A Fifth Magic

Covers

The author says:

A Fifth Magic is a dark fantasy novel set in a fractured post-civil-war society where magic is both feared and tightly controlled. Detective Michael Hawthorne enlists the help of sceptical academic Laura Blythe to investigate a locked-room murder mystery that mirrors the methods of a war criminal they believed to be long dead.

Nathan says:

There’s one big problem: It’s too murky. There’s not enough color or contrast to catch the eye of a browser who sees the cover in thumbnail in a string of other cover thumbnails.

Fortunately, fixing that is super-easy — barely an inconvenience! Thirty seconds of playing with levels and saturation gave me this:

It’s not anything like a final version, but it gives you an idea of the possibilities once you look at the artwork and say, “How can I make this more arresting?”

Other comments?

Fragmented Sky

Covers

The author says:

In the crumbling dome city of Grid 46, breathable air is a luxury rationed by Praxis Corp, a ruthless megacorporation that views survival as a commodity. Technician Lyra Sato struggles to keep her sick brother alive while uncovering a buried secret—the enigmatic Seed System, a sentient, evolving AI embedded within the dome’s infrastructure. As the dome teeters on the brink of collapse and tensions flare between oppressed civilians and Praxis enforcers, Lyra must navigate impossible choices. With the Seed System reaching out to her for guidance, she faces a harrowing question: can she reshape the dome’s future, or will her decisions doom what’s left of humanity?

Nathan says:

I think you’ve got a bunch of great elements. Let’s tweak them.

1. The type’s too small. Be loud and proud.

2. Everything is center-aligned but the title. Either center-align that too…

…or right-align the byline to balance it out:

There are other tweaks you could then try — should the letter spacing be tightened so that the title can be even bigger? how is the line spacing? — but I think that will put you in a good place for finishing touches.

Other comments?

My Mother

Covers

The author says:

My Mother is told mostly in the first-person narrative and from the author’s point of view. Set mostly in St. Lucia, the memoir juxtaposes the author’s personal experience of his mom, his mother’s researched life story (and that of her relatives), and St. Lucia’s contemporary history. It dwells on the workings of a family, holds up Philomene, the heroine and protagonist of the story, for both inquiry and honoring, and draws intricate connections between the historical, cultural, psychological, and economic context and the lives of individuals and families. The book should appeal to readers of the works of Toni Morrison and Jamaica Kincaid.

Nathan says:

The problem here is that none of the points of interest you mention in your description — the contemporary history of St. Lucia, the historical/cultural/psychological/economic context, etc. — is indicated at all on the cover, even by the text.  The only appeal the cover has for potential readers is whether they happen to like that face.

Even the title — My Mother — gives the potential reader nothing to gravitate toward. After all, the reader already has a mother; why would the reader want to learn about yours?

Something screenwriters learn is that every screenplay pitch needs to include a “strange attractor” — something that the audience doesn’t see every day, that they want to know more about. Is it the setting? Is it a particular unusual episode in your mother’s life?

If your book were included side-by-side in a row of books about authors’ mothers, what would you have on your cover to make it stand out from the rest?

The Name Once Erased

Covers

The author says:

Genre: psychological thriller Third in a series. Book one and two had been compared to V.C. Andrews and Book three is similar vibe.

Working Blurb: After The Girl Once Known and The Bond Once Broken, this family story reaches its thrilling conclusion in The Name Once Erased. Mira is now married with children, and she believed she had her family’s dysfunction under control—until her grandmother’s funeral. She had always thought her father’s side of the family, despite his past indiscretions, was the more stable one, free from secrets. But an online ancestry test reveals a cousin her father insists he doesn’t know. Then her estranged paternal aunt and cousin resurface, and Mira pushes to find answers because if she knows one thing, it’s that secrets have a way of coming out. As Mira digs for the truth, someone seems willing to go to any length to bury the family name and its secrets for good. But Mira is determined that the lies, betrayals, and past hurts must end with her even if it puts everything she loves at risk.

Nathan says:

Let’s look at the previous two books to check the branding:

I can see where you’re trying to go — “similar but different” — but the photo for the third book is over-processed, and it’s distracting.

The raindrop motif is also much subtler, so much so that even in the full size, it only appears at the second glance. In keeping with the trend toward fewer raindrops on the previous two covers, I would confine the drops on the third one — maybe just to the lower half, or just to the margins — but make them large enough to be noticed.

Other comments?

The Rending Cauldron

Covers

The author says:

The Rending Cauldron The Handmaid’s Tale meets Alien in this dark medieval fantasy where one species’ plan for survival lurks behind a blood-stained shroud of secrets.

In a prison hidden by ancient magic, Vestra hunts for a path to liberty from her captors, but the deadliest threat is one she can’t outrun. It’s growing inside her. Astérien, Vestra’s betrothed, hunts for her day and night, racked with guilt about Vestra’s capture. His efforts betray him, and he suffers inescapable captivity of his own. Worlds apart, the two young elves fight ingenious systems that would see them separated forever, and little does Astérien realize just how little time Vestra has left to break free. Only through the deeper understanding of both magic and mercy can the two of them hope to defeat their enemies and navigate the painful path back to one another.

The Rending Cauldron, due to its sensitive themes and some shocking imagery, is intended for adult readers. It should appeal to readers of Terry Brooks, Michael Moorcock, and (I hardly dare say it) Brandon Sanderson.

The cover art is a concept. Typography is not my strong suit and may end up outsourced, unless the whole design is trash. (I also have a second concept I’m toying with.)

Nathan says:

I don’t think the cover concept is bad at all. It definitely needs some refinement.

The stained-glass motif allows you to essentially use line art — very bold, simplified imagery that will stand out and be understandable in thumbnail (where the majority of your readers will first encounter your cover).  So lose the stone-texture sun pattern that doesn’t mesh well with the stained glass anyway, reduce the distracting textures in the baby dragon and make it larger, and generally work on making it “pop” in thumbnail.

Other comments?