Book Cover Commission- ‘Call it Fête’ by Lowri Charles

5 May 20265 May 2026 | Lottie Thomson

Having already created 2 pieces of character art for Lowri, I was really honoured when she asked me to create a new cover for her already released book ‘Call It Fête’. Lowri was keen to have a character cover and I was thrilled to get to draw Alex and Nate and the cute summer fête stall they fall in love over.

A rought, first draft sketch of 'Call it Fete' book cover. — The very first draft

Process

Call it Fête already had a cover, so this was a task to create something fresh and new and that created a lot of new value for Lowri when it comes to promoting the book and a future special edition.

Every process starts with a rough sketch. We wanted to honour some of the colour scheme from the first cover, for continuities sake, but add vibrancy and obviously, what I do best, characters! Lowri’s writes characters that are full of life which makes them very straight forward to to draw.

The description of their stall and their outfits was bright mismatched colours so I went for magenta to create a contrasting but pleasing colour for their green tshirts to work with, and the orange of the text that harks back to the first cover. I couldn’t leave out rainbow bunting to celebrate the queerness of this story!

Colour is such an important part of my process that I usually work in colour from the very beginning, I will almost always present a full colour sketch to clients in the first instance.

Next steps

The next step was to work on the individual elements of the cover – first I cleaned up the sketch of the characters for Lowri’s approval and worked on them until they were in their finished state.

Then came the stall and bunting. I made sure to keep all elements separate so that they can be repositioned easily on the cover and provided to the client as separate, background free, PNG files – hugely useful when creating marketing materials in Canva and other design software.

A black and white sketch of Alex and Nate from the cover art for Call it Fete

A colour sketch with slight alterations from the cover art for Call it Fete

The technical bit

Early in the process I gathered all of Lowri’s technical specifications for her book cover via an online form that I use for book cover clients; her page count, the type of paper it was being printed on and so on. As one version of the book is being printed via Amazon KPD I created a template to her and their specifications and then designed the cover accordingly. The Kindle cover was supplied first followed by the full wrap paperback cover. I won’t reveal too much but there will be an additional version too, more to come on that.

I deliver files to my clients using a secure dropbox folder. In Lowri’s case I sent over multiple versions of the cover and all the component parts for her to use in her marketing campaign for the book. Book covers are a big investment and I always want to make sure clients get as much value out of them as possible.

The result

Lowri wanted to breathe new life into her novel after a rocky relationship with her previous cover designer and on the 1st birthday of it’s release. I’m happy to say she is a very happy client. I feel like we firmly placed the book in the cozy queer romance genre with this character based cover, she has a book cover she can feel proud and excited to show off and that opens up future possibilities for marketing the novel at book festivals events.

Check out my interview with Lowri about her books and inspirations here.

Call It Fête is available now at
Waterstones
SpicyLitLounge
HeaBookshop
and at Amazon

Star Trek Charity D&D Art Print – Raises funds for PabLove Foundation childrens cancer charity!

A fan art Star Trek Dungeons and Dragons crossover drawing featuring Melissa Navia and Jeri Ryan fighting evil pumpkin scarecrows.

27 April 2026 | Lottie Thomson

So just before Christmas a Starfleet pilot…well actor…reached out to me to ask if I would send over one of my fan art prints (featuring her) for her to sign to raise money for a children’s cancer charity.

Every few months, actor Todd Stashwick brings together a different bunch of Star Trek and other Sci-fi actors to raise money for the Pablove Foundation, a US based children’s cancer charity. They raise money by playing Dungeons and Dragons live on Twitch, and there are arty things and dice and whatnot to bid on to raise extra money.

So, here’s where the art print comes in!

As a big Star Trek fan I drew a piece of fan art after their previous D&D fundraiser session, featuring my favourite Enterprise pilot Melissa Navia aka Erica Ortegas of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Jeri Ryan aka Seven of Nine of Star Trek Voyager. It was Melissa’s first time and Jeri’s second time playing D&D and I wanted to capture this funny moment of confusion between them.

Melissa reached out after I posted the fan art on social media, I had a high quality giclee print made (and some back-up copies just in case!) and they winged their way to New York for Melissa to sign. The signed print then winged it’s way to LA for Todd to show off on the live stream! This print is more well travelled than I am!

