Initially I tried to come up with a fancy or funny title for this post but I decided short and to the point was better. So dear friends, this post is all about the absolutely gorgeous cover for my forthcoming book, Beautiful & Full of Monsters, which will be published in March 2020 by Vegetarian Alcoholic Press.

Shortly after signing my contract with V.A. Press I started talking to Freddy, the Editor-in-Chief, about the cover. He informed me he had several artists/graphic designers he worked with but he also gave his poets a lot of freedom in the cover art. This was, of course, just what I wanted to hear. When Freddy confirmed I could choose the artwork, I moved forward with my plan. But before I get into the nitty gritty details, let me back up a bit.

A little over a year ago, my poem, because, was included in Hypertrophic Literary’s Spring 2018 issue. That issue featured artwork by Victoria Olt and I fell completely in love with her artwork. I would go so far as to say I was (am) a little obsessed with it. But go take a peek at her website or follow her on Instagram and you’ll immediately understand and begin to obsess too. She’s AMAZING.

So I’m in love with this artist’s work and I’ve been following her online since I discovered her artwork through Hypertrophic Lit. Once I knew V.A. Press allowed me the freedom to choose my own artwork I reached out to Victoria and asked if she ever allowed writers to use her artwork for their books. After a few exchanges back and forth, we came to an agreement: I would purchase an original painting from her and in addition to getting a beautiful, original piece of artwork for my home, she would also send me a high res digital copy of the painting I wanted for my cover. This was a win-win for me as I had been considering buying a new piece of artwork for my home office, and I love supporting working artists. After our agreement was made, I went online and purchased the original painting. This beauty now hangs in my office:

But as gorgeous as that artwork is — and trust me, it looks fantastic hanging on my office wall — that’s not the cover of my book.

Here, my dear friends, is the cover of my book:

I’m completely, totally in love with the cover. It turned out better than I imagined and captures the essence of the book.

It’s still months away from my publication date but I just couldn’t wait to share the cover with you! I hope you love it as much as I do!