I’m delighted to share the cover for THE BLACKFIRE BLADE, the second book in the Last Legacy series! Art by the man, the legend, Jeff Brown.
To say I’m thrilled with how this turned out would be an understatement. Just as he did for The Silverblood Promise, Jeff somehow saw the exact image I had in my head and brought it to life (I will take some credit here; I regularly brief book covers in my editorial day job, so I know what I’m doing.) Even so, it doesn’t always work out exactly how you hoped. Jeff, however, totally understood what I wanted, and delivered it to the finest detail.
The process was much the same as it was for Silverblood. I worked up a detailed cover brief, which included visual prompts and examples, and then we had a 90-minute Zoom call to discuss the cover and hash out a rough sketch.
Here’s the result of that call. (Watching Jeff work in real time is a privilege; nothing beats seeing the vision you have slowly coming to life before your eyes.)
Despite this just being a sketch, you can already get a very strong impression of how the final cover will look, and if you compare it to the final version, not a huge amount really changed with the general composition.
In the weeks following the call, we had a series of back-and-forth exchanges, where Jeff would share an updated sketch, and I’d provide feedback. Each time we’d hone it a little more. Sometimes directions were taken that didn’t work out, and we had to backtrack, but that’s normal for a cover design process. There’s always a bit of trial and error involved, even when both parties are highly experienced at their respective roles.
Locking in the composition was the toughest part – it took a bit of time to get the building in the foreground right, and to get the tower the correct distance in the background – but once that was done, it was simply a case of Jeff finessing all the detail. And then the final part of the process is Jeff rolling his eyes while I send endless “Jeff! One more thing! Can we just try this…” emails. (I am something of a perfectionist; I pay great attention to the small details, because sometimes they take the cover to another level. Try adding a flock of birds to a fantasy landscape cover – doesn’t it immediately feel a bit more epic?
After a few weeks, we were done. Here’s the full panorama.
Awesome, right? I love the sheer atmosphere that oozes from every stone. I love the colour palette too, which is very deliberate: right from the start, I wanted a dark, moody cover that had just the one bright burst of colour. I think such illustrations are very effective, and this is no exception. Jeff did a brilliant job, and I’m already excited for the cover for book three (though I’ve no idea at this stage what might be on it). Still, that’s a way away.
The Blackfire Blade will publish worldwide in November ’25. Yep, I know. It’s a way off. It was going to be summer, but I needed more time to write the book. I’m not a particularly fast writer, and I’m not prepared to sacrifice quality to hit a deadline. I don’t want to release a book I’m not happy with, and be left regretting not taking longer to get it right. A delayed book is eventually good; a rushed book will be rushed forever. Better to take your time, get it right, and put out something you feel does you and your readers justice. These extra months will result in a better book in November next year. I’m excited to share it with you.
But first I’ve got to finish it.
So, it’s back to the word mines for now.
Before I go, do check out Jeff’s website. If you’re an author looking for a cover illustrator, I can’t recommend Jeff highly enough. A brilliant artist and a great guy who is super easy to work with.
James Logan 