I’m so happy to say the signed print sold during the stream, raising over $200 for Pablove Foundation.

It’s such an honour to have been asked to be involved in this fundraiser, and thank you to Todd and Melissa, who are both Star Trek royalty, for all their kind words about my art. I’m so happy that my little drawing was able to contribute to raising funds for such an important charity that means so much to so many children and families going through their toughest battles.

You can still donate to Pablove Foundation, even if you’re in the UK like me. And keep your eyes peeled for Todd Stashwick‘s future fundraiser D&D sessions by following his instagram (and watch the back catalogue of celebrity D&D sessions!) because they’re hilarious, entertaining and heartfelt and for a very god cause.

A mobile phone screenshot showing an instagram story by Melissa Navia showing the art print and where to buy it on the night of the live stream - it says 'Thank you for my hobbit cape and for donating prints to help us raise funds for @pablovefoundation'

A screen shot of Actor Todd Stashwick during a preview live stream, he is holding up the art print by Lottie Thomson and pointing to Melissa's signature.

Indie Interviews – Lowri Charles – Author

9 February 20269 February 2026 | Lottie Thomson

Indie authors are the lifeblood of what I do, creating illustrated character art, author portraits for their marketing and even full book covers. I work with authors who match my values and it’s time to shine a light on these wonderful people!

A head shot of author Lowri Charles, a white woman with brown, wavy, shoulder length hair. She is smiling and standing in front of a bookshelf.

Please welcome Lowri Charles!

Author of ‘Call it Fete’ and ‘This Is Going to ruin the Tour’ coming in 2026.

Hello Lowri! Please introduce us to yourself and your books.

Hello! I’m Lowri Charles — Civil Servant by day, indie author by night. I’m a roller skating, crocheting writer of queer, fat-positive books.

What will make people fall in love with your main characters?

My characters are as real as they can get. Even if they’re working in high-profile jobs, they still have the same worries and concerns as me and you. From Alex, the single gay dad who’s desperately trying to prove he can be a member of the Perfect Parent Club in Call it Fete, to Rhys, who thinks his new co-worker Lucy is trying to steal his best friend from him in This Is Going To Ruin the Tour. It just so happens his best friend is one of the world’s most famous pop stars (at least in this universe), but that doesn’t stop those feelings from being real and relatable.

What tropes can people find in your books?

Forcing idiots together and making them fall in love is my speciality, so you’ll always find some elements of forced proximity. Otherwise, I love writing about grumpy / sunshine and enemies to lovers vibes, difficult families, small towns/cities, very British places.

“Forcing idiots together and making them fall in love is my speciality” – Lowri Charles Author

What will surprise people most about your book/s?

They’re still a bit spicy. I write comfort food in a book form – cosy stories you can stretch out on a sun lounger, or curl up in front of a fire with – but that doesn’t mean they’re not just the little bit spicy.

What is your favourite thing about being an indie, self-published author?

That I control it all. Like some evil overlord… No, only kidding. I could never be evil. But I do control what’s in my books, what my books look like, who gets to read them (or at least I can steer the right crowd towards my books), when they get put out in the world. I wouldn’t trust my babies with anyone else.

What has been your biggest challenge or barrier to publishing your books?

Money! God, I hate that it comes down to that but being self-published is expensive, especially if you have no skills other than writing. Some authors are great at putting covers together, or can draw the most beautiful character art, but not me. And time. I’m a senior manager in my profession, belong to a roller derby team, care for my nan. Doesn’t leave a lot of time left for writing.

What has been your biggest challenge commissioning artwork in the past?

Finding trustworthy artists. Call it Fete is marred by bad experiences – an artist who I learned traced a lot of the art she sold, and I can no longer get hold of my cover artist. AI is rife in our industry (yuk) so it’s important to me to find artists who believe in the same things I do, including not using AI in our works.

How did you discover my work?

Either someone recommended you, or you reached out. Either way, it was in response to a plea I put on Threads for a good artist who doesn’t use AI and was reasonably priced. I checked you out, adored your style and we are currently enjoying our HEA after you ticked all two boxes!

Lottie: (I love that we got our happily ever after Lowri!)

What appealed to you most about working with me and how was your overall experience?

