{Exclusive Guest Post+Giveaway} The #KeepofAges by @CaraghMOBrien

Naturally, I would love to take some credit for the striking covers of the Vault of Dreamers series, but the work was done entirely by Elizabeth H. Clark, the Art Director at Macmillan Children’s. Beth not only created the cover; she also designed the layout of the novels and created the recurring images which head up each chapter. She made the final call on the fonts for certain voices, letters, and emails in the series, and she also oversaw Chris B. Murray, the artist who transformed my sketchy diagrams into riveting maps.

The first time I saw the cover of The Vault of Dreamers, I was surprised by its clean, bold look.  The fiery, electric eye drew me in, and the dial-type markings around the circle suggested a camera lens or a bank vault. The longer I looked at the image, the more it suggested both lurking danger and infinite, cerebral space. Mesmerizing and futuristic, it promised an intense, psychological read. Perfect, I thought. It was the sort of cover my character Rosie would instantly appreciate.

If you think back to 2014 when the series began, you’ll recall that many YA covers at the time were more narrative than iconographic, highlighting dresses and windswept hair. To me, the Vault cover was both timeless and refreshingly different. I knew my publisher was taking a chance with a cover so unusual, but I also knew it would stand out. Since the novel itself takes artistic risks, it seemed fitting to have a cover that took risks also.

The subsequent covers in the series clearly riff on the same theme, with a black background for the second book and now a gold one for The Keep of Ages. The “eye” sections have given us cracked glass and a grid-like, finely dotted overlay which match the fractured personalities and consciousnesses of the novels. They are, frankly, splendid. I’m eager for the moment when I can put all three books side by side for the first time and see the covers together.