The Original Vision Behind Trench 1915’s Cover

The Original Vision Behind Trench 1915’s Cover

When I first set out to publish Trench 1915: The Dawn of Modern Warfare, I had a very different vision in mind for the cover art.

In my head, I wanted to showcase the heart of the series: the soldiers themselves. Maxis, along with the other central characters, standing strong and distinct, each with different weapons, gear, and helmets that reflected their role in the war and the story. The idea was to capture not just “a soldier,” but the personalities, factions, and unique traits that defined them. Every detail was supposed to speak: a different cap for an elite unit, a prototype weapon hinting at hidden conflicts, a stance that told you something about their character.

At the time, I imagined this design being illustrated — almost poster-like, bold and unmistakably fictionalized to tell readers this wasn’t a history textbook but a war novel filled with grit, imagination, and hidden battles.

But that’s not what happened.

Where It Went Wrong

Part of this came down to communication. I didn’t make my expectations clear to the publisher, and back then, I didn’t have the same grasp on the publishing process that I do now. The design that came out of it wasn’t what I had envisioned.

• The look was too “nonfiction.” The final cover almost makes the book look like a documentary history of WWI, not a piece of fiction.

• The plane in the background was wrong. It wasn’t even from WWI — it was closer to an interwar/early WWII design, which undercut the historical grounding I had worked so hard to build.

• The soldier and background details clashed. Instead of representing the raw energy of my story, they felt mismatched and generic, missing the intended theme.

It wasn’t a disaster, but it wasn’t me.

What Came Next

That misstep shaped the future of the Trench series covers. I decided that if I couldn’t capture the characters in the way I first imagined, I would pivot to another defining feature of my books: the strange, forgotten prototypes of World War I.

That’s why you now see vehicles like the Tsar Tank, the Burstyn, and other experimental machines taking center stage. They’re visually striking, historically rooted, and they instantly signal to readers that this is not a standard WWI retelling — this is something different.

But even with that pivot, the original idea still lingers in my mind. Someday, I’d like to revisit it properly. Illustrated covers where Maxis, Lothar, Arina, and others stand in the spotlight — each one showing their gear, their culture, their place in the war. Covers that aren’t afraid to put the characters first, because they’re the ones who carry the story forward.

Looking Ahead

That chance may come with future spin-offs or companion projects. Under better circumstances, with clearer communication and stronger artistic direction, I’d love to finally bring that vision to life.

For now, though, the journey continues with the war machines. They’ve become an inseparable part of the Trench identity, but like the war itself, the story of the covers isn’t finished.

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