#owlcrate cover

[sheydgarden]

finally able to share a big project from the end of last year, just released this month - my gold foil hardcover designs for the @owlcrate edition of Laura R. Samotin's dark Jewish fantasy The Sins on Their Bones

this was done entirely in Illustrator & i'm absolutely thrilled with how it came out in print! of course i'm only sharing my own contribution to the book here, but many other incredible artists worked on this special release - the (double-sided) dustjacket & interior art are fantastic so make sure to check them out too.

stay tuned for the other collaborations that grew out of this one - i've got a dustjacket cover coming out for OwlCrate's June adult fantasy box & am doing some secret work with Laura related to another upcoming book!

[bookishlyvintage]

A ✨️ moment ✨️ for one of my favs

[theaologies]

Never speak to me or my $65 worth of free Locked Tomb candles ever again

[rochellehassan]

the ebook of The Buried and the Bound is currently on sale for $2.99, so now is the time to grab it! it's a witchy, queer YA contemporary fantasy about three teenagers fighting an Evil Thing In The Woods, and, in my totally unbiased opinion, a pretty good fall read

[readingrobin]

That moment when OwlCrate gives you a book that you've been eagerly anticipating only for the exclusive cover to be entirely disappointing compared to the original.

[itsallwearecalledtodo]

my copy of Moira’s pen arrived >:)

[rnoonjelly]

experiencing a new addiction (can't stop buying special editions of books I've never read before because Cover Pretty and I get fomo)

[saintdri]

I'm pathologically fearful of sharing art I do for work online anymore but this just simply means to much for me not to commemorate it so I'm taking advantage of my surge of courage this morning.

Anyway here's some cover art I made for the 10 year Anniversary editions of the Raven Cycle for Owlcrate

[jasonntodd]

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[yeehawdickthree]

trc owlcrate dust cover art is sublime

[someonelookingpraediti]

Special Editions

All for the Game Rainbow Crate Edition

It's been the best part of a year since I last did an unboxing post. I have still been receiving subscription boxes, and I've even been taking photos of them, with the intention of catching up on my blog posts, but it's now been so long that the idea of sitting down and catching up on ten months of posts is just too daunting.

So I'm just going to forget all the ones I've missed, and start afresh.

And here it is - the big one. Rainbow Crate's hardback editions of the original "All for the Game" trilogy!

There's been a lot of complaints online about these - they were a lot of money, and people have been really disappointed. But I have to say, I am so, so impressed with these books!

The reason people are complaining is that there are some printing errors on the dust jackets. Basically, some of the information on the flaps is wrong, and the blurbs have been mixed around. But it's only the dust jackets that are wrong, and that is such an easy fix.

And Rainbow Crate handled it really well, in my opinion. Before I'd even received my books, I had an email from them with a form to order replacement dust jackets for free. An easy solution.

I can't help but compare this to the last set of messed-up special editions I received, which was The Raven Cycle by Owlcrate. They had the exact same issue - the dust jackets were misprinted. For them, it was the colour that was wrong - they'd been printed green instead of blue. But instead of reprinting the dust jackets, they refused to acknowledge their mistake, and brushed people off.

Looking back, I really do think that was what made me lose my passion for this blog, and consequentially, for reading in general. I've really struggled to find joy in it ever since, and have moved on to new things. I just spent so much time stewing over it, that I got into a really bad mindset.

But maybe these Rainbow Crate editions will save me!

Dust Jackets:

I have to say, when they first announced their jacket design, I wasn't that excited about it. But it has grown on me, and I really like it now, despite the fact that it looks more like Enhypen fanart than Foxes artwork! Rainbow Crate also changed the jacket font after they went on sale. I don't know why they made the change after the artwork had already been finalised, but it made such a huge difference! The artwork looks so much better with the new, bolder font.

The inside of the jackets have the original (terrible) self-published cover designs, but they're sharper and foiled and not off-centre, so actually they somehow look professional?! I'm impressed that they managed to save those designs! The originals were awful, but the Rainbow Crate versions look nice!

Hardcase:

I actually almost wish that I had ordered two copies, although I really couldn't have afforded it. Because the hardcase designs are so gorgeous, I want to be able to display them! I've always loved this character art by llstarcasterll, so I'm thrilled to have it on the covers!

