Cover Reveal: Political Damage
Of all the things that stress me out about releasing a book, the cover is absolutely in the top three of Most Stressful Things. They say don’t judge a book by the cover, but people absolutely judge books by covers, and so, you’ll find me staring at my screen and second guessing every cover decision in the wee morning hours, hoping I got it right, or at least right enough.
Political Damage is, at the end of the day, a romance. Romances are contractually obligated to provide the reader with a happy ending, or at least a happy for now. But Political Damage starts heavy. It picks up where Political Capital left off, and one last secret from Kage’s past proceeds to upend everything.
Lyla and Kage fell in love in Political Gain.
Secrets were revealed and the danger amplified in Political Capital.
Political Damage is the aftermath.
Kage, Lyla, and their friends have spent years navigating loss, the weight of responsibilities they didn’t ask for, and merely trying to survive. There’s a beautiful exchange between Kage and another character (no spoilers!) that sums up where they are in this book, especially Kage:
“We’ve been through a lot of shit, haven’t we?” I ask.
“Surely we get a break now,” he says. “It’s our turn to live a peaceful life.”
“I have no idea what that’s like,” I admit. “I can hardly remember a time when things weren’t in a constant state of chaos.”
“That’s the beauty of it,” he says. “We get to decide what it looks like.”
It was that exchange that gave me inspiration for the cover: reflection.
The Political Gain cover is dark and gritty. Political Capital’s cover reflects the sun setting over the city in a representation of the sun setting on life as our characters knew it.
Political Damage sees the run rising on a new day as Kage and Lyla reflect on where they’ve been and where they want to go.
And how they’re going to get there.
Political Damage comes with a content warning about mental health, and resources for those who may be struggling. It also ends on a note of hope. I see that hope in this cover, in the skyline reflecting on the water, and the sun rising on a new chapter, a chance for a peaceful life.
Political Damage will be released on November 19th in ebook, paperback, and on Kindle Unlimited or I suppose its Kindle+ now. Preorder the ebook here.
I’m excited to share this final chapter of Kage and Lyla’s story with you. May I recommend having tissues nearby? You may want a sleeve of Double Stuf Oreos, too.