Your style is gorgeous and it fits in with the aesthetic I’m trying to create with my books. On top of that, you came across as good people on social media, and that’s something I value a lot. Working with you was a dream. No change was too big and I felt it was a collaborative effort to create my beautiful art.

“I felt it was a collaborative effort to create my beautiful art.” – Lowri Charles Author

What does having appealing character art mean to your marketing and to your readers?

Everything! Indie authors still have a reputation of looking unprofessional, and it’s something I’m desperate to dispel. Having art available for my books means I can provide something extra to my readers, something to frame or admire.

Are there any other professionals that you’ve worked with that you’d like to recommend to other authors?

The only other artist I recommend nowadays aside from you is @a.loveunlaced

Lottie : (What beautiful work! Go check them out folks!)

The cover to Lowri Charles book Call it Fete. An illustrated scene of a fair ground stall in a field against a blue cloudy background.

Where can people buy your books and follow you on social media?

I am on instagram @lowri.charles.author
My books are on Kindle Unlimited, but you can also buy directly from HEA book shop, Spicy Lit Lounge, Bookishly Ever After and soon – The Book Nook Bakery and Coffee Shop.
I think I’m also on sale in Gay-on-Wye, and I’m working on getting into the new romance store in Cardiff.

Call it Fete is available now. This is Going to Ruin the Tour is out in 2026.

Lottie Thomson (Charlotte Thomson-Morley – she/her) brings character art, portraits and book covers to life for indie authors. Based in the UK and with over 20 years experience as a freelance illustrator, she specialises in consciously inclusive and playful art, supplied ready for use for print marketing and on social media alike.

Learn more about commissioning work for your own indie book here!

Indie Interviews – Vie Portland – Author

28 January 202628 January 2026 | Lottie Thomson

Please welcome Vie Portland!

Confidence creator, trainer, speaker and author of inclusive childrens book ‘Find your Fabulous’ illustrated by me, Lottie Thomson.

Hello Vie! Please introduce us to yourself and your books!

Hello! I’m Vie Portland and I help people Find Their Fabulous! One of the ways I do this is through my inclusive children’s picture books. In my first two books the main character goes on different imaginary adventures with her mum; Emily, the main character, has a limb difference but it’s not part of the story, as I wanted readers to see we all have far more in common than what makes us different.

My third children’s book doesn’t have a main character, as there’s lots of gorgeous children on every page; this book, called ‘Find Your Fabulous!’ is a confidence boosting, mindfulness encouraging, book, where many children will see them and their friends represented.

The book cover of Find Your Fabulous. it has a yellow background and the words 'Find Your Fabulous' in large brightly coloured letters. Children who are smiling and wearing brightly coloured clothes are interacting with the letters by peeking through them & hanging off them. There are also tiny hearts and stars around the letters.

What will make people fall in love with your main characters?

They fall in love because they see children like them and their friends in the book; representation matters! We all deserve to feel seen.

What will surprise people most about your books?

Probably the inclusion. My third book is the most inclusive of the three, but the first two are still more inclusive than most. All of my books are written in a large print, suitable for the majority of visually impaired readers; my third book also has a BSL signed version, and a Braille edition available. As well as the representation across the books.

An illustration from the book Find Your Fabulous by Vie Portland, illustrated by Lottie Thomson. The illustration shows ways people can be kind to other people and themselves. It shows a street scene with a charity shop and community centre. People are donating toys and food, putting litter in the bin, practicing self care by listening to music and picking up dog poop!

What is your favourite thing about being an indie, self-published author?

I love that I have final say in things, that I don’t have to follow trends, or limit anything, because every choice is mine.

What has been your biggest challenge or barrier to publishing your books?

Costs. I want to work with illustrators whose work I love, and not have to go for ‘cheap’ or AI, and those illustrators deserve to be paid well. I also choose to publish outside of Amazon, so people have more choice from where they buy the book, and that costs more. But I am very proud of all of my books, and they are all beautiful, so I wouldn’t want to do it any other way.

What has been your biggest challenge commissioning artwork in the past?

Thankfully, the illustrator of my first two books, I have known for years, and she is a friend, and I have followed the illustrator for the third book for a very long time and really wanted to work with her, so I haven’t had a problem commissioning artwork at all, as I know some fabulous artists.

How did you discover my work?