And I didn't realised there would be ribbon bookmarks, but I've never been so impressed with such a small detail! I always think a ribbon bookmark really makes a special edition, but these ones go so much further. They're each printed with a different quote! When I saw that, honestly, I was blown away!

Endpapers:

The endpapers are designed by my absolute favourite AFTG artist, ouijacine, so I was going to love them, no matter what. There are six different endpapers, two per book, and they're all beautiful.

I don't know what the rules are about selling art a publisher or subscription box has commissioned, but I'm hoping she'll be able to sell these as prints on her website, because I would definitely love to have some of these on my wall.

Sprayed Edges:

The edges are fairly standard, with the fox paw, key, and chess piece design stencilled in white, but I really like that the background colour for each one isn't just solid, it matches the dust jacket design. I guess this isn't quite so good if you're planning to display them with the reverse jackets or as naked hardcases. But I think they're still nice anyway.

And bonus points because even the outbox was amazing?! They'd had a special orange AFTG shipping box made, with a fox print on top, and quotes from the books. My one criticism with this is that it was very snug to the books, so if there had been any damage to the outbox, it probably would have transferred through to the books. A bit more room for bubble wrap would have been good. But it was so special coming home and seeing this beautiful orange box waiting on my doorstep, and knowing exactly what was inside!

I haven't read the bonus chapters yet, but I believe there's one at the end of each book. And all three books had tip-in signatures, which makes them extra special.

Overall, this was a total win, in my eyes. I think they've done a really good job with these editions, and there isn't anything more I could have asked from them. The only issue is with the misprinted jackets, and I was really impressed with the way Rainbow Crate resolved it so quickly and easily.

[cartograffiti]

Links starter kit for Queen's Thief fans

...for folks checking us out from Reddit and other fans looking for something new.

First, did you know the author herself is on Tumblr? Megan Whalen Turner keeps an active blog, and reblogs lots of interesting art, as well as posts about her own books: @meganwhalenturner

Emily B. Martin, a longstanding fan who was commissioned to make the wonderful promotional character portraits in 2020, has a blog here as well: @emilybeemartin

Many of the artists who have done cover art for the series are easy to find on Instagram, if you're also exploring over there. On Tumblr I've only found Antonello Venditti, who did the stunning Italian editions of The Thief | Il Ladro and The Queen of Attolia | La Regina di Attolia. He's here: @vendittiantonello

A good fan blog to check out first is the collaborative @fuckyeahqueensthief. Look through their archive to find many fan artists and other fans to follow!

If you're interested in fanworks events, the Hamiathes' Gift Exchange is planning to announce their 2023 schedule soon! They're on Tumblr for information at @hamiathesgiftexchange, with works to be posted on Ao3.

And if you'd like to look beyond Tumblr to meet people, look at the long-running LiveJournal group Eddis, Attolia, Sounis (often just "Sounis," to whom Return of the Thief was dedicated). They're here: https://sounis.livejournal.com/. On Discord, there's The Geninsula (Gen's peninsula): https://discord.gg/JYJufae. Both groups are some of the best their respective sites have to offer, imho.

And if you didn't find this post because you came from Reddit, go check out r/queensthief! I love those folks, too. And did you know there's MWT-approved official merch for the series, now, too? OwlCrate sells it.

Feel free to add more favorites in the replies!

[bookishlyvintage]

Divine Rivals, Rebecca Ross [more details]

[theaologies]

Not going to keep the Owlcrate edition of Evocation (even though Fairyloot’s was just a recolour cover the edges are really sexy) but the art at the back is really cute

[freerangetropicalbirds]

I was tagged by @friendly-jester, thanks ^^

I tag @treflev-favs, @geegees-girl, @pollygirl65, @thewatereddownblog, @the-rivernyx, @furrybasementcandy, and anyone else who wants to participate ❤️

[sweetingseva]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fz5B8aYakAAUxW-?format=jpg&name=small have you seen this? do you know where its from? cause i saw someone on twitter saying its an alternative cover but i could not find anything about it. she is wearing the same dress as those alternative jackets(?) so its possible its official but not sure

Hello!

This art is actually from the Owlcrate edition, and it's not an alternate cover. But this will go on the inside of the dust jacket 😊

It looks to be this scene from Chapter 33 of TBONA 💔