The publisher says:

Tropic Death is a collection of short stories from the Caribbean and Central America, with themes of colonialism, race, and class. The book was first published in 1926 by Eric Walrond, and it became a popular book associated with the Harlem Renaissance. This is a new edition of the original publication.

Nathan says: Sorry, but I don’t think this works. At all.  The three main image elements don’t mesh with each other stylistically or spatially, and worse, I don’t come away with any inkling of what the book is about or why I should read it.

I find that covers for new editions of “significant” literature from the past works best using one of two starting points:

• A photo of the author.
• An image sourced from the time period of first publication.

Any other comments?

The author says:

An adult techno-thriller mix of Tom Clancy and John Le Carre. An honest Russian scientist is compelled by the difficulties of living in Russia to sell the submarine technology secrets he has developed, via a shady business associate and that person’s nephew, the Russian Consul in Seattle. Although these people believe they are selling the technology to a fishing company, it is a front for US Naval Intelligence, who are desperate to obtain the technology. A Naval Intelligence Officer travels incognito to St Petersburg to conclude the deal, but an honest Russian Special Investigator is on the shady business associate’s trail and knows what is happening. The businessman attempts to bribe and influence his way to immunity via the KGB (now known as the FSB) and offers to betray the scientist, the Navy Officer, and potentially his nephew too. A duplicitous American Diplomat, an accidental shootout, and a problematic escape by slow train heighten the stakes while the angry involvement of Russia’s President bullies the CIA into refusing their support when the mission needs it the most. What happens to the Consul in Seattle, can the scientist and his family escape to the West, and will the Navy Officer marry the scientist’s daughter?

Nathan says:

Tom Clancy and John Le Carre don’t Venn as well as one might think — Clancy is solidly techno-thriller, while the recently departed Le Carre is old-school espionage — but here are what the current covers for each look like:

The problem, of course, is that their names take up half of the cover because they’re well-known authors, and you’re not. But here are mistakes I see on your cover compared to the comparable titles you suggest:

• Your typeface is too playful. You want something strong and easy to read.
• Your image is too busy, both from multiple overlapping elements and from the godawful filter you used (sorry, but it’s true). You want something strong and simple; either a photographic or photo-realistic image with a single strong focal point, or, like the Le Carre novels, something stylized and simplified (but still focused around a single focal point).

Other comments?

The author says:

Although still in love with George, Colette has dumped him so he can be with his ex-girlfriend, and mother of his baby, Jeanette. In this book (#2 in series) accomplished musician and songwriter, Colette, starts a new life in Norfolk with best friend and boatyard boss Leanne. When Colette joins an all-girl band and falls for lead guitarist Candy, she has doubts about completing her gender transition. She has an emotional decision to make when an unexpected turn of events makes it possible for a reunion with George. Action romance with a transgender main character set in 1968 UK (no explicit sex scenes)

Book two follows on from book one, but can be read as a standalone novel. This is a concept cover in the same style as book one already published on Amazon.

Nathan says:

You just know that I’m going to have to find out what book one looks like. Here it is:

Keeping the first cover as a reference, I’d say: Good job in keeping things consistent for branding, with both the layout and the cover model staying consistent.  The biggest problems are where you break the template — no subtitle, and “Book Two” standing out by itself.

By advice would be to add a subtitle like this: “Book 2: only good girls rock” or whatever.  Keep it all on one line (which means, with the addition of “Book 2” to the line, the actual subtitle needs to be shorter than the first).

Other comments?

The author says:

The supreme Celtic goddess of war awakes in modern times and brings magic back with her.

Nathan says:

You get extra points for polydactylism, but…

Is this supposed to be comedic? The title, coupled with the font choice, seem to indicate it, but the imagery doesn’t reinforce it.

The compositing of the various images needs work.  The light source on the model is very different in both direction and color than the light coming from the moon, and the glow coming from his six-fingered hand is strangely confined to the hand itself, not showing up on his wrist or anything.

It was only after several looks that I realized that the female silhouette is in the center of the moon; before that, it was just oddly close to the male figure, leaving the right side of the cover empty and unbalanced.

I’m not sure if it’s better to tweak it or to come up with a new cover idea entirely.

Comments?

The author says:

In the early 1980s, four people in central Missouri are haunted by the past.

Ngo, a writer of children’s books, is crippled from a wound received in Vietnam. His writing makes him come to terms with the loss of his country, as does letters he writes to Nguyen, an old friend who betrayed him.

Ngo’s best friend is Judith Vogel, a teacher who can’t forget the oppression she saw in Guatemala. This leads her to befriend Concepcion, a girl from that country who is in Missouri to study music. Concepcion rebuffs Judith’s efforts and throws herself into her music…which helps fight off nightmares she has about Guatemala. Judith loses herself visiting an abandoned cemetery, many of whose graves are those of German settlers massacred by Confederate guerrillas in the last months of the Civil War.

Jonathan Amesbury runs a small-town newspaper while he decides whether to return to London or save his family’s ancestral mansion. He wants to find out Concepcion’s secret, and joins forces with a reluctant Judith. Will this be the big story he sought, or will their haunted pasts overwhelm him?

(genre: literary fiction with a mystery, but not a mystery category)

Nathan says:

It’s really hard to tell if the cover captures the feel of the book, because the description doesn’t even capture the feel, or *a* feel; it’s all over the place, with no real theme or storyline to latch onto.  Welcome to lit-fic!

I think the biggest mistake here is the bloody lettering. That kind of thing promises a story of menace and violence, which definitely isn’t what the description promises.

The second design problem is the way that the window frame in the upper image interacts with the cover’s border — it almost-but-not-quite-but-almost runs parallel, just enough to set my teeth on edge.  It’s like a flat note.  At the very least, zoom the image in and shift it slightly so the window frame disappears on the right, so the figure doesn’t seem captured by conflicting double-frames.

Beyond that… I dunno.  The cover seems to say it’s a violent story about a piano player and corn. Even if that were true (which doesn’t seem to be the case), I have no idea how you’d market that.

Other comments?