iPhone Life

Since the magazine started, I've designed every cover. It's been satisfying, and now we're a 2009 Eddie Award Winner (Consumer, Technology/Computing, Full Issue). The winter issue (shown above) is getting new preference at newsstands, placed up front so the entire cover is visible.

The cover above has a twist to help people distinguish this issue from the previous one. All issues until now had a black title. This one is red. Black is very Apple, making it the perfect visual choice for us, but red is a very good alternate. The next issue will return to black, the issue after will be red, and so on.

Critical Conditions

Published by Lemon Grove Press

BRONZE WINNER: Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year

FINALIST: National Indie Excellence Awards

WINNER: San Francisco Book Festival Awards

WINNER: Allbooks Review Editor's Choice Awards

BEST HEALTH BOOK OF THE YEAR: Book & Authors.net

WINNER: DIY Book Festival Awards

HONORABLE MENTION: Reader Views Readers Choice Awards

WINNER: Pinnacle Book Achievement Award

FINALIST: Next Generation Indie Book Awards

If you've ever lost a loved one due to hospital error or negligence, as I have, this topic hits home. The author hits it home so well that many awards came fast. With the information and advice in this book, you can be an effective advocate for someone in the hospital and get better care. More than 150 interviews with nurses, doctors, social workers and families are included.

For the cover, I chose a hospital room for the background, then blurred it and added shadows to make the title easy to read, but also to give it a greater sense of distance. The monitor, to the right, is sharply focused and obviously in the foreground. Combining these gives a strong sense of depth which pulls you into the room. it's a powerful subtitle so it has the strongest color.

Click the cover to see it enlarged, as with all my posts.

Stealing Trinity

Oceanview Publishing

FOREWORD MAGAZINE'S BOOK OF THE YEAR

Gold Winner

NATIONAL IPPY AWARDS

Silver Winner

NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Winner

On July 16, 1945, the world's first atomic bomb is tested — code named Trinity. In the days that follow, four people: a tenacious British investigator, a determined young woman, a killer, and the German spy who could compromise America's greatest scientific endeavor, will have a fateful rendezvous, all vying for control of the secret that will shape the world.

Brisk and expansive, this solid spy story inspired New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds to endorse it by saying, "Richly characterized and beautifully written, Stealing Trinity by Ward Larsen is a compelling tale of hot adventure and cool spies in the nail-biting weeks before the close of World War II. If you enjoyed Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett, you'll love this book."

Did the cover need the swastika? Oceanview Publishing thought so, and I agreed because combining it with the atom makes such a clear and compelling image. The swastika is foggy, fading around the edges, enveloped in the white light of the nucleus, in control of immense atomic power. This scary concept is a new approach for using that old nazi insignia. Blue makes it cool (and not to be mistaken for the sun) which allows the hot-colored title to compete successfully for attention underneath. The power of the atom invades the title, shown by the white glow in "Stealing".

8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back

FOREWORD MAGAZINE BOOK OF THE YEAR

Silver Winner

NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD

Gold Winner

NATIONAL IPPY AWARD

Bronze Winner

Esther Gokhale is the ultimate authority on simply and naturally curing back pain without drugs or surgery. Her approach is based upon how some cultures in the world do not experience back pain. What do they do differently than our nation's millions who suffer so much? She researched it, learned why, and shows very clearly how you can do like they do. Standing, sitting, sleeping, walking, carrying, lifting, everything. These are cultures in which people routinely carry a very heavy load on their head for miles, or bend over all day in the fields, with no back pain. They must be doing something right. Esther shows ow you can do the same. She gets astounding results with her techniques, and her book is THE  must-read for back pain.

Esther wanted a unique cover because her book is so different and superior. The Mayo Clinic strongly endorses this book so I put that on the front cover. That was the easy part. After that, I explored photos of naked backs in various poses and lighting, and it soon became clear to me that we needed something totally NOT a human back. So I went for the feeling instead. How does it feel to no longer have back pain, and what could symbolize that? The freedom of a floating feather came to mind. 

