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.