The Conditions of Will — Cover Illustration for Jessa Hastings
(Bloom Books / Sourcebooks)
I’m honored to have created the cover illustration for The Conditions of Will, the new novel by Jessa Hastings, published in the U.S. by Bloom Books (an imprint of Sourcebooks) in April 2025. This release further expands Hastings’s reach beyond the Magnolia Parks universe into a gritty, emotionally charged family drama — and the cover needed to reflect that evolution.
Concept & Visual Direction
The novel centres on Georgia Carter, a London-based body-language expert returning to her wealthy South Carolina family in the aftermath of her father’s death. Secrets unravel, alliances shift, and a mysterious will triggers deeper reckonings. My aim was to visually capture the themes of legacy, deception, and emotional rupture through a cover that feels sleek yet unsettling.
Production & Finish
The cover illustration from Bloom (Sourcebooks) carries distinctive features: French flaps, deckled edges, and spot-gloss enhancements, giving it a premium feel despite being a paperback. I crafted artwork optimized for both digital thumbnails and physical shelf presence: bold composition, clear title spacing, and emblematic visual cues so the book reads well across platforms.
The colour palette draws on deep charcoals and muted metallics—mirroring the shadowy familial undercurrents—while a hint of warm rust hints at Georgia’s return-home tension. The typography treatment is clean, modern serif with an embedded fine-line motif that echoes body-language readings and hidden cues—key to Georgia’s professional world.
My Role & Highlights
- Full cover illustration by Emmy Lawless, from concept through final print files.
- Collaboration with Bloom/Sourcebooks’ design team to ensure spot gloss, deckled edge and French-flap details were accommodated.
- Focus on the dual market: romance readers and collectors of premium book editions.
- Close attention to thumbnail and online display legibility (for Amazon, Bookshop .org & Goodreads).
- Integration of narrative elements into visual motif: family legacy, secrets, power ≠ safety.
Outcome & Relevance
The Conditions of Will arrives as a mature turn in Hastings’ catalogue — shifting from the glossy glamor of Magnolia Parks to something darker and more introspective. By delivering a cover that retains brand consistency (Hastings’s signature emotional impact) while signaling a new tone, this piece is a strong showcase for my illustration-and-publishing design capabilities.
Collectors and fans will recognize the special-edition cues: deckled edges and spot-gloss finishes elevate the physical object, making it appealing for display as well as reading. For my portfolio, this is an ideal example of illustration + strategic publishing design.
Credits
Release Date: April 1 2025 (U.S.)
Author: Jessa Hastings
Title: The Conditions of Will
Cover Illustration: Emmy Lawless