Experimenting With New Cover Art for ‘Missionary’

The hardest part of writing my first book (and I suspect of writing every book going forward) was the cover design process. All I knew was what I didn’t want: the standard illustrated queer fiction cover that’s been done a zillion times. Not that the art itself is bad, it’s just become so commonplace it blends in.

That’s when I dug into storage and decided to take some photos of my real mission badges and create a cover like none I’d seen, one that carried the Mormon aesthetic to the extreme.

Until I realized why the “Mormon aesthetic” hadn’t been done in the queer space before—it’s painfully boring. I even say as much in my book (see the chapter titled “Temple Day”).

Take also The Book of Mormon. For all the inspiration behind the “translation” of its contents, apparently there was none left over for the cover.

So, I’m finding myself embracing color and queerness more in a second edition cover, and to carry this art style into the second and third books. But I am no less stubborn this time around. I intend on doing this myself—funds are limited, but aspirations are high. I thankfully have an iPad, the Procreate app, and enough time to sketch, color, make mistakes, and refine rough drafts from the comfort of my writing room.

I’m happy with the progress so far, even if there’s still a long way to go. I’ve gone much farther with highlights/colors on Gray and Jacobsen, but take the video above as an early-stage piece of work.

Once finished, it’ll hopefully freshen up my book, present a clearer message about its intentions (particularly that it’s not intended to be a faith-promoting novel or one that will shy away from queerness in its many forms), and satisfy readers who want some illustration beyond a couple of badges and a neutral/conservative background fit for a member of the Twelve Apostles.

Back to drawing (and writing)! :)