I found a feather with a nice curving quality. It can imply either a healthy spine's shape or a relaxing nap in a hammock. Its graceful, carefree lightness, combined with the title, make a very unique cover for this book.

The red title could have been almost any color. In the end, I chose red because it's so visible. The author's name in gold lends authority and prestige. The centered type above and below allows the feather to suspend in space. Is it floating upward or downward?

The Deal

NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARD

Winner

A young, well-connected real estate millionaire in New York City gets involved in a deal that looks really exceptional. It turns out to be a different deal entirely, involving the Russian mafia and every kind of danger. He barely escapes and must go into hiding for the rest of his life. The fast-moving story deserves this award, one of many this year for Oceanview Publishing. The author, Adam Gittlin, is a very talented writer. This is his second book.

For the cover, I wanted to convey that the "deal" is really two deals -- the enticing bait and the hidden trap -- so I made the title appear twice over a New York City backdrop. One title was totally visible, the other hidden behind and ominous looking. Clever! Rejected. Well, twenty-five design variations and proofs finally brought us to the simple cover design you see here. We tried versions with NYC at night, daytime, day and night together, as well as the title in many color choices and combinations. It can be a long process to end up with a simple design that really works. It's unpredictable, and worth the effort.

I put the oval on the back cover so we could convey the two deals after all. The hidden deal is in plain sight but not obvious. You'll have to read the book to get what I mean. Sorry. I should not spoil the surprise.

Click either image above to enlarge.

My radio interview on book cover design

The program is Writers' Voices on KRUU. I was interviewed for an hour, revealing secrets to two very charming ladies. Mary, my wife, made a short appearance toward the end. You can download or stream it from here. 

Did Man Create God?

NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Winner

USA BOOK NEWS BEST BOOK AWARDS

Religion: Winner  

Science: Finalist

David Comings, MD once attended a panel discussion on book design I was moderating. Afterwards, he showed me his book cover and asked if I would improve it for him. You can see his old cover with my critique of it in the "before and after" section of my website here. One thing I didn't include in my critique is that in my cover design, the artwork at the top has been processed with dots used in printing presses, but the dots are enlarged to bring attention to them. The effect visually suggests God's hand is "created" by man's technology. First, it's a painting by Michelangelo. Second, it's technologically reproduced. Double the effect. If I used the painting without the enlarged dots it would be rather ordinary. Just plugging in a picture like this one can be a cliché.

David was in a hurry and I didn't get to read his book. He needed a quick improvement and didn't even ask me to design his back cover or spine. I'm very happy to learn he's winning multiple awards. It makes me want to read the book now, darn it. Hey, David! Send me a copy, okay?

Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARD

Winner

FOREWORD MAGAZINE'S BOOK OF THE YEAR

Finalist

Simply put, Don Bruns wins awards. He grabbed three for Stuff to Die For, the first in the "Stuff" series. This second book carries the ball nicely, and a third will be out soon. The theme? A couple of twenty-something buddies near Miami get into serious danger each time they try a new business venture using their broken down box truck. James Lessor and Skip Moore barely get out with their skin intact, and the assorted cast of characters makes you cheer, boo, and sometimes hold your breath. A great read every time. Funny, fast-moving, and many say Don is creating a new genre, a guy's answer to chick lit. Published by Oceanview Publishing.

This time, Skip and James sell burgers to patrons attending the big tent events led by a very successful and influential evangelist. Big dreams of fast money are taken over by big trouble. Guns, conspiracy, suspense, romance, and belly laughs.

The first cover I designed looked like the Reverend's gold Bible with the box truck added. Not enough danger. Don suggested adding a gun. After a few different angles and sizes of guns, the Oceanview team abandoned the idea and we went for a night scene outside the tent. The palm trees are back, always good for identifying the locale. The box truck is parked on blood-stained money, an obvious metaphor. Assembling all these pieces together to create a somewhat believable scene using the trees, tent, crosses in the windows, truck, money, blood, and door sign for the business took some time. It was worth it.

