Blog - Jenneth Leed

Back And Open For Business

JennethJuly 16, 2024Blog

Hello, friends! It’s been a…long while. About a year ago I announced I would be switching over from a WordPress-hosted site to a brand new self-hosted site, which would allow me to use plugins, more templates and themes, and just overall have more control over the site. Web design and the messy backend of website management is a huge learning curve, despite a great class in grad school, so it’s been a long time coming as I’ve tried to work it in between a busy schedule.

But here we are, with a brand new website. If you were following my old site (jennethdyck.wordpress.com), I’ve moved your subscription over to this new site (jennethleed.com) so any communication you get from me will be from here as we get moving forward.

Excuse The Mess; I’m Moving!

JennethJuly 7, 2023BlogLeave a Comment

Over the next few weeks you may notice an uptick in backposting and eventually some out of place web ads you didn’t notice before. That’s because I’m working on updating my portfolio and transitioning away from WordPress’s hosting plan. Once my site finds a new hosting service, I’ll be able to finally install plug-ins and additional features my personal WordPress plan didn’t provide—and I’ll eventually get my own domain name!

Switching hosting shouldn’t affect you all, and if you continue to follow my site, you’ll stay with me through the transition. You may just notice me backdating some projects over the next few days as I catch you up on projects I’ve finished this year.

I started this site in college to keep track of school and freelance projects, but it’s time for a facelift that accommodates my cover design work and writing endeavors more clearly for potential clients and publishers.

If you’ve been here for awhile, stick around! If you’re new, stay tuned!

Typography for Adventures in Aletia

JennethMarch 30, 2023Book Covers, Design1 Comment

Not to stop at time travel and dinosaurs, Ben Wolf has shifted to magic portals, unicorns, and pineapples falling from the sky for his next middle grade series. Once again, I did the typography and Andrew Yong (@jonadrew_ on Instagram) did the incredible artwork.

Definitely be sure to check out both of Ben’s series, with more information on his fully-funded Kickstarter. And don’t forget to check out Andrew’s other work on his Instagram and website!

Fun facts about these: Ben (aka “Dad” in the books) is wearing a very familiar T-shirt in book one…

And if you look closely, Andrew slipped in his own Seattle poster on the wall in the garage, which you can purchase (the poster, not the garage) from his online store.

Typography for the Dino Adventures Series

JennethMarch 29, 2023Book Covers, Design4 Comments

Ben Wolf is at it again with another book series, this time a middle grade series about him and his son running from dinosaurs after a time travel accident. You can learn more about his whole series on his Kickstarter.

The very talented Andrew Yong (@jonadrew_ on Instagram) did the illustration work, while I handled the typography and layout. I highly, highly recommend checking out Andrew’s art page and purchasing some of his prints from his online shop.

Free Story For Today Only – Grave Robbers Exclusively on Havok

JennethMarch 1, 2023Narratives, WritingLeave a Comment

There are dozens of problems you may encounter when stealing your own coffin, but for Vlad, it was his lack of physical hands.

You read that right. That’s the opening sentence to my flash fiction short story, “Grave Robbers,” which is published on Havok today. It follows Vlad, a young ghost (only several centuries old), as he plans the perfect heist to steal his own coffin from an ancient Scottish castle.

To do that, however, he needs a plan, and he needs a team. Luckily for him, the resident cat, a boggart, a well-dressed vampire, and a shapeless red ooze that lives in the u-bend are the perfect recruits to get the job done. Or are they?

You can read my six-minute short story on gohavok.com for free today only. But if you miss out, you can subscribe to the annual Havok subscription for only $5 (yes, for the entire year) to unlock Vlad’s heist, along with the rest of the Havok vault of stories.

Pre-Order Artwork for REBEL: Brave and Brutal

JennethJanuary 10, 2023Artwork4 Comments

I had a ton of fun working on this project for Shannon Dittemore. I found the first book in her duology (WINTER: White and Wicked) in my local bookstore in grad school. Lots of internet friends had been pumping it up, so I decided to give it a go, which led to a bit of fan art, which led to me picking up her first trilogy, which led to more fan art…. Eventually Shannon asked if I’d be willing to create some artwork for the sequel (REBEL: Brave and Brutal).

Below is the artwork we used for the pre-order gifts. Everyone who pre-ordered the book got an envelope with an art print and four character cards. I had a lot of fun working on this, and it might have been the most ambitious commission I’d received so far.

Fun fact for this one: that part of the ship on the far right, the thing with the railing and porthole…? Yeah, that’s from the observatory in the old game, Myst III: Exile. I always thought the Myst game had a distinct architectural style I later associated with art nouveau, and I got a similar feeling when I was reading the ARC for REBEL, so I pulled inspiration from the game.

Cover and Logo Design for At the Boundary Between Daylight and Shadow

JennethJanuary 5, 2023Book Covers, DesignLeave a Comment

I’ve been really excited to share this cover, because it might be my new favorite so far. This is technically my first completed Realm Makers book (what I mean is, the author attends the annual Realm Makers conference where I make many of my author connections). The author wanted a blend between science fiction and fantasy, which is difficult considering they both have entirely different trends in design, particularly with typography. Fantasy frequently has scripted, speculative, or even gothic letters, while science fiction has rigid san serifs with little to no flourish (in general, not by rule).

I ended up using George R. R. Martin’s books as a baseline. While his books are fantasy, the typography is traditional and very adult (separate from the kind of “adult” you’d find in his books, to be clear). I thought a similar font would help me establish a middle ground between the two opposite genres. The imagery like the golden-colored pipe organ and the magical strands of light (which play a significant role in the story) lean heavily fantasy. To add science fiction elements, I chose my secondary font to be similar to the Hunger Games movie branding. I also added in some ultra-modern architecture to the vaulted ceiling of the cathedral (actually an inverted handrail in Japan, I think).

This cover was also really fun to do because of its long title, which is a trend right now in young adult and fantasy. You can purchase the book from the author’s website.

With this project also came a logo design for the author’s publishing name, Shadow Word Press. The author explained that the name was derived from a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson entitled “L’Envoy,” and that she also wanted it to convey a musical element. I came up with the idea of combining a harp with a fountain pen.

Cover and Interior Design for ‘Reaching My Dreams’

JennethNovember 28, 2022Artwork, Book Covers, Design, Layout DesignLeave a Comment

This is another college student’s senior portfolio project. She asked me to do a drawing of her in the style of Studio Ghibli, which was more challenging than I expected (I forget how insane anime backgrounds are compared to their simple line art characters). But I downloaded a few great new Procreate brushes for this project (JaeinStudio’s 72 Cloud Pack and TagirBrushes’s Ghibli Brushes), which saved me a lot of time and stress. Overall, it was really fun to do. I always like learning other artists’ styles for a project.

Cover and Interior Design for ‘The Endeavor’

JennethNovember 24, 2022Book Covers, Design, Layout DesignLeave a Comment

This is the last college student’s portfolio project of the previous semester. This cover might have upwards of ten photos mixed together, but I’m not sure I can name them all now. It was definitely one of my more heavier-composited covers, since the character on the front was so specific and tied to one of the stories Justin had in his anthology.

Cover and Interior Design for ‘What Makes a Man’

JennethNovember 22, 2022Book Covers, Design, Layout DesignLeave a Comment

I designed this cover for a student at my alma mater. I offer discounts to professional writing seniors who need to compile all their work into a printed book for their capstone project (yes, I help them with their homework…legally). It’s been really enjoyable to do these, and I have a few more upcoming for this semester. I often do the interior designs for these as well, so they’re fun creative side projects that break up my standard workload.

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