Explosive book cover for medieval action-thriller

Sins of the Father

Matt Turner

Matt Turner is also the author of The Good Men and Hellbound. He currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina, where he attends the Medical University of South Carolina. He welcomes any and all feedback at thegoodmenandhellbound@gmail.com.

In this book, three adult siblings - Isabella, Everard, and Jacques - seek to uncover the truth behind their father's untimely death. This leads them to the eventual discovery that their father helped discover a mysterious book (in-universe they regard it as a message from Heaven, in reality it's a modern medical textbook) that warns about the impending Black Death, drawing closer every year. The book then veers into medieval-James-Bondesque territory, where the siblings encounter the bad guy (crazy evil noble who has gone mad with power by studying the future text) on his island fortress, where he reveals that he is planning to unleash an even *more* virulent strain of the Black Death on the world. Violence erupts - there's an action scene with a massive war-elephant that I think is the best part of the book - and ultimately, the day is saved.

This book is aimed towards a younger, more likely male demographic. Lots of language and violence.

Paperback

I don't have any exact cover in mind - however, I do have some suggestions. 1. The climax of the novel comes in an arena match-up against a terrifying, pissed-off war elephant. This may be difficult to include in a cover, but maybe some reference to this - a looming elephant in the background, an action scene featuring a charging elephant - could look pretty cool. 2. The Rule of Cool applies very strongly here. The more the cover pops, the better. I'd love to see some experimental covers. I want you guys to have as much freedom as possible with this. Literal, abstract... just make it loud! 3. Some reference to the influence of our modern day on the setting would be nice (maybe a biohazard symbol, to reference the modern medical textbook that has fallen into the villain's hands). That being said, always go for Rule of Cool - if it looks silly or doesn't quite fit in your design, don't worry about including it.

I am very open-minded in this contest. I have no restrictions.

Every design category has flexible pricing for all budgets. Book cover starts at €269.