You might notice a sticker on the truck with "A NOVEL" on it. I added the dash between the words so it might look more like a label on a truck and yes, the sticker is tilted. On the first book, we gave the truck's license plate the "novel" treatment. It really looks like a Florida plate, doesn't it? Details like this are always fun. Here is a look at both. On the left is Stuff to Die For, right is Stuff Dreams Are Made Of.

Lose the Diet

 

NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Diet: Winner   

Editor's Choice: 2nd Place

Best New Non-Fiction: Finalist

NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS

Diet/Nutrition: Winner

Self-Help: Finalist

Health/Wellness: Finalist

NATIONAL BEACH BOOK FESTIVAL

Winner

Tough to lose weight and keep it off? Here is help. Know yourself, be in touch with your inner spiritual core. Kathy Balland shows you how. Her message transcends weight loss to help you become a happier person in general. You get solid, useable tips and facts to educate yourself about managing your weight in a healthy, spiritually oriented way. 

I contacted Marci Shimoff, NYT bestselling author (Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul, Happy for No Reason), who loved the book and gave a very strong endorsement. Now here come the awards. Kathy's off to a great start. She even has a lovely book trailer.

For the cover, I wanted a large title because it's such a compelling three-word message. The universal circle for "no" bonds with the word "diet". The subtitle surrounds, hugs, the happy female showing off her new figure. The subtitle's last two words make this diet book unique, so I enlarged them. The yellow blend in the background adds energy and is good for a health book. The violet type contrasts well and is associated with spirituality. The book's benefit -- transform your body -- is conveyed in red, the attention-getting color.

We got Marci's endorsement at the last minute. I used one sentence of it for the front cover, placed at the top because elsewhere caused a mess. It looks kind of stuck on -- definitely NOT my usual method -- but it works for me somehow. It stands out on its own. I went hot and cold deciding whether to do it in plain black condensed helvetica on a colorful cover, believe me, but I wanted it strong because it had to be small. Would I do it that way for another cover? OMG. Well, maybe.

White stars line the left edge of the cover, wrapping around to the spine. They'll be there for us when Kathy publishes her next book, as a visual brand. The stars are unobtrusive but add some distinction in the genre.

What happened to good book covers?

World-renowned book marketing expert John Kremer is mad! He pulls me in for a poke at a very reputable book publisher. Hey, it's all in fun. Or is it? 

Conspiracy of Silence: book trailer award

Conspiracy of Silence just won the NEW COVEY AWARD for Most Artistic and Intriguing Trailer. The book is already an award-winner -- and now the trailer is, too. Read my comments and VIEW THE BOOK COVER in another blog post. Of course you must VIEW THE TRAILER and visit the AUTHOR. Enjoy!

Congrats, Martha!

Finalists: Book of the Year: Fiction

I'll give a story about each later, but want to share this now. Oceanview Publishing has four out of fourteen finalists in the category of fiction: mystery. I design all of Oceanview's covers which now add up to thirty. Rabbit in the Moon already won an award this year and I discuss the jacket here. 

To see one of these jackets larger, just click it. Same for any cover you see in my blog.

In addition to these, there are four finalists in the health category. See them here.

Finalists: Book of the Year: Health

Here are the covers for 4 (out of 14) finalists in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year. I'll post a story about each later, but want to share this now. You can view the covers of four other finalists (mystery category) here.

The publishers of the above books:

Notes From the Waiting Room: Axiom Action

Critical Conditions: Lemon Grove Press

8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back: Pendo press

DIY Baby!: iUniverse

iPhone Life

Hal Goldstein's latest magazine endeavor (this is the 2nd issue) almost wasn't. Then it was. After all, magazines are folding these days, not starting. But this concept shows great potential and the magazine is finally up and running. If you have an iPhone, you definitely should visit iphonelife.com. I do, and always gain something.

