New fantasy cover

I'd say it allows you to focus more on the character (which by the way is awesome)

My first thought was not "where is the background?"

The character seems to be under bright light so I don't think an uber-dark background works. It is also a little unforgiving in terms of putting attention on every tiny detail of the art. I would suggest a brighter, textured background and making the art larger.

I'm going to nitpick. In terms of branding, the subtitle reads different from your first one. Also the color on the title is different. You want consistency in the branding when possible.

Also the legs... I have no idea what they are doing. Something seems off about that, but I can't quite put my finger on it. And it might be me, but the hands seem a bit small in proportion to the rest of her body. Hands always are bigger than you think. This is a trick I learned in figure drawing class...

Put your actual hand's palm at the base of your chin. Then let your fingers touch your forehead. Use this as a comparison for hands that you draw.

This helped me a lot to correct drawing hands way too small.

Also a question: The sword seems really really short... is that intentional? Compared to the one on your first book it can't be that long.

But I'm a stickler for proportion overall.

As a final nitpick, I'm not sure how practical that is for fighting. I know AW has gone over Women's armor, etc quite a few times, but seriously, make sure you can imagine someone really fighting in it without saying they are going to faint, have a boob loose somewhere, or have something pinch during battle. If your men have armor, your women will too. And not that RPG stuff.

Joan of Arc
http://jencarey.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/396px-joan_of_arc_miniature_graded.jpg

Japanese female warrior Hangaku Gozen.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...shi.jpg/220px-Hangaku_Gozen_by_Yoshitoshi.jpg

Another Japanese Warrior:
http://www.koryu.com/images/guide/wwj01.jpg

Notice she doesn't look that different from the male counterparts.

I get it's fantasy... but still... doesn't make sense to me from a practical stand point.

My first thought was "where is the background?" because I am familiar with the other book.

As for the character design, I can't say much on it without knowing more about her. I would agree that the sword isn't balanced well with the outfit. The outfit could work if she was a spy or assassin, but the weapon of choice would be concealed (like a dagger). Perhaps if she had a cloak partially covering the sword?

The lack of background didn't even register.

Some things about the art bother me, and I've been mulling here and I think I figured out what:

1) Her right hand (the one on her hip). It seems off. It looks to me like it's floating unnaturally rather than on her hip, and it's really quite distracting.
2) Her hair looks "done" rather than natural, and it feels like it's contradicting what the image is going for.
3) Same with her clothes. They feel like a costume rather than what someone would actually wear.

Now, obviously I don't know your story, and maybe that's what you're going for! If so then ignore me. But she comes across to me right now as someone I wouldn't care for reading about, and I tried to break it down and think, "Well, why is that? When *would* I want to read about her?" and figured out that if she was dressed differently -- in something that looks more practical, more worn -- with hair that's a little more natural, then I'd be all, "Hey cool! Woman with sword!" instead.

Can you tell us something about her character so we know what you're trying to get across?

Sorry to be critical. I really am trying to be helpful.

I feel like the art is unfinished. Her posture and the lighting needs some serious re-touching. The lighting on her hair is especially bizarre. Did you use photo references for either?

Is that meant to be an armoured breastplate? 'Cause with the (squeaky-clean) ruffled shirt (ruffles even on the sleeves beneath the slashing!) and what is either slashed trunk-hose or slops, I saw the grey bodice as, well, a grey fabric bodice with a lot of fancy embroidery on it.

Excuse my ignorance, since I've only perused a few medieval swords, etc.

But if I remember correctly, didn't people like Lords and Henry the VIII have decorative swords? You know, for the good company, so a decorative sword v. a fighting sword. If she's a merchant, I'm not quite sure why she wouldn't want to invest in the same to show off to various lords. (I know it's fantasy, but human behavior rarely changes...) Also, IIRC, carrying a sword in good company was banned after a while... but that's different.

Mostly, I think the original image you have tells a story in the image. I'd try for something similar, so everything lines up to tell you who this person is, even in a waist shot.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MTNVZRJ6L.jpg <-- is a waist shot, cut the background, and it still says a lot through the details. (I don't think I'll ever get to read the third book though) The sword says this person is rich, the mage ball tells that this person is a magic user. (The roses, BTW, have to do with the series.... the person's house).

So think of the story you want to tell with this image to get the person to pick up the book... It doesn't have to be an *illustration* but it should seem like it's talking those 1,000 words...