Creating mock book covers

Book covers can make or break a book, and I've been lucky to have 4 published novels with 4 covers that were well received by readers. Often when I'm working on a novel, I'll design a "mock book cover". It helps to inspire me to really visualize the finished product, even if it isn't the most professional cover. Of course, the published cover isn't even close to the mock one I design.

For the "Next Best Celler" novel contest, sponsored by Textnovel and Dorchester Publishing, I'm working on a roma