Cover Reveal: Eisdreya: Leaving Lazea

As foretold in a post earlier this year, I am finally tearing the dark curtains down to reveal to the world what I've been working on for a few years now - a series of short stories and novel(s?) set in the fictitious continent of Eisdreya! 

After indie publishing three children's picture books and one illustrated haiku book (I like to say Toaster Haiku is for all ages) under my actual name, I wanted a bit of a separation between my illustrated works and my non-illustrated fiction (which is meant for an adult audience.) The solution? A pen name, of course!

When I decided to use a pen name, I was torn on how much of a secret it should be. I mean, nobody knew who Banksy was for years! But on the other hand, I've seen books in stores that straight up say "Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb" and what's even the point then? I know authors use different pen names for different genres... And while I do have a paranormal romance that I wrote in college and would like to resurrect some day, juggling two names has nearly been too much for me to wrap my head around. Before I get too deep in my struggle of creative identities (let's be honest, it's probably a future blog post) I've decided that for my own sanity I'm going to be totally open about being both Haley McAndrews and D.C. McAndrews.

My first official release as D.C. McAndrews is a short story titled "Eisdreya: Leaving Lazea". The main character is a female water fairy named Rema A'Lazea (Ree-mah Ah-Lah-zee-ah) who dreams of traveling and exploring the world outside her small woodsy river town. But if she leaves, will she be leaving more than just her hometown behind?

I created the cover myself - and it's been a long time since I've put this much time into a single digital piece! I didn't track my exact hours of work for it, but I know it was around ten or twelve hours, give or take. It's the first time I've ever illustrated dappled sunlight, which was definitely a stretch for my Photoshop muscles. 

My plan at this point is to release my fantasy writing as ebooks with the possibility of print in the future, but let's not hold our breath on that. I'm going to release two short stories in the Eisdreya series in 2025, with the second one to be announced yet. 

"Eisdreya: Leaving Lazea" is now available for pre-orders on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. as well as being released to digital libraries like Overdrive. The official release date will be March 4th, 2025. I'll also be selling prints of my covers at my in-person art events (signed by D.C. herself!)

You can follow me as D.C. McAndrews on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up for the Red Stone Art Studio email list to be one of the first to know when I'm working on new projects!