The author says:

The story is a Urban Romance Fiction which targets Females 25-35. The story is about a female and her longtime boyfriend. Secrets are revealed that rips their relationship apart. As a possible knee jerk reaction she winds up falling in love with a new man. She has to try and resolve her conflicted feelings and decide who she is love with and wants to be with.

Nathan says:

From my perusal of the genre online (since I’m doubly not the target audience), I’ve seen that the covers of urban or African-American romance are generally more color-crowded than for Caucasian audiences.  That’s fine, but even within that framework, I think there are things that you could do to make the image “pop” more.

1. The figures don’t have enough contrast with the background — the poor fellow on the right gets lost in the wallpaper. Dimming the background, even just immediately behind the heads, would help the people stand out.
2. In the same vein, the title lacks contrast from the background, especially the word “Conflicted.”  Yes, they are different colors, but the values (light and dark) aren’t contrasting enough; in fact, the variations in color tend to camouflage the word instead of helping it stand out. You can see that more clearly if you see it in monochrome:

   

   I would lose the gradients in the title, and darken the image ever-so-slightly from the woman’s shoulder on down to let the title stand out.

3. The other problem you can see in the title, especially in the word “Conflicted,” is that the letters aren’t quite linked. This is a cursive font; the tails of each letter should run into the next letter completely, instead of having those itty-bitty breaks.

Other comments?

The author says:

Endless Realms is a Pen & Paper RPG system built from the ground up. We built a system that was easily accessible to newbies, but had that deep complexity longtime gamers enjoy. Our world does not fall into typical fantasy, even though we are a high fantasy game. We created everything from the ground up, and that means our races, classes worlds are all built from scratch. We did away with all the typical fantasy tropes and did something new and different. In terms of lore, our universe is rich and diverse, and expands far beyond the traditional RPG tropes of the genre. It borrows from real-world science, as well as mythology and history from all across the globe.

Nathan says:

I think the cover has the right mix of D&D-style design with original elements to signal to a browser that this is an RPG book.  My only beefs are with the type.

As you can see in the thumbnail, even the large words of the title get lost, because the partial band behind them aren’t enough to separate them from the background.  I would try putting them title in a white font with a dark border, not unlike how you’ve got “Core Rulebook” now.  You might still want the light band as a design element, but at least it won’t be the only thing separating the title from the background.

Apart from that, you’ve got three distinct ornate fonts — that’s at least one too many.  My rule of thumb is “the smaller the type, the simpler the font”; I’d put “Roleplaying Game” in something readable like a Garamond or Roman-influenced font.  “Core Rulebook” is also too pretty for its own readability.

Other comments?

The author says:

This is a sci-fi novel targeted for adults. The cover presented here is a layout concept. The story begins 50 years in the future as the protagonist and her husband travel to an exclusive resort on the Moon. A bioterrorist attack leaves most of the guests and staff infected with only days to live. The heroine goes into stasis to try and survive long enough until a cure can be found. She’s in and out of stasis for the next 200 years until the day arrives when she can take matters into her her hands.

What I see here is you’re trying to represent all of the story elements on the cover. Earth from the moon — check! Statis chamber — check!  Heroine and her husband — check!

However, do so means that your cover doesn’t have one central element on which to focus the eye.  Look at the thumbnail: The only thing clearly visible is the Earth, which is both generic and undramatic.

Find an image which will appeal to the readers who would appreciate the book. Maybe a skeleton, half-buried in moondust, with the earth behind it?

My first visual idea when I read your description, before I even say your cover, was this:

That’s the protagonist’s face front and center, and each of the vertical stripes is a section of a different color (present, though not as intense, on her face) with a different background, giving the visual message of one person in different times or places.

I’d have to play with it to see if it would work, but it does have the following things going for it:

1. A focal point to the image.
2. Structure.
3. Color.

You want your cover to have the appeal of a movie poster, as opposed to the “Well, it’s in space” impression of your mockup.

Any other comments?

The author says:

young adult urban fantasy

Nathan says:

It certainly hits the spot for the genre.  Here are the refinements I’d make:

• The title font is a little hard to read because of the ornamentation.  I wouldn’t swap it out, but I’d enlarge it so that the curlicues on either side of “Witchy” extended off the sides — that would focus attention on the actual letters.
• In fact, most of my refinements would be “make it bigger” — there’s no reason that the byline shouldn’t go from side to side, and if that crowds the reviewer blurb, that’s fine; it could move down to the space beneath her left hand (and move to a bigger font size itself).
• Speaking of her left hand… That’s my one real complaint. Aside from the book’s lack of shadow, I have no idea what’s going on with that book.  Is she using a steaming Halloween wig as a bookmark?  It may be something that makes sense once I read the book, but this is the wrong place for that.
• The only other thing I’d play with is the glow around the figure; it looks too “out of the box.” I’d play with either reducing it to the bare minimum I need to separate her from the background, or adding a texture to it.

Other comments?

The author says:

The genre is historical romance.

Konnar doesn’t believe in the power to tell the future or to see into the unknown. But that changes when Amber comes into his life. Amber, known in her homeland of Wessex, as the Maiden Seer, seeks refuge from her dark foretelling dreams of war. The rune readings she gives to her followers have also become too much to bear. But this can only happen after she fulfills her blackest dream … one in which she foresees herself killing a man. Konnar hopes the violent memories of his life as a Viking raider and tragic losses will be quieted when he leaves England forever. This upcoming task will pay for his future and provide for the village that depends on him. But, abducting the Maiden Seer and delivering her to the wealthy client goes wildly awry. Amber seems to know Konnar’s painful secret and claims to foresee a solution. While it enrages him that she negotiates her freedom with this knowledge, should Konnar dare believe the prophetess can help him? He is her captor, but hiding behind his might and violent history, is a man in need of forgiveness. It is that vulnerable side of him that she learns to love, as she enlists him on her dangerous mission to help the king of England. The Viking and the Maiden Seer journey throughout England to carry out her prophetic vision. Yet, they struggle with their mutual passion for each other, each unsure of the others true intentions. But what could it mean, Amber’s dark dream that began it all?

Nathan says:

Really, my only complaint here is the awkward edge of her wispy hair against the background.  Hair is hard to photoshop around, and it might be best simply to erase the hair down to where it becomes a solid mass.

Other than that, well done! Any other comments?