I had the opportunity recently to create the cover for Chris Kennedy’s latest book, Can’t Look Back. Remember all those ramblings I made about how to run a book cover contest? Well, Chris is the perfect example of how to do it right. His design brief specifically laid out what he needed in terms of cover styles (ebook, print, audo book) and sizes. He provided a sample of his story so the designers could get an idea of what the personality of the story was like, and he provided excellent character descriptions along with some images to help better illustrate what he was going for in terms of style and character appearance. He had an idea of what he wanted on the cover, but knew that too many characters would spoil the impact, so he provided a breakdown of a story scene describing what each important character was doing. It made it easy to focus on a character that sparked my imagination.

He communicated. This is so important. He let me know what he liked and what he would like changed. He answered questions and kept me updated. This continued after the contest completed. I can’t say enough good things about working with Chris.

Now that the holiday break is here, I’m hoping to check out the inside of the book as well. Chris is better known for his military science fiction, so fantasy is a bit of a new venture for him.

Here is the blurb from the book:

Falsely accused of a crime, John Gatsby follows the real perpetrator through a mirror in an effort to clear his name. A stranger in a strange land, John arrives to find himself in a world at war, and he is immediately drawn into a quest that will save the world…or extinguish everything good in it forever.

Unable to find the mirror that brought him to the new world, John has no option but to risk his life and join the forces of good in their conflict. John can only hope for a brighter future; there’s no looking back.

You can learn more about it and Chris’ other books at Amazon.