In 1986, Hal had me design his first newsletter, The HP Portable Paper, when the smallest computer was called a "portable". Hal asked me if I'd designed something like this before. I said I had experience because in art school we were told it's is how you get work. Say "yes" and then do whatever it takes to excel in the job even if it requires lots of extra time. Well, that was an understatement. At the end of the project with the deadline looming, I worked around the clock, five days with no sleep, entering a strange state of dementia I will never forget. Was it worth it? Hal has been a loyal client every since, and I designed every issue of that darn newsletter for years, and every cover he's published. And we're great friends, too. OK, it was worth it but I wonder sometimes if I've fully recovered from that weird time warp.

BTW, it has been interesting to see Hal publish for the world of small computers. He had to change the magazine when the "portable" became a dinosaur, replaced by the "Handheld" and later the "Pocket PC" and then the "Smartphone". He changed the name of the magazine over and over. Ouch! A brand's worst nightmare.

Rabbit in the Moon

 

FOREWORD MAGAZINE'S BOOK OF THE YEAR

Silver Winner

FLORIDA BOOK AWARDS

Gold Winner

NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Finalist

Whether or not you have heard of the Florida Book Awards, they attract major authors from big publishers so this Gold is very significant for Oceanview Publishing. ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year is a major honor. The book involves China, which certainly doesn't hurt these days, but it's truly an exhilarating and informative yarn that is grabbing great reviews.

I just finished the cover for Deborah's next book, Dead Air, my 30th jacket for Oceanview and you can see them all here. Their team is a real pleasure to work with and I always look forward to the next book!

The Oceanview team had a lot to do with this cover. Or rather, the cover that wasn't. How do you say "rejection"? My first design was really cool and subtle, at least to me. Reject. I did another cool one. Reject. OK, I stopped being cool, rolled up my sleeves and got out the sledge hammer. The result you see above. Massive approval. It is admittedly better than the two rejects, even if they were so darn cool.

You'll notice a red calligraphic character above the title. It translates as "longevity" which is central to the story involving an ancient, esoteric Chinese formula which is sought for political power. The title itself refers to a Chinese legend regarding this formula. The cover's background image is the lid of a carved box, which is not only beautiful but nicely evokes Chinese culture and gives a rich feel. It was a lucky find but I did have to work with its color and make other adjustments.

The title font is called Kanban. The Chinese-like font idea was decided by the team before work began but my creative instinct wanted something not so obvious. At the end of the day, I must admit this font does work. The book is doing very well and the authors get many complements on the jacket so -- you learn something every day.

Girls-Only Weight Loss Guide

Foreword Magazine Book of the Year - GOLD WINNER

Dr. Susan Bartell and her husband Lewis came to a three-day-long IBPA book publishing seminar where I was moderating a class on book design. The day before, Mary and I missed our flight out of Iowa (don't ask!) and there were no more available seats on ANY airline so we had no choice but to drive to Chicago, spend the night and catch the first flight out to NYC the next morning. We'd arrive at the seminar an hour before the panel discussion began at 2 pm which was tighter than I like, and this was my first time moderating a class so I was a little nervous already but what can you do? We checked into the hotel at O'Hare, had a late dinner and went to sleep. 

Well, at 4 am I was jarred awake by my cell phone. An automated male voice enthusiastically informed me that my flight was cancelled so they placed me on the next flight which would depart an hour later. Great. We're gonna arrive at the hotel -- if all goes well -- exactly at show time. Landing in New Jersey, catching the bus to Times Square and jogging three blocks to the Marriott Marquis with our carry-on luggage bouncing along was a sweaty nail biter. It was Mary's first visit to New York and she was gaping at the carnival on the street and overhead while also trying to keep up with this perfectionist who HATES to be late. I mean, not just late but in charge of a class which is starting right now while I'm out here fumbling on the street trying -- and failing -- to prove I'm a responsible guy. I'm a professional, darn it. IBPA trusted me, but will never again. This was all going through my head over and over. Now I know better, but back then it was breaking news. I'm caught. A flake. The illuminated bulletin board that flows around 1 Times Square at the corner of 42nd Street and Broadway carried a special headline. "George Foster Screws Up" but I was too intense to notice. 

