extreme so I had to tone it down.

I also played around with positioning 

Finally I ended up with this...

One half of the loving couple lives across from a bar and the neon light illuminates her loft with reds and I tried to evoke that idea. I also like the contrast between the dull red and the neon pinks and blues. 

Since this is the first book in a series, I'm going to try keep a theme going and have all the covers look cohesive. Let's see how that turns out.

Maxine Cross is young, ambitious and full of desires. Working as the personal assistant of one of the most powerful men in the Silver City music scene, Max knows it's her only way to get her foot in the door. When she meets singer/songwriter Fade, Max sees in her the key to take her career to the next level. As they work together, passions grow between the two women.

But, the entertainment business is teeming with snakes and when Max's abusive boss crosses a line, the women begin to drift apart. Can they find it within themselves to fight for their dreams in a world that sees them as expendable objects? Or will Fade just become another star that burns out?

CROSSFADE is a first time lesbian romance that features explicit sexual content and disturbing topics. It is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. Reader discretion is advised.

CROSSFADE is available for pre-order now.