Shades of Love and Betrayal
Shades of Love and Betrayal — Book One of Xylia’s Spectral Removal Service
Author: Ashley Nicole
Ashley approached me with her debut novel, Shades of Love and Betrayal, the first in the Xylia’s Spectral Removal Service series. She wanted a cover that would channel the gothic, urban energy of her story while leaving room for intrigue. My goal was to create a design that felt atmospheric and emotionally charged, reflecting the book’s blend of the supernatural and the deeply personal.
To start, Ashley shared a carefully curated moodboard and selected chapters from her manuscript. These became the foundation for my early explorations, guiding me through multiple directions before we arrived at the imagery that best captured her vision.
Book Blurb (as published):
Sometimes, the ghosts you chase… are your own.
Xylia Morin sees what others can’t. As an air elemental with the ability to communicate with the dead, she’s built her career around banishing spirits the living don’t want to deal with.
Fresh off a brutal breakup and balancing unresolved grief, the last thing Xylia expects is Blaine Nyrelakar: a clean-shaven vampire with a reputation, a sordid past, and her sister’s boyfriend. When Blaine becomes tangled in her latest case, the two are thrust together in ways neither of them planned—and the spark between them refuses to stay buried.
As old enemies reemerge and unspeakable truths claw their way to the surface, Xylia must decide what she’s willing to risk for the kind of love that threatens to unravel everything she thought she knew—including herself.
Darkly romantic, emotionally charged, and dripping with spectral suspense, Shades of Love and Betrayal is the first book in the Xylia’s Spectral Removal Service series.
Creative Direction & Strategy
The foundation of the design came from interpreting the layered atmosphere of the story rather than recreating specific scenes. The chapters I reviewed gave me a sense of the world’s weight—its shadows, its tension, and the emotional undercurrents running through Xylia’s journey. From there, I explored visual directions that played with different aspects of gothic storytelling: eerie spectral presence, urban grit, and dark romanticism.
The direction that resonated most was the pairing of Xylia with a shadowed figure—an image layered with uncertainty and allure. Surrounding details—skulls, roses, crystals, and curling smoke—were deliberately chosen as symbolic elements, anchoring the cover in themes of mortality, love, and betrayal while leaving space for readers to wonder about the connections within the story.
The final palette of crimson, black, and ash tones creates a cinematic darkness, while sharp serif typography and ornate flourishes lend a gothic refinement. Together, these decisions built a cover that feels atmospheric, unsettling, and magnetic—an invitation into Xylia’s spectral world.
Final Deliverables
Custom full wraparound cover (front, spine, and back)
Ebook cover adaptation
Typography and layout design
Social media graphics for posts and promotional campaigns
High-resolution artwork prepared for both print and digital publishing
Impact
The final cover immediately positioned Shades of Love and Betrayal within the gothic urban fantasy space, drawing in readers who resonate with dark romance and supernatural suspense. Its atmospheric design created anticipation even before release, giving the author a striking visual identity to anchor her debut. Beyond the book itself, the imagery extended seamlessly into social media campaigns and launch materials, helping to build early buzz and set the tone for future installments in the series.
You can find Ashley here:
