One of my favorite memories during the publishing process for Realm was when BookBaby nailed my cover on the first try. I could not have been more surprised and prouder of how they correctly interpreted my combination hand-drawn/Word printed picture diagrammed like a science project complete with descriptions as I envisioned them.

Armed with such perfect cover art, naturally I wanted to share it on social media via a cover reveal. And because I was a new author experiencing the world of publishing for the first time, I asked BookBaby if I had permission to do so. My Publishing Specialist was so patient with me as she explained that I owned this cover and was free to do with it as I pleased.

All that to say, my cover reveal was incredibly well received. One of my favorite comments came from a fellow writer who said, “That will sell, my friend! Congratulations!”

I launched Realm in April, and it was probably because my launch party was so positively charged with energy and activity, and I was fast and furiously signing books, that I did not have the opportunity to assess people’s reactions to my fabulous cover.

But I have since.

Realm is tricky to place in a genre. Fiction, Speculative, Futuristic, Fantasy, Sci-fi, and Christian have all been used to describe Realm depending on where you shop for it. Ideally, these genres/subgenres appear in some sort of descending order to assist a potential reader with zeroing in on the exact book he or she wants to read. That is, the purpose of the labeling is to eliminate all risk.

Life without risks? What a horrible way to live.

I guess what really surprises me, and I’ll do my best to not get on my soapbox here, is that people who spend upwards of seven dollars on a cup of coffee without blinking an eye cannot purchase a book unless they are one hundred percent assured that they will absolutely love it. Seriously? Again, who lives like that?

Well, you might be surprised. Or maybe not if you’re an artist.

I don’t have an exact tally, but I know that I have not loved every book I’ve ever read. It would be easier to list the ones that I adored and could read repeatedly and gush about for hours. The others I enjoyed to varying degrees. But one thing I can honestly say about every book I’ve ever finished reading. I was not afraid to take a chance on the story; each one was worth the risk.

So, back to the cover of Realm. What I so dearly loved has given many people pause because it simply did not look like what they were expecting even when paired with one of the genres listed above. In short, people weren’t willing to take a chance on Realm. They deemed it too risky.

They missed out on an incredible story because they were afraid to invest not just their money or time but themselves.

Every book I have ever read is a part of me. They have influenced me positively and negatively, teaching me what to do or not do, inspiring or cautioning me. And that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

The sadder fact is that beyond failing to treat themselves to an amazing journey through the Realm, such people use the same method of categorizing and assessing other people. And thus, they miss out on what could have been a wonderful journey through friendship.

Avoiding someone simply because they don’t measure up in appearance to your expectations is the narrowest way to live. Seemingly innocent comments such as “She doesn’t look like a Christian” or “He doesn’t look like a believer” can quickly deteriorate into “There goes ole so-and-so up to the altar to be prayed for again.” And this is said without anyone taking the time to find out what ‘ole so-and-so’ is going through because everyone was too afraid to get past the cover.

Do you understand?

The cover of Realm will never fail to please me, but more than the artwork on the front of my novel, what’s inside still thrills and inspires me—and I’m the author! That’s because I took risks that thrust me into the world of publishing. I placed the entire Realm project into the hands of Adonai. I conquered my fears and handed my manuscript over to beta readers, my editor, my publisher, and finally to you, dear reader.

Realm is your story. It was written for and about you. It is every person’s journey to themselves and back. It’s a risk that you’ll never be sorry for taking and a challenge to which you can return again and again.

But you’ll never know if you can’t make it past the cover.