Finally, the hotel. I jerked to a stop in the huge, air-conditioned lobby, breathing through my mouth and spraying sweat, sweeping the area for an indication of where the seminar was. Upstairs one floor. Run. It's after two. So much for good first impressions. There it is. Dead quiet. A receptionist, thank heaven. Where's my class? Down the hall and here's your name badge. I straighten up and we walk in at ten after two. Applause. 

I take my seat at the front and make a lame joke into the microphone. All is forgiven. 

Well, I was going to give my presentation first, after John Kremer's introduction, but with the flight delay decided to give that position to another speaker in case I was just too late. In fact, just for that reason I chose to go last. 

After John, the next speaker's 20-minute segment expanded quite a bit (understandable because it was her first time) but the 2nd speaker also did the same and when it was finally my turn I had literally five minutes. Well, I learned two things then and there. First, am I the moderator or aren't I? This was my first time doing this and felt guilty for being late and was a nice guy when I should have given the "time's up" signal. Second, I could actually condense my precious, tenderly prepared 20-minute slide show down to five minutes. 

So I made it, we had time for a few questions, everyone seemed happy and we received high marks in the seminar score cards. Whew! Was it really over? In the hall outside, Lewis (remember him? this story is about him and Dr. Susan) showed me the proposed cover design for Dr. Susan's Girls-Only Weight Loss Guide. It was bad and I was blunt but they were nice and called me the next week. It took almost a year to get the book to press but when it hit, it made big waves. Dr. Susan has become a regular on CBS, ABC, FOX and CNN and other media as a guest offering expert advice. 

This award is no surprise. In addition, the book has earned the Benjamin Franklin Silver Award and Independent Publisher's Bronze.

You'll find the proposed cover that Lewis showed me in New York, with a short explanation of what's wrong, on this page of my website. 

This book was soon followed by Dr. Susan's Kids-Only Weight Loss Guide with a cover I designed to visually brand the series. Her third, Healthy Kids the Easy Way, is published by Sourcebooks and the cover was designed by their staff. After the first proofs were designed I was asked for my opinion -- and I offered ideas for refinement -- but the final design is still not what I would have done on my own. Oh, well.

Conspiracy of Silence

Florida Book Awards: Bronze Medal

Reader Views Literary Awards: Honorable Mention

Martha Powers has nine Regency novels and two thrillers with Simon and Shuster. Conspiracy of Silence is her second book with Oceanview Publishing, the first being Death Angel, an award-winner for which I had the pleasure to design the jacket.

This cover design aims for a feeling of isolation combined with serenity and a touch of the classic predatory camera angle. Her body makes the "i" in silence, creating a visual brand for Martha's books. In Death Angel, I took an angel pendant from the story to create the capital "A" in the title. 

The color scheme is stark in its two-tone contrast. The black is obviously the heavy part, but is not contrived. The scene is natural enough. It could have been a photo, but...

Believe it or not, the figures silhouetted against the shore took a lot of time and care to edit and assemble. The simplicity of the result makes it look easy, eh? Finally the woman was approved, and then... came the dog! How many versions of a dog can you do? Don't ask. But it was worth it.

BTW, on the internet you might see this cover without the dog because it was added after the cover was approved and marketing started. Martha felt the cover was a little too stark. Who wants to challenge the instincts of an award-wining author?

Update: The book trailer won an award! The New Covey Award for Most Artistic and Intriguing Trailer. How about that? See my post about it here.

