Book Cover Art

I believe a cover art of the book should be able to convey in a snapshot of the story content and have an overall tone. I like erotic tasteful photography but I myself am not a photographer, I do know what artistically appeals to my sense and frankly the original colour covers for this series leave me cold.

One of the joys of going to Digital Books (Kobo Vox for me) is just because you like the book, doesn’t mean you have to put up with bad book coverart anymore if you don’t want to and want to be a bit creative.

I re-created the five covers for a book series called Knights of the Boardroom by Joey W Hill, using the blurbs and a bit of style.

Book 1 -Board Resolution

Blurb: “Savannah has been groomed since birth to take the reins of her father’s manufacturing empire. Her emotional armor is as tough as the steel used in her factories, and no man is allowed past it. Business partner Matt Kensington realizes that the key to entry is not to ask permission, but to command her submission. Calling on the unique sensual talents of his four-man management team, he engineers an aggressive takeover, determined to rescue the woman he’s always loved from the steel cage she’s manufactured around her heart.”

Love the story hated the bad porno cover......of a bo-hunk laying over the top of a blonde on a boardroom table......Dull and looks like a cheap porno. I chose a washed out photo and converted it to greyscale using Powerpoint. I like the Park Lane Font as it has a sense of Style & Money to it in Grey to compliment the photo style and a pop of Red for the Book Title as the story centers around 2 CEO of large company's and Red is a think is colour for war or power-plays.

Book 2 - Controlled Response

Blurb : “After seeing his boss Matt find the love of his life in the high powered executive Savannah Tennyson, Lucas finds he’s wanting more out of a relationship than just fantastic sex. Then on a cycling trip in the Berkshires, he stumbles on the pin-up fantasy of his life, a beautiful blonde pleasuring herself on her Harley in a secluded glade. Can he have the fantasy and the reality both? When Cassandra Moira reappears in his life a month later as part of a negotiating team on a three-day business deal, he’ll have to use every strategy—including the sensual skills of his own multi-talented team—to convince her the two of them have more than sexual chemistry, before she’s gone from his life again.”

 

 This doesn't have a cover of it own, it part of a Omnibus Story Collection. I wanted a cover for the story. I like book series to have a uniform look to them if I can get them so using the same font format I duplicated the Book 1 Cover Layout and adjusted the Photo. I found this image is quite dark and hard to make out but it a naked guy with a girl draped about his shoulders, I was bit at a loss with what to chose but I thought it went well with the Book Title so I went with this in the end.

Book 3 – Honour Bound

Blurb: “When not serving in the National Guard, Peter Winston is a successful businessman, part of the K&A management team. Like the other four members, he’s also a sexual Dominant, adept at bringing a woman to pleasurable surrender. The night before he heads out on his second Afghanistan tour, he meets Dana, a sexual submissive that gets into his head and heart the way no woman ever has. But Dana is also an Army sergeant. It will be over a year before they see one another again, and when they do, she’s suffered injuries that took her sight and will to live. With the creative use of a corset and the talents of the other K&A males, Peter sets the stage for another special night for them, knowing that only a submissive’s willingness to trust her Master will bring her back to love and life again”

This doesn't have a cover of it own, it part of an Omnibus Story Collection. It’s the story of 2 volunteer Afghanistan war vets. Yes, it’s a inter-racial couple (African American girl & White American man) -the only photo that didn't suck that I found and was tastefully erotic was of Bowie & his gorgeous wife Iman. It’s seems that these images are still taboo on the internet.

Book 4 : Afterlife

Blurb: “Rachel gave up seeking a Master years ago. After a failed marriage and terrible tragedy, she’s walled her soul against going down that dangerous path again. Then Jon joins her yoga class. He’s thirteen years younger than she, but his Dominant nature threatens her shields from the moment she recognizes it. Not only does he understand what her body wants—he knows what her soul craves. Part of the five-man executive team of Kensington & Associates, Jon uses his calm, philosophical nature to defuse volatile acquisition negotiations. He can compel opponents to willingly surrender when he draws the sword that closes the deal. As a sexual Dominant, he employs that same expertise. A spiritually driven Master who enjoys connecting with a woman’s soul, he wins her utter submission with his skills. But with Rachel, it goes beyond that. She’s the submissive his own soul has always hungered to have, and he won’t hesitate to use his talents, as well as that of the other four K&A men, to claim her.”

Bad Mills and Boon Erotica cover. This just had to go. I chose the photo on the basis there's lots of Yoga/Tantric/Spirituality and whilst the story is Alpha Male he is very nuturing approach to this one bitten-twice shy female lead even if the story contains elements of BDSM.

Book 5 – Hostile Takeover

Blurb: “Marcie has loved Ben since she was sixteen years old. He's never behaved toward her as anything more than a protective big brother, a family friend. But now she’s twenty-three, graduated from college, and starting her career as a corporate investigator.  She may be a blood-and-bone deep submissive, but she’s determined to prove to him that she can be the submissive of his heart’s desire. With a Master as tough as Ben, she’ll have to take whatever aggressive measures are needed—even if her deepest desire isn’t a hostile takeover of his heart and soul, but an unconditional surrender to it”

  

 Love the story but hated the glossy penthouse style cover, so this is what I came up with. Used Green as the pop of colour as the male has green-eyed in the story & is definitely a ass man. This is most daring photo choice in the covers I designed mostly I like the image is appropriate to the story content (lawyer, cars, a instigating submissive)

Love to know what you think – have I done better than the publisher’s vision in capturing the overall feel of the stories.