Create an Inspirational Fantasy Book Cover

SIEGE

Cara Amy Goldthorpe

Cara Goldthorpe is a writer, poet, mystic, and lawyer. Drawing from her diverse life experiences, she aims to bridge worlds through stories, inspire a sense of wonder and connection to the universe, and remind us of the interwoven nature of existence.

Arian is a storyteller and psychic, who has been hiding under false names since birth for reasons even she does not know. When her city comes under siege, she unexpectedly finds herself leading the people into battle. But all too soon, the troubles within her own heart cause Arian to manifest destructive realities. When her brother is wounded and she is captured, Arian is finally forced to look her inner shadows in the eye. Will she succumb to the darkness, or learn to love even the enemy? Siege is a metaphysical fantasy tale, infused with poetic prose, rich symbolic imagery, and insights from the author’s spiritual journey. Beyond its written words, this is an activating spell book for awakening our subconscious and casting light on our own shadows… in order for us to heal our internal relationship with self, and thus with the world.

People interested in fantasy, spirituality, metaphysics, poetic prose and literary fiction works. Young adult and over.

Tapa blanda o Paperback

I want the cover to convey a feeling of connection to nature and the elements in a mystical, spiritual way. I am open to different colour schemes but I like purples (not too much colour emphasis though). I would like a realistic feel to it (to evoke a connection to the natural world and this earth), but also to inspire a sense of magic and mystery. Some themes from the book for background information: - The themes are all about light and shadow, and how our external reality can manifest through the internal: I explore duality a lot, and the healing and destruction of the earth. - A key prophecy in the story is that a woman who is a half-blood from two races, will awaken soon - a possible saviour to guide the people back to peace. But it is foretold that she will either "save" or "curse" the people, depending on the choices she makes and the healing within her own soul. - I will like a cover that conveys shadow and light, that is mystical, that conveys the duality of split realities, split possibilities, destruction vs. healing... a cover that also has a spiritual and cosmic feel to it. - I like the cover to have a natural feel, evoking a feeling of connection to the earth - throughout the book there is also this idea like the soul of the earth itself has split in two and is suffering, caught between the polarities of light and dark, health and disease. Another image/symbol that is used throughout the book is the tree. - I like the idea of the cover being split in "two", with half of it being more light and vivid, and the other half in more shadow tones (imagine summer/winter, light vs. dark etc). I use a lot of imagery in the book around the destruction of colour, beauty, .. for example the book begins with a woman watching as an army is approaching and they are like a swarm of black covering the fields of flowers, the black taking over the colour. I have the following idea for visual design, using the photos uploaded of the autumn tree and of the woman at the ocean. This is my idea but I am open to other designs too, preferably using my own photos (uploaded) - Left half of the book cover inspired from the photo of the silhouette with the ocean background (I think preference of the vertical one) and right half, an autumn tree. The idea is to somehow blur/merge/layer these photos together, with the backgrounds slightly faded - the key images being the woman, and the tree. - One half in more dark tones, the other half more vivid (I think the left side to be more vivid, so there is contrast of the black silhouette against a vivid background, but explore different options) - Using some effects to make the tree like it's split in two, half summer, half barren. I have also attached on old cover design which I really like the text for. I like the style of the font, and the artwork of the leaves. I have permission to use this artist's work if it is possible for the text to simply be taken out and re-used. This is the look I'm going for. However, I don't want other aspects of that cover. For me, it is too dark, I don't like the style of the woman figure in it, and I don't feel it is has the natural/elemental feel that I'm going for. I have attached a number of my own photos to use. Finally - The book size is 6 x 9 and the page count is 328 pages.

Although this is a fantasy novel, I want to avoid emphasis of this and I want it to feel more rooted in the real world, but with a mystic feel to it. I have a preference for using the images provided as a base instead of stock imagery, but am open to both. I like the authentic feeling of having the images come from me personally. In the example of an older cover I had designed, I do not like the dark feeling, or the "grid-like" backdrop to it. I also do not like the style of the image of the woman