Judging a book by its cover: Designing a front

I know people tell you not to do it; but I still do. I judge a book by its cover. And I expect others to do the same.

So to find the perfect cover for What Kills Me, I needed inspiration. I looked at other books. I looked at movie posters and album covers. I surfed Deviantart, an online community of artists. Then this image by Liliana Sanches Davis caught my eye:

It’s a CD cover that the Lisbon-based artist designed. I loved the movement, the drama, the starkness of the body against the stormy clouds. Much of Liliana’s work is dark, emotional, and surreal. So I asked her to create the face of my book.

The first draft that she came up with was beautiful but it did not fit the spirit of the story. (“Hey, every vampire in the world is trying to cut my head off but let me relax on this rock for a moment.”)

Liliana and I talked about Zee, about her struggles, about her journey. Liliana’s next version was very similar to the final one. I think she does a great job honouring the story.

What do you think?

For more of Liliana’s great work, visit her gallery at Deviantart.