JT Gregg needed a new book or magazine cover design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 100 designs submitted by 20 freelance designers.
Greg K at Windchyme Press LLC
Indie publisher focusing on fiction and some nonfiction (pending)
A cover for a psychological suspense novel about a young woman detective who sets out to prove that a psychoanalyst is subtly manipulating his patients to commit suicide.
Plot outline: A young woman detective is hired to investigate the mysterious suicide of a young woman who HUNG herself over a 7th floor balcony right outside her shrink's office. Detective concludes the analyst may be a serial killer who convinces his patients to commit suicide; she goes into analysis with him to see what he does, feeling immune to his tricks, but ends up attempting suicide (Tub, pills, cuts wrists); survives, has to get her head together and figure out what happened, prove he did this deliberately.
Images suggested: Rorschach cards, blood, hanging woman, butterfly (some combo of these); also mysterious leatherbound volume, analytic couch, the evil doc resembles a thin version of the old "Nosferatu" from the classic B&W film, young woman dressed to entice. Takes place in MN in urban, winter landscape so there is a lot of cold, ice, snow. Any other psychoanalytic/therapy images; Freudian, etc. The book is about confusion, self doubt, falling apart psychologically, nurturing and coldness, if any of that rings a bell.
Most likely target audience is people who enjoy psych suspense who are familiar with psychotherapy and such, so think appeal for somewhat more college educated middle class types (not a Harlequin looking thing.)