I'll have to figure out what to do with the color band running across the bottom, now that I moved the name up.I also reduced the size of the background tower a bit so it doesn't compete with the main image.I moved my name under the title so I could unclutter the main image.I added the word and with an ellipsis so it flows better.Notice the subtle but very important differences in these two covers. If you look closely, she's carrying a gun for protection and you can see that her hand is mechanical (as in cyborg). Besides, I think this image of Andrea tells a deeper story overall. (A compromise would be desaturating the colors in the book cover.)Īs it was before with only the skyline, there was no point of reference to the board game. I'm still debating if I'll match the gray colors of the box with the book. The main reason for adding these two images was so that the book cover resonates with the game box cover. I also added Andrea's trusty pooch, Apollo, to the cover because they are inseparable. Chances are that I'll have to reduce the size of the tower and that should fix the problem, but we'll see. This composition needs a bit of work because the main image is competing with the background (Freedom Tower) so I'll have to take more time to tweak it. Besides, Andrea and Maria eventually wind up there. The actual story starts off with a blast in Austin, Texas, but of course, New York City is the center of 9/11 and so I felt it was more important to feature that city on the cover. In the foreground, the main figures (Andrea and Apollo) stand and watch the event as if protected from the blast and superior to its effects. The skyline is not on fire, but you can see evidence of a blast blowing across. The ominous sky and its warm/cool colors are reminiscent of a lunar eclipse. For this cover, I wanted to show the apocalypse in a different, more sophisticated way as opposed to the usual burning buildings and explosions, that are so typical of this event. Here are several tips to help you improve your book cover layouts.

Assassin Rising by Ryan Carriere