Reflections on my Half-Blood Mage Cover + Diversity in YA fantasy Novels
My debut novel, Half-Blood Mage is finally out!
Should Lia be Asian?
Honestly, I debated whether to make Lia Asian at all.
Her "Asian-ess" (in this case, I imagined her to be half-Taiwanese, half-Caucasian) doesn't really have anything to do with her story. She doesn't speak another language. I don't really bring up her multiracial upbringing that often. And her mixed-background isn't super important to her story arc. Lia could honestly look like anyone. Or have any background. The only key feature she needed to have was heterochromia.
But here's the reason why I made Lia Asian: I'm Asian. My parents are originally from Taiwan. And I married an Asian man. So I've experienced life through a very Asian American perspective.
Sure, I could have made Lia another race, but I guess selfishly, I wanted a little bit of myself represented in her.
Does that make me a bad writer? Does this mean I don't have enough creativity to write about a character that is completely different than me? Maybe. And maybe in the future, I will write about people (or monsters or vampires or talking plants or whatever!) from other races and cultures.
But this is my first novel and I could only write a story that felt true and right to me. And that meant that Lia had to be Asian too.
Which then led me to the next question... what should I put on my cover?
Covers with Fonts and Symbols vs. Covers with Characters
I knew that I wanted to work with K.D. Ritchie from Story Wrappers the moment I saw her dreamy covers. But I debated long and hard whether to put my Asian protagonist on the front cover.
While there are some YA fantasy / Sci-Fi authors that still stick characters on their book covers (think Cassandra Clare and Sarah J. Maas) it seems like far more novels display a cool font and simple, symbolic images (think of authors like Holly Black, Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, or Brigid Kemmerer.)
When I did my research online, it seemed like most Indie YA Fantasy books published on Amazon followed the character route.
As a first-time Indie author, I really debated what to do. Personally, I think covers with fonts and symbols look really timeless and cool. Every Holly Black cover makes me drool.
And I leaned towards those for a while.
But then I read these articles detailing
- racism in YA novels (written in 2012, so I realize it's old, but it still brings up good points)
- the importance of representation in YA novels (not just for book covers, but authors too)
- a historical look into racial representation in books
- comparative research highlighting the visibility and diversity in YA novel covers between 2014 + 2018
- what it feels like to never see yourself represented in media
and I felt like my mind was made up. I was going to go the character route. And in fact, I was going to put a female of very clear Asian descent on the cover.
Front and Center. Full Face. For all the world to see.
You see, growing up I read a lot of fantasy novels. And I don't recall many of them starring POC as main characters. (Mind you, this was back in the 90s and 00s, so that does date me a bit.) But I think teenage me (and even 20-year-old me) would have really appreciated seeing someone who looked like me on the cover.
So that's how my cover came to be. (By the way, if you want to see the inspiration board I created for my graphic designer, check out this Pinterest Board.)
And if you happen to be looking for more YA Fantasy / Sci-Fi Novels that showcase a diverse cast of characters, check out these novels below! You might just find a new favorite read. 😊
More Diverse YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi Novels!
Hungry for more? Check out these lists:
Keep on reading, friends!
Ginger
I appreciate your openness as you let your readers and supporters see the multitude of tough decisions you make regularly as an indie author. As a fellow indie fantasy author and person of color, I value representation and diversity in fantasy books as well.
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