Through the burlesque community! I bought one of your prints a very long time ago, that still makes me smile, and I knew your style would really suit what I wanted for Find Your Fabulous! I also knew that you are as passionate about inclusion and representation as I am, and that really matters to me.

An illustration from the book Find Your Fabulous by Vie Portland, illustrated by Lottie Thomson. The illustration shows a street scene with a grassy area in the foreground with a tree, people are practicing ways they can be kind by feeding a hedgehog, picking up litter, fixing a bike wheel, feeding the birds, offering cookies and helping others to cross the road.

What appealed to you most about working with me and how was your overall experience?

I loved working with Lottie, and would love to work with her again. She understood what I wanted and created such beautiful images. After following her and her art for many years, and loving what I saw, I am so pleased that she exceeded the high expectations I had for her.

What does having appealing character art/book cover/author portrait mean to your marketing and to your readers?

It’s wonderful to be able to share beautiful images that so many children can feel represented by.

Are there any other professionals that you’ve worked with that you’d like to recommend to other authors?

I worked with the brilliant Dr Jennifer Jones, who is the reason why I started writing again, and she got me believing I could write a book (I’ve now written several!), and she also did the editing and formatting for my children’s books and my book for adults. And Donna Mcghie, who illustrated my first two children’s books, has a beautiful style reminiscent of Shirley Hughes, and is a joy to work with, too.

A portrait illustration of author Vie Portrland. She is a plus sized white woman with long grey hair, flowers in her hair, bold black and white glasses and a long dress covered in red love hearts. She is smiling and holding up her hands to make a heart shape.

Thank you for your time Vie! Where can people buy your books and follow you on social media?

My books are available on most online book stores, including Waterstones, Hive, and Amazon.

Visit www.vipempowerment.co.uk to learn more about Vie!

Now Available! Find Your Fabulous Book!

21 October 202421 October 2024 | Lottie Thomson

Find Your Fabulous By Vie Portland, illustrated by Lottie Thomson is now available to buy in the UK and USA!

I’m thrilled to announce that Find Your Fabulous – a consciously inclusive book that teaches children about self-confidence, daily coping techniques and kindness to ourselves and others, is finally available to buy online!

Firstly, a thank you!

Firstly, a huge thank you to everyone who pre-ordered and supported the crowd-funding campaign, supporting a book before it is even a book is a big commitment and I’m so grateful for your faith and support for this project! Thank you to Vie Portland for writing such a fabulous book, Jennifer Jones for designing the layout & Isobel Kent for editing.

An illustration showing four children holding up a handmade sign saying 'Find Our Fabulous' - there is bunting behind them and they are wearing party hats. — *A few pages from the book Find Your Fabulous!*

AN illustration from the book Find Your Fabulous by Vie Portland, illustrated by Lottie Thomson. It shows three children holding hands and smiling against a blue background with a swirling rainbow through the middle. From left to right the children are am Asian boy with glasses in a power chair wearing a green hoodie, a black girl wearing ear defenders and a chewy necklace with a cuddly toy in a handbag over her shoulder, a white girl with brown hair, she has downs syndrome and a hearing aid and wears a pink dress with ruffles. — *A few pages from the book Find Your Fabulous!*

What will you find in this book?

Songs, practical things to do and discuss! Vie’s years of experience working in schools as a confidence speaker for children are brought together into fun things to act out, songs and questions to discuss together.
Real children! Some of the children in this book are real and very fabulous people! At the end of the book they share a little bit about what makes them fabulous.
Disability representation. As an illustrator who lives with chronic illness and neurodiversity and an author with multiple disabilities, we wanted to make a real effort to make children with disabilities, visible differences and hidden disabilities feel seen and represented.
Accessibility! The book has been designed with dyslexia and visual impairment in mind. There is an audio version and British Sign Language version of the book, and a braille version in the works.

Where can I buy it?

Buy Find your Fabulous by Vie Portland, illustrated by Lottie Thomson

In the UK

From the Author Direct!

Waterstones

Amazon

In the USA

Skylight Books

Barnes and Noble

In Australia

Booktopia

In Newzealand

Mightyape.co.nz

In Nordic countries

Adlibris

The rest of Europe via Amazon

This list will be updated as more booksellers become available, remember to shop independent if you can!

An illustration from the book of a girl with brown skin and long wavy hair, she has her arms raised above her head and a happy face. She is wearing a long sleeves striped tshirt and green dungarees and a rainbow autism infinity symbol bracelet.

