Design a cover for my book about a Virtual World!

D.L. Ramirez

I am an actor/writer/playwright living in Manhattan, New York, U.S.A. This is my first novel, one that I've been working on for two years. About me: I like taking chances, trying new things to increase my enjoyment of life. I do everything in a big way, but not without looking at the necessary details. Bold colors attract me and unusual concepts thrill me.

[Book Synopsis: This is the story of Eva, a middle-aged New Yorker, whose passionate dreams and fantastical experiences in the virtual world of Second Life blur the lines between make-believe and reality. When Eva takes on the persona of her avatar Isadora, she befriends a Second Life call girl named Candy Kane McPhee, falls in love with the dashing Armand de la Croix and is stalked by the serial killer Pilgrim Soul. All this seems harmless play until these characters spill into her real life, changing her destiny forever.]

This book contains adult humor and explicit sexual language -- it’s written for the “murder mystery” crowd and the “tekkies” that play in virtual worlds on the internet. They are a smart and savvy readership.

Some important points.
1. The heroine EVA is middle-aged (40s), and attractive – her depiction should be age appropriate. In the book, EVA wears her dark hair in a pageboy haircut and has brown eyes. ISADORA, her Avatar, is extremely beautiful, is younger (20s), and has long, wavy, red tresses.

2. Eva’s friend, CANDY KANE MCPHEE, is a pole dancer in Second Life (SL) and is blond and buxom. She is murdered by PILGRIM SOUL at night in Central Park

3. The villain, PILGRIM SOUL, is a serial killer in Real Life (RL) who uses a switch razor on his victims. He is fair-haired with a powerful physique, both in SL and RL.

4. Eva’s lover, ARMAND, has a tall, athletic body in both SL and RL. His hair and eyes are brown. He is a larger than life hero.

5. There is a life and death struggle between ARMAND and PILGRIM SOUL first in SL then in RL. The RL struggle takes place in a dark stairwell – their struggle is seen as silhouettes on the wall.
I have some cover ideas:
A. Half EVA /half ISA: A silhouette of both, EVA’s on the left in black against blood red -- ISA on the left, red against black.

B. Going from an ordinary living space to a Second Life Inferno –- the feeling of Alice going through the looking glass.
(In both of the above ideas, I’d like the colors red and black to be featured.)

C. Whatever you imagine!

• No cartoons or clip art, please. Please avoid stock photos, if at all possible.

• There should be a sense of danger and mystery in the design.

• No text on the front but the Title of the book, which must be legible from 6 feet away, and my name.
Blurb goes on the back.

Don't forget the back and spine!

• Feature the title more than my name.

• Here are some examples of what I like. Please check them out:
http://www.tessgerritsen.com/books/…ne-garden/
http://scottoline.com/Site/Books/everywhere.html
• One that I hate:
http://scottoline.com/Site/Books/husband.html

It will be a paperback -- don't forget the spine and back cover

jpeg, 300 - 600 dpi.
pback: 5.5 x 8.5 inches
spine: .75 inch
.125 inch bleed on the edges

Changes -- (as of 2.26.11) (Underline "The Story" and "The Author". keep "d.b. hobbs" lowercase)

The Story

The Second Life of Isadora Tooley is the story of Eva, a middle-aged New Yorker, whose passionate dreams and fantastical experiences in the virtual world of Second Life blur the lines between make-believe and reality. When Eva takes on the persona of her avatar Isadora, she befriends a Second Life call girl named Candy Kane McPhee, falls in love with the dashing Armand de La Croix and is stalked by the serial killer Pilgrim Soul. All this seems harmless play until these characters spill into her real life, changing it and her destiny forever.

The Author

d.b. hobbs is a free-lance writer living in New York City.