Create a cover for the 1st book in a Young Adult trilogy!

                   Author

This cover will be for a young adult novel, the first in a series.

Title: Edgewood

Author name: Karen McQuestion

Thank you!

I need a book cover for my young adult novel, Edgewood. It is the first of a trilogy so the next two books should have related design features.

Cover design needs to work for both a 0.7 x 5.5 x 8.5 inches paperback print version, front, spine, and back but must also work well as a thumb nail for the Kindle version.

The book is already out, but the existing cover hasn’t been drawing the target audience—teenage girls. I’d like the cover to convey both Young Adult and Fantasy (with a hint of Romance). The description of the plot is down below in the listing of what will be on the back of the book cover.

I’m envisioning a cover like Cassandra Clare’s The City of Fallen Angels. I like that one because it conveys romance, young adult, and fantasy without being too literal. I think YA readers respond to the kind of images on this cover—beautiful teens, and I also like that it gives the impression that something fantastical/magical is going to happen in the story.

Although I’m envisioning a cover like this, frankly I have NO design skills and you should feel free to do whatever you think best in order to draw the right audience for the book.

The main character Russ is a 16-year-old described as having brown hair. He’s tall and has a good build. Another character, Mallory, has dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin tone. Jameson is a tall lanky boy—very blond and pale skinned, while Nadia is dark-haired and petite and keeps her face hidden in the hood of her sweatshirt because she’s hiding burn scars along one side of her face.

Don't feel that you have to show all four characters.

In the book, the teenagers typically wear casual clothing--hoodies, t-shirts, jeans, etc.

Edited to add: A cover with just the main character, Russ, is not what I had in mind. Showing a guy AND a girl, or the group, would be preferable. My old cover had just a guy, and I think it was off putting to teenage girls. Thank you, and I apologize for not being clear from the start.

The story takes place in a small town in Wisconsin.

Back cover info (please leave space for bar code in lower right hand corner of back cover):
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From bestselling author Karen McQuestion—a brand new, spellbinding novel.

Wandering the dark streets at night is Russ Becker’s way of dealing with his relentless insomnia and the angst of life. But that changes forever the night he witnesses a strange astronomical event, then discovers he’s developed incredible superpowers.

And he’s not alone. Three others in his town—sexy Mallory, arrogant Jameson, and mysterious Nadia—have had the same experience and acquired intriguing powers of their own. As if Mallory isn't special enough with her good looks and high IQ, now she can control peoples’ minds. Jameson thinks he’s the coolest because he moves objects with his thoughts, and shy Nadia struggles to understand her new empathic abilities.

At first the four secretly relish their newfound gifts while keeping them hidden. However, things get serious when they learn they're being hunted by an organization that wants them for its own nefarious purposes. Russ has always picked his battles wisely, but when the bad guys threaten his family, they're about to find out they messed with the wrong teens. What transpires will change all of them in ways they never imagined.

“I devoured it in one sitting!” New York Times Bestselling Author Lesley Kagen.

Look for Karen McQuestion’s Wanderlust—Book Two in the Edgewood Series

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Further requirements

Images must be high resolution, minimum 300 dpi
Book will be published via CreateSpace and KDP
My personal website is http://www.karenmcquestion.com. Feel free to ask me any questions.