Find Your Fabulous – Children’s Non-Fiction Book on Self Confidence…coming soon!

7 May 202423 December 2024 | Lottie Thomson

I’m thrilled to announce that I’m the illustrator attached to the book ‘Find Your Fabulous’ by author, confidence educator and motivational speaker Vie Portland of Vieness CIC.

Vie has published several inclusive children’s books, but this will be her first non-fiction book, based on the inclusive confidence building workshops she runs in schools around the UK. It will be our first time working together and our shared values make this a really exciting project to be a part of.

It’s currently in the crowdfunding stage, with an early sketch shown above!

The book illustrations will consciously depict children with visible disabilities and neuro-diversity. You can also choose a funding option whereby your child’s likeness will be included in the book!

Support the Crowdfunder

Andy and the Odd Socks Official Tour Poster Illustration.

7 May 20243 October 2024 | Lottie Thomson

After creating a few pieces of Andy and the Odd Socks art for my son (who is a huge fan of their TV series Andy & the Band, and their live music), I was approached by their management to create a poster to be sold as merchandise during their 2023 ‘Dial it up to 11’ live tour.

The poster features cartoon versions of all of the band members, headed by children’s TV royalty Andy Day! It was designed to be sold as merchandise online and at their live gigs, as a fun and colourful poster for children to display on their bedroom walls. It was designed with the fact that the band would hand-sign/autograph the poster in mind, so features a clear section for each band member in their individual brand/costume colours.

From loose layout sketch, to neat sketch (shown to client) to final poster!

Andy and the Odd Socks are aimed at ages 3 – 9 (although lets face it, the parents love them as much as the kids!), so I had children’s literacy and early readers in mind when adding the text to the poster. I wanted to include introductory text for each of the band members, so their stage introductions were used and when hand-lettering the wording I used upper and lowercase writing in a style designed to be read by children just starting to read their first words.

The original sketch comic based on my sons first gig that caught the eye of the band and their management.

It was an absolute pleasure to create this poster for the Odd Socks, their message of celebrating uniqueness and individuality, plus them being ambassadors for the Anti-Bullying Alliance (and my son being a superfan) has made this a project that is very close to my heart.

Feedback on the poster has been great, with it being sold and given away as a signed VIP meet & greet gift at every date of the 2023 Dial it up to 11 UK tour, which was extensive as you can see!

You can still purchase one via the bands website Andyandtheoddsocks.com.

Bunny Character illustrations – For Bunny’s Burrow – Children’s literacy app.

7 May 202423 December 2024 | Lottie Thomson

Bunny’s Burrow is an app being produced by developer Jed Merrington with the aim to close the gender learning gap at Key Stage 2. I designed the lead Bunny character and produced 22 illustrations showing his full range of moods and emotions, and the character partaking in several activities. These will be shown as static images or lightly animated within the app.

The designs are specifically aimed to encourage boys, with dyslexia and other learning disabilities to engage with short narrative story creation using the app with a phone or tablet. The illustrations being full vector based and editable by the app developers was an important aspect of the brief, as was consistency of the character design.

Literacy, dyslexia support and encouraging children to engage with creative writing and creating stories is something really close to my heart, I was thrilled to work on this project.

Black and White Interior Book Illustrations for – Radical Self Love by Gala Darling

7 May 202423 December 2024 | Lottie Thomson

‘Radical Self Love’ a book by Gala Darling, interior black & white illustrations created by Charlotte ‘Lottie’ Thomson.

I was fortunate to meet Gala Darling at a blogging event prior to the release of her book, I was ‘live scribing’ at the event so Gala saw me create art in person and loved what she saw!

It wasn’t long before she approached me via email to create the interior illustrations for her book Radical Self Love. Initially self published it was scooped up by Hay House, and the rest is history!

The illustrations feature throughout the book as chapter headers & full pages between sections. They represent the themes of the different sections of the book which centres around self care, self respect, cultivating magical friendships and building a positive relationship with yourself. My favourite illustrations are the portraits of Gala and her friend and the ‘Magic and Manifesting’ illustrations which appeal to my love of all things mystical.

Buy Radical Self Love by Gala Darling,
interior illustrations by Charlotte ‘Lottie’ Thomson.