Stones of Power cover

I don't know why I haven't put this up here yet. This is the cover of my book, Stones of Power, a fantasy/adventure/historical fiction novel for young adults.

The background picture was taken by a friend of mine in Rome, and when she was showing us her pictures I saw it and was stunned, because it was close to the exact image I'd had in my mind for the cover (at least I could tell it would be after some editing).
It was taken with a disposable camera in low light, so static galore. After much editing, I got it to its current state.

The hand I layered on top belongs to a 10 year old boy from a camp I worked at several summers ago, who kindly agreed to pose for me while I took many pictures of his hands.

The Stoen I found (much the way Stoens are usually found) and again was delighted by how much it looked like my imagination.

I played around with several possible covers, mainly with different hand poses, before settling on this one. I'm very grateful that for my first book I was able to make the cover myself to fit my imagination.

Stones of Power takes place in London in 1801 and centers around a group of orphaned kids living in an abandoned toyshop. Naturally the first part of the book emphasizes the dark underside of a city, which is why I chose to present a dark alleyway (a dark alleyway is also where the story begins). The hand holding the Stoen is supposed to invoke these kids, granted and burdened with knowledge and responsibility, blessed with curiosity and openness to accept fantastical and often magical discoveries.

Disclaimer: I did NOT steal the hand holding something image from Twilight. I in fact designed the cover long BEFORE Twilight was released. Any similarities therein are purely coincidental.

Well, there you have it, and I hope this makes you want to go read the story. You can find it on Amazon at: [link] or check out my website for more information: [link] Stoens of Power is also (sigh) on facebook: [link]

Are you ready to enter a world of magic and secrets?