Urban Fantasy Cover - "Hera, Queen of Mortals"

T.D. Thomas

Publication of urban fantasy novels for e-reader formats

Like all authors, I need my cover to accomplish three main things (listed below in order of importance):
1. Advertise the book,
2. Set the “feel” or mood of the book, and
3. Showcase me as the author.

The design needs
-front cover
-spine
-back of book

Key elements for the front cover are
-title (Hera, Queen of Mortals)
-author name (T.D. Thomas)
-volume (Book Two of Goddess Unbound)

Key elements for the spine are
-title (Hera, Queen of Mortals)
-author name (T.D. Thomas)

Key elements for the back of the book are
-book description (attached)
-a blank area where an ISBN barcode can be superimposed (about two inches up from the bottom of the back cover)
-the genre (Fantasy) in the upper left corner in small font, all caps

All text should be in a colour that contrasts starkly with the background.
All text should be in a font that is easily legible, even when the cover is reduced to thumbnail size.
The title should be large.

The front cover design should be striking, but simple. It should say everything in a glance. The principal focus should be the main character of the book: Hera, the Queen of the Greek gods. Hera comes to the mortal world, appearing as a sixteen-year-old girl in high school. The novel does not provide any specific description of Hera, other than that when she uses her divine powers, her eyes glitter and whirl with "the lights of a thousand galaxies."

Other front cover design elements could include
-Heroes: Hera recruits four ordinary mortal teens to help her
1) Jason - described as a drama geek (boy)
2) Darren - described as a big jock (boy)
3) Carson - described as average in every way (girl)
4) Morgan - described as "a little wisp of a girl: small and pale and white-blonde, like a tuft of cotton" (girl)

However, the key is that the cover not be cluttered with too many images. Less is more.

Feel free to look at bestselling book covers in the urban/contemporary fantasy genre for an idea of appropriate techniques.

Note that the physical copy of the book would be in trade paperback format: 6 x 9 inches (15 x 23 cm).

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Athena is dead. Justin is gone. The Heavens have been cut off from the mortal world. Unwilling to risk their own lives, the other gods exile Hera to the mortal world to repair the damage. Alone and mortal once more, Hera must find a way to stop her most ancient and cunning enemy: Ekhidna, the Mother of All Monsters, who is bent on amassing an army to finally claim the mortal world as her own.

But Hera can’t stop Ekhidna alone. She needs help. Mortal help. And so Hera begins a new mission: to seek out and awaken special mortals, mortals with the latent ability to wield divine power, mortals destined to become champions of the Heavens and guardians of Order.

The Age of Heroes has returned