Quick storytime! Testament of the Stars by Alexandra Beaumont was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I was eagerly awaiting the cover reveal, because I am a sucker for a lovely cover especially on a fantasy book. It’s impossible to describe my excitement when I discovered that none other than Audrey Golden was doing the art! Audrey did the map and interior illustrations for my own book Unraveled and also happens to be my good pal and sister…as well as one of the kindest, wittiest, and most talented people I know!
To celebrate the upcoming release of Testament of the Stars, I am delighted to present an interview with Audrey today. My own review of the book will be coming on release day, which is April 26. Read more about the book here and check out the stunning cover art below.
CG: Hello thank you for showing up on my humble blog!
AG: Thanks for having me! I consider myself one of the OG fans of your blog, so naturally I’m pretty excited to be featured on here.
CG: Yeah, you were the only person who read this blog for, like, the first two years that I was writing it. I appreciate you being here.
I am a sucker for pretty covers and I absolutely love the cover art that you did for Testament of the Stars. What is one of your favorite book covers and why do you like it?
AG: Ooh, good question. I definitely judge books by their covers, so I think it’s important for them to be both eye-catching and reflect the contents of the book. I also prefer illustrated covers to photographs, which is probably more common in middle grade than YA or adult (unfortunately!). One of my favorites is Stargazing by Jen Wang. The simplicity, the color, the character art, and the lettering for the title just hits me in that oh-that’s-a-nice-cover spot.
Some other middle grade/YA covers (and books) that I like are Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jen Bigelow, This One Summer by Marino Tamaki, and Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender. Actually there’s quite a few, now that you mention it.
CG: Oh gosh I loved Stargazing and want to check out these other books now too. I love the art! Great choices!
How did you create the cover art for Testament of the Stars? What are your favorite kinds of art to do?
AG: I did it digitally using the app Procreate, which, I might add, I’d highly recommend if you’re even slightly interested in art. Since digital art allows you to work in layers, I went from back to front, starting with the background color for the sky, and ending with the darkest foreground layer. Since the stars were a pretty important aspect of the cover, I did several layers to try and give it that size/opacity variance that the night sky has.
Currently I’m really enjoying the digital side of things, but as far as traditional art, I’m partial to ink and colored pencil. And the occasional foray into watercolor is fun too.
CG: Testament of the Stars features astrology, which I know almost nothing about, so let’s see how this question goes. What is your star sign, and how accurately does that describe you?
AG: I’m a Libra sun, Capricorn moon, and Taurus rising (I will confess, I had to look up the latter two.) Of course there’s some inconsistencies, but several things seem pretty accurate – anyone who’s seen me try to pick out a movie to watch can probably confirm that I have the decision-making skills of a typical Libra. I think I missed out on the “outgoing and bubbly” trait, though.
CG: I had to look this up too. Some of the other Libra traits that match up for you are your sense of fairness and that you are quite clever. As a Capricorn, I am supposed to be reliable and serious, and I’m not so sure about that. I am definitely stubborn, though!
Can you share a drawing that you did that you really like?
AG: Sure! I like this one I did when I was messing around with different colors of lighting. The background also happens to remind me of Testament of the Stars.
CG: (heart eyes) This is amazing! Everybody has to go check out your Instagram if they haven’t already seen it because all the art on there is fantastic! Click this link do it do it do it OKAY.
The main character Einya wants to marry her lover, but politics get in the way. What is something you wish that it was socially acceptable to do, but it isn’t? Because here I’m thinking about adult snuggies all the way.
AG: I’m with you on the adult snuggies. I’d also love for people to start wearing more ludicrous outfits in general. Self-expression, people, wear what you like.
More serious answer though, marriage equality in every country would be a great start.
CG: That’s a fantastic answer. I couldn’t agree more! I know Einya and Tollsta, the main couple of Testament, would appreciate it.
If you could design and name a constellation, what would it be?
AG: You know how we used to draw those v-shaped birds as kids? Boom, that’s a constellation. Next time you see three stars in a v-shape, you can say it’s a bird, and nobody can even argue. I would call it Larus Canus, the scientific name for the common seagull. I think it has a nice ring to it.
CG: I can’t stop laughing at the genius of this. I don’t think I’ve ever identified a constellation in my life, so this would help me feel better about my astronomy abilities for sure.
Thank you so much, Audrey, for stopping by my corner of the Internet. I can’t wait to have a copy of Testament of the Stars on my shelf so I can shriek at the cover all day. Ebooks are great and all, and indeed that’s how I read this book, but you just can’t beat a hard copy for aesthetic purposes. In any case, thank you for doing this interview with me and sharing some behind-the-scenes of the process.
Here it is, one more time!
