Don’t you just love an awesome book cover?
What’s the first thing I do when I decide on a rough plot for a story?
I contact my graphic designer and have her conjure up the cover. I print it on color photo paper and put it in a frame next to my monitor. It stares at me like an impatient teacher, waiting for me to finish her assignment.
It’s true. A compelling book cover that catches your eye from the tiniest iteration on an Amazon page to a powerful attention grabber that pulls your gaze from the KitKat bars in an airport snack shop can compel people to flip to the first page.
When Karen Phillips designed the STUDENTS IN TIME cover, I wanted her to pay homage to my favorite sci fi show as a kid, “The Time Tunnel.” Remember that Irwin Allen classic? She may have been a bit young to know it well, but fans will agree she channeled it prefectly.
For CHASING THE CAPTAIN, Bobbye Marrs captured the defining moment of the story’s second act, where Jess hangs from a helicopter, headed for the London Eye ferris wheelwith one hand on a skid and the other holding the biggest Russian handgun ever made. I get a lot of love for that cover and several readers have told me it was what got them to open the book.
Covers are definitely an art form and the artists who create them are amazing.
What are your all time favorite book covers? Here are five of mine.
