Friday, September 14, 2012

Book covers

I've not been much of a blogger lately, or much of a writer. End of summer is always such a transition, and not one that I do well. But we're finally starting to settle into the new routine. This week I meant to do lots of writing, but instead I did lots of cover designing. I know that I'm not enough of a designer to make a living at design, but it really is awfully fun.

Well, sometimes it's fun, I suppose. The first cover of Thought never made me very happy. But I went to a meeting of the Orlando Independent Writers this week and a fellow author inspired me to do a redesign. I didn't even stick to my own cover principles with that cover. I do know what I was thinking with the decisions I made, but, eh, better to stick with cover rules. So, new cover for Thought, first cover for Time (unfinished, since I have no quote for it yet), minor re-design on Ghosts for consistency. Let's see how they look at small sizes!

Updated: Immediate changes. Rejected the first round, let's try a second!  






9 comments:

  1. Nice. I like the consistencies. Especially the lightening bolts.

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  2. Thanks! I tweaked the third one a little more, so that they look even more like a set, but I really like them. I've been admiring my own work all weekend!

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  3. Those look great. I wonder if a bit of dark silhouette at the base of the third one would tie it in even better?

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  4. Thanks for the suggestion, fairyhedgehog. (I love your name, BTW--it brings images to mind of luminescent hedgehogs, possibly pastel, with their cute little poky noses, beady eyes and spikes--I want one. In light blue. That gives off a shower of sparkles when it spikes out...okay, end of digression.)

    You're right, another black silhouette photo would tie the three together better. I really liked the green of the grass photo -- it's so healthy and alive, it fits very well with an underlying theme of the book. But I'll think about changing it. So far I seem to have to finish the book, wait three months, and then know what the cover should look like, so maybe I'll have something entirely different by next spring!

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    1. I love my name too! I wish I'd invented it but in fact I lifted it from a Terry Pratchett book when I first started playing on the internet. (The book was Witches Abroad, and it's my Desert Island book.)

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  5. Ah, I'm surprised I didn't recognize it, then. Although I'm going to have to take another look at that book because it's not ringing bells and I thought I'd read everything by him.

    Fun random fact, in A Gift of Thought, one of the main characters spots Terry Pratchett on another character's bookshelf and decides that's a good sign that he'll like her. (That's not really a spoiler, because I think it happens in the first chapter.)

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    1. That's seriously cool!

      I read the first part of A Gift of Ghosts and now I'm trying to decide whether to buy it in paperback or Kindle format. Kindle is cheaper but I can only read that on my laptop and phone!

      (Btw, I couldn't find a purchasing link and had to google for it. Just sayin'!)

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    2. You're far too kind! And I'm loving A Gift of Ghosts!

      It's so different with such a fresh voice. It keeps making me smile. Thank you.

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  6. Check your email! (I followed your name link, so it's the email on your blog.)

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