Touch the Ocean

TOUCH THE OCEAN: 

2008 USA Book News Best Book Award -- WINNER

James Nemec is really a playwright but also a talented healer. Touch the Ocean is his first book in a trilogy centered around the craniosacral approach to health and healing. The second book, Journeys: Stories Our Bodies Can Tell will be published this year. The third, Awake and Asleep, will likely be in 2010. He is intimately familiar with the abstract levels of life and is able to convey them to the reader.

The ocean has a lot of meaning here. James describes healing sessions involving himself, his patient, and dolphins. His profoundly gentle treatments can be even more gently performed while his patient floats in the ocean in the presence of dolphins. The results are remarkable. There are other, larger meanings for world consciousness but I would let James himself explain.

James and I discussed the blue color used on the cover at length. He feels the blue of the ocean is healing and connects us to the blue of the sky. We tried to make that blue on the horizon as close as possible to the subtle energetic blue he prefers. Four-color process printing as it is, we are limited to its spectrum of color in the destructive color mode of ink on paper. James understood and accepted it. Then asked for more blue, but this time an ocean blue.

In Journeys, the subtle color of blue makes a comeback on the cover. The figure illustrates the body's chakras -- energy centers -- over a luminous grid of body-mind-time-space. The forehead disappears into a blue flower which is what I call a refinement of James' vision of the subtle energetic blue glow. We'll see how that flower evolves over time, won't we, James?

Stuff to Die For

2008 Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year -- GOLD WINNER

2008 National Indie Excellence Awards — WINNER

2008 Killer Nashville — TOP AWARD

Published in 2007, this is one of six novels by Don Bruns which have my jacket design, all for Oceanview Publishing. The truck is significant to the story, in fact its central. In fact, it's the running theme for a series of mysteries featuring two twenty-something life-long friends who live near Miami, getting into big trouble and figuring their way out of it with plot twists, action, suspense, and humor, while just trying to make a fast fortune using their old box truck with a new business idea.

That old truck is important to the jacket, and so is the palm tree. You'll see them showing up on the jackets of Stuff Dreams Are Made Of (2008) and Stuff to Spy For (2009).

Thank God I...

Imagine a book of true stories that personally illustrate how every adversity, no matter how bad, truly does contain a blessing. It is a beautiful and important revelation. It brings deep gratitude for what's happened in your life, allowing you to heal and live happily with an open heart. It can change your life. So, John Castagnini started a forum for sharing these experiences to help everyone grow in peace and inspiration. Many people, including bestselling authors, came aboard and it's been growing ever since.

Thank God I... is now a thriving website and book series and God knows what else John's creative mind is manifesting as I write this. The first book, shown here, became a #1 bestseller on amazon after only a few months -- a great start and indication of things to come! 

It's kind of like Chicken Soup for the Soul but with the emphasis on gratitude. Bestselling authors contributed chapters to volume 1, and more will be in volume 2 to be published this year. There are related books underway and more stuff coming faster than I can keep up with so visit their website to see what's going on.

The cover is designed to be comforting, religious and optimistic. The yellow (gold) and violet together help this occur. The flowing shape floating across the centered layout gives stability and grace. The edges of color shifts are softened. You may note the three dots in the title are hearts. The subtle mandala behind the title is a popular new age motif that works nicely here. John had a lot of input on that, as well as the color scheme and the script for the title. 

My lovely wife, Mary, is a talented and sensitive writer and also a contributing author to a future volume, her first time to be published in a book. How cool is that?

Step up to Steph

For me, Stephane Grenier is more than a client. His personal guidance inspired me to actually, finally, start this blog so he is the appropriate choice for my first posting of a book cover here. About two months ago, he published Blog Blazers, a collection of interviews he had with 40 of the top bloggers. His website for the book is, as you'd expect, immaculate. Kudos, Steph!

Peter Bowerman created the title. Steph's original title was too generic and forgettable so he wisely contracted with Peter to make something catchy and memorable. A book's title is very important. Peter is an old hand at this and many other things publishers need to do right. If you're ever stuck or just want to start on the right footing, look him up.