By Ruth Rowland
Publishing: In Every Lifetime Harper Collins . Elisabeth J. Hobbes
I was delighted to be asked to work on the hand lettered cover artwork for In Every Lifetime, a romantic fantasy book by Elisabeth J. Hobbes.
To give you a flavour of the novel, the author, Elisabeth J. Hobbes was kind enough to write an intriguing overview of the story. As a fantasy fan with an interest in history, it certainly makes me want to read more:
'In Every Lifetime tells the tale of Sigrun, a Viking witch who is exiled by her chieftain lover after a false accusation. She begs her gods for a chance to meet him again and avenge her betrayal. The Fates grant Sigrun's plea but not in the way she expects, reincarnating the estranged couple over a thousand years and across continents. As they meet over and over, Sigrun carries out her vow to take revenge. Each life ends in tragedy, but their shared predicament also brings them closer.'
In Every Lifetime Book Cover: Hand Lettered and Marbled Artwork
To capture the feel of a story told over centuries, the design team at Harper Collins' imprint, One More Chapter, asked me to research decorative letters from the different historical periods mentioned throughout the story. A dream job for someone who is fascinated with letterforms, I enjoyed putting together a variety of initial roughs for the cover, with lettering inspired from a range of periods; Medieval, Viking, Renaissance, Tudor, First World War and even the 1980's, to name but a few...
In Every Lifetime Book Cover Artwork: Initial Ideas
Hand drawn with pen and ink, the main challenge was to create a unified layout for such a wide range of letterforms. The title was then set against a series of dramatic marbled backgrounds, the suminagashi marbling was created with Japanese ink floated on water to create dramatic circular and swirling patterns.
As with all designs, once the initial ideas were presented, I gradually fine-tuned the artwork with feedback from the design team, until the cover was approved. The chosen design combined a clock face and stars with the concentric circles of the marbling to suggest the idea of travelling through time.
I always hope to capture the soul of a story with my work, so I was delighted to hear that the author loved the cover:
'I absolutely adore Ruth's interpretation of the story with her use of lettering that evokes different eras of Sigrun's life, from illuminated manuscripts to 20th century stylings.'
In Every Lifetime Book Cover Artwork: Hand Drawn Decorative Letters
To see more of my hand lettering and illustration for book covers, including author logos, take a look at the Publishing folder here on my website. If, like me, you love ornate letters, you may enjoy browsing my Gilded Decorative Capital Letters, originally created for a workshop at the British Library.
