All wrapped up in orange

So, as I'm starting on final edits I'm trying to think of a cover, thinking about the the book with a marketing eye. I wanted to start with the cover because, as with my writing process, the words and the images go hand in hand. One of the things that struck me right away was that the title wasn't right. While "The Mighty Orange-Peel" is hilarious and understandable to me, it isn't the most engaging title from a marketing perspective. So began my adventures in coming up with a new title. 

I trolled through the works of one of my favourite book designers, Chip Kidd, to discover what his philosophy on books is. From what I gathered, book covers are a metaphor for the major themes of the book. And, really, the biggest theme in the book is Gemmy's 'otherness'. He feels strange. And over the course of the book his idea of who he is gets a jolt. So, I came up with the title "Kick Start" and did some quick mock ups, a la, Chip Kidd.

I love these covers, but I don't really think they reflect the genre or the feeling and sentiment of the book.


Next I had a hard look at the series name, "The Strange Chronicles". While it's a bit on the nose about how Gemmy feels about himself, overall, it's not what the story itself is about. Also, thinking like a business man, calling your own series "strange" does not give the best first impression. Ultimately the whole saga is about the process of Gemmy finding out who he is and what the heck all of the things that have been done to him mean. So, I titled the series: "The Emersus Project". You'll have to read it to understand that one.

Project Emersus

Then, I had a chat with a mate who also enjoys fantasy and he gave me some insight about what draws him in with a title. It has to have a hint of mystery and a touch of darkness. So, I had another wee think. Each of the stories I have lined up in my head would then need to be focussed through the lens of each being a phase of the Emersus project. The first phase being the work of Black Star Lab and what it has to do with Gemmy's family. And then it was like "Mystery - star, Darkness - black, other worldliness - black star" BOOM!

Here are some early sketches of a cover for my book "Project Emersus: Book 1 - Black Star"

I'm probably going to whip up a few other ideas but so far I like the starkness and slight feeling of doom of this draft. I know I've struck the right chord when I'm looking at an image and I hold my breath. That's how I feel when I look at the plain black and white one. What do y'all think?

I've done a few more that I don't really like them. The two above are cool but too sci-fi for my liking. And the last is just too banal. Any other ideas?

Enjoy!
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