EVOLUTION OF A BOOK COVER

(Originally written for Creative Pinellas, as a Professional Artist Grantee!)

The cover of my debut novel, Thieves, Beasts & Men, was graced with one of my own works in photography, and I am thrilled to announce that my upcoming release, Bands of a Small Hurricane (Oct 4), will take the same path! Below is a step-by-step walkthrough of the cover design.

Below were some of my favorites from a recent collection I did called “Babes In Waterland”. I just knew that ONE of these was going to be perfect for Hurricane.

After choosing a few of my favorites, I compiled a quick layout of the potential front covers, with handwritten text placement.

When thinking of a dust jacket, most people think only of the front, but the back deserves equal treatment! Here is the proposed full layout, 2 images merged, with colors edited to better reflect the dark nostalgia of the book.

And below, the full cover layout!