Dabbling with Book Covers

Here are many examples of book covers that would sit on a bookshelf next to my novel.

Noted:

• Bold Title
• Incorporates a one-line short quote
• Art holding subtle story queues
• Generally busy, in my opinion

I'm working with a paid version of Canva for these proof-of-concepts.

Version ONE.

IF I publish A LION'S HEAD as two novellas, I would like to focus on it being Sinha's story. My friend Jenne gave me the best advice recently: "The first cover can be thrown away and replaced with fan art at a later date". That advice helps since ideally I'd have an artist-drawn cover. That failing, Canva it is.

Initial feedback from fellow author and cover art designer Rachel Rosen suggested I should

"go bigger with the font and more contrasty with the colours".

I didn't understand this concept until I got to the very end of my journey (looking at the Beta version ePub covers on my kindle).

Why create a cover for a book that's not finished being written? I want to ensure that what I'm designing is consistent and reproducible across multiple titles, thereby setting the brand.

Version NEXT

I'm currently on version 5-10.

Adding even more contrast with a transparent shadow behind the main element's image.

I still feel like there could be more contrast for A Monkey's Mask. Instead of thickening the lines, I expanded the image.

Back of the Cover Blurbs

A LION'S HEAD

A Heaven Turned Into Hell During the reign of the Asura King Hiranyakshipu, the greater gods have migrated humans to the immortal lands of the Asura.

PROTECTOR OF THE PEOPLE Wishing to return his people home, the water buffalo deity Isha binds himself to the Asura King. Meanwhile, the man-lion Sinha—aided by three human companions—accepts the quest to defeat Hiranyakshipu.

One is fated to become a demon, while the other will become a god.

A LION'S PRIDE

A Life Spent Alone A thousand years have passed since Sinha evolved into an asura with the ability to transform into a lion and a man. Left to live in the mortal realm—knowledge alone will not suffice for experience—he seeks out his reincarnates from his ancient past, who serve as guides.

No Veil Between Worlds Hungry ghosts and demons prey on the human population surrounding the city of sages, Khankal.

In the Shadows, Sinha’s Ancient Enemy Plots his Revenge.

A MONKEY'S MASK

The Isle of Demons When he is summoned to Lanka by a Gandhabba blocked from rebirth, he is caught off-guard by the presence of his mortal enemy, Mahishasura.

100 Years After Ravana Meanwhile, a kingdom is under threat from both within and without, as a class war between Raksha and Yaksha reaches its breaking point. Caught in the crosshairs are siblings Anu and Tara—Raksha-born and Yaksha-trained.

A Prophecy Will be Fulfilled . . . Calling the Great Demon Sanni.

Updates Since Publishing this Post

• Since publishing this article, I learned it's a best practice to put the author name at the bottom of the book and the book title at the top. Facilitates people reading the title when the books are stacked on a rack, as they often are.
• 28 July 2025
  • Another lesson is to use the cover as an ebook cover. Loading the covers to kindle on ePub proved the original covers were inadequate. In addition to the fonts being too smal, my name does not show up with contrast in the final version. Back to the drawing board, again!
  • The second cover needed a full revamp as it looks too identical to the first in black and white.
  • Still a work in progress . . .

Tell me what you think about my book covers in the comments.

-D.M. De Alwis

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