Friday, December 9, 2011

YA INDIE CARNIVAL: Cover Designs

This week we are going to post about book covers.  What we think works and what doesn't.  What covers we especillay love, etc.  Please weigh in on the subject.  What is your favorite cover?

Because I don't have the money to afford a professional artist, I make my own covers using Gimp.  The cover for Vampires Rule is a picture of a dagger charm.  I took the picture, changed the color of the stones and a few other things, and made that my cover.  I've been told it's boring, but I like it.  On the other hand, if you buy the book in print you will get an entirely different cover.  It's a picture of trees because Jack and Silver meet in their dreams and they are always in the woods.

Crushed is a stock photo that I paid for of a young girl with a finger to her lips.  I painted her lips and her fingernails.  I also put a hat over her face.  I've had good reactions to this cover.  My other Witch-Game books will also have girls with a finger to their lips.

Werewolves Rule is also a stock photo that I paid for.  I loved the black and blue elements of the picture, so I didn't change very much with this one.

On to covers that I love.  Have you seen the cover for Entice and the other two books in that series?  I can't remember their names, but I love these covers, especially the one where the girl is blowing gold dust out of her mouth.  Awesome!  I also love the cover for Where She Went.  There's one for a book with a girl that you can see through like she's partly invisible, but I don't remember the name.

Since Twilight's popularity skyrocketed there are a lot of black covers.  I don't like them.  I want to see more originality. 



Coming December 16! You let us know why you've been naughty or nice and enter to win books at each carni's booth all week, from 12/16 to 12/23. On Dec. 23, find out what books you've won! 
'Tis the Season of the Squeee!

1.Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series2.Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.Heather Self4.T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5.Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga6.Darby Karchut, author of GRIFFIN RISING
7.Lexus Luke8.PJ Hoover, Author of SOLSTICE, Blogging at ROOTS IN MYTH
9.Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy10.Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
11.K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed12.Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series
13.Courtney Cole, author of The Bloodstone Saga 14.Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
15.Dani Snell's Refracted Light Reviews 16.Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
17.M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping 18.Abbi Glines, author of Breathe and The Vincent Boys
19.Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind20.Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
21.Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler22.Nicole Williams, author of Eternal Eden, Falling Eden
23.Gwenn Wright, author of Filter24.TG Ayer
25.Melissa Pearl, author of Golden Blood

2 comments:

bearrocks1993 said...

ive been nice this year, well for the mpost part. Ive arranged help groups and community service groups to help people in my town.

Rita Webb said...

I hired a professional for the cover of my books. Her prices were reasonable, and I had no clue how to do it myself.

By the way, I like your cover for Crushed. I think covers that feature people are more appealing.