Cover

I think covers are very important in drawing the readers in, to at least pick up  the book and check it out. Here are my book covers, and I'll tell you how you can create your own.

My first book cover, Waiting for Appa, was created by a family member who used Adobe Illustrator. I don't know the details of what he did, but I provided the photograph of the door used on the cover. I took it a long time ago when I was visiting Korea.

I've gotten a lot of compliments for this cover. I wanted the cover to convey a sense of loss and pain. I chose this Korean door because it's pretty. But more importantly, it anchors the story in Korea. The little girl in the shadows convey a deep sense of loss, with her doll hanging limply by her side. However, my favorite element in the cover is the tree. It just doesn't look natural, especially with all those sharp, pointy ends. The ends remind me of various medieval weapons. BUT, she's leaning against it. It is a source of despair as well as comfort.

My second book cover, Last Chance Lane, was created using a photograph I took with a DSLR. My son showed me this free online site, Pixlr.com, that allows a wide range of creative license to make the cover look pretty darn good (for doing it yourself).

Original photo

Last Chance Lane is about a young Korean-American woman who feels that she must atone for a life altering event she caused some twenty years ago. One moment of impulsive action takes her to a place where the line between reality and illusion blurs. In this world where she knows nothing, not even her name, she uncovers far more than she expects.  

Because of the blurring of reality and illusion, I chose these specific effects. After going into Pixlr EDITOR, I used diffuse and  pastel effects listed under Filter tab (in that order). I don't know why I didn't try the other way around, but I just didn't. I can't remember exact values, but you should check it out and try different combinations.

I thought about using other effects available at Pixler O-MATIC such as using hues of blue or grey, but I didn't want it to veer too far away from reality by using unnatural colors. I also intentionally made the title more difficult to see because the world in which the main character finds herself in is a little confused and unclear.

The third book cover, Five Stones, was created using the same online site Pixler.com with a picture I took with the same camera. I haven't quite picked "the final" one, but I'm close.

Original Photo

Five Stones is inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and I wanted the cover to convey a sense of distortion. Not an exaggerated distortion, but just enough to provoke some questions. The mother, Mrs. Kim, think she knows her daughters inside-out, but she doesn't realize that she doesn't see them as who they really are, but who she wants them to be. There are pockets of brightness, but they add more confusion than anything else.

I don't know why, but I like the blurring of lines. Not too much, but just enough. So, for this cover, I went into Pixlr EDITOR and used Diffuse and  Pastel effects listed under Filter tab (in that order). I didn't blur the picture too much, so try different combinations. 

Then I imported the altered picture into the Pixler O-MATIC. There, I ran it through different film strips named after people, then click on right arrow button to get to the next process. There, I can add different effect on the picture.  The points of light on the cover is from this process. My favorite effects are Bocea, Bubble, and Rainbow for this cover, but I think I can use a lot of these effects on many more covers to come (I hope).

I am quite happy with these covers, and I think I'll continue to create my own covers. The fact that I have complete creative control over the cover is awesome.

Have a great day.