Behind the Cover: Few Are Chosen

Welcome to Behind the Cover, a new random column. Folks always seem to be interested in how covers come together, so every once in a while I’ll do up a little post about what goes into creating some of the covers I’ve designed. Today, I’ll take a little tour in the creation of Storm Grant’s latest release, Few Are Chosen.

Few Are Chosen is a funny and light paranormal, taking place in a downtown Detroit cemetery at night. Storm noted that a large crypt was an important element to the story, and wanted the boys in front of one. Both boys are young but of age and I wanted to try and maintain some of that innocence of youth, even though they’re both appointed to the very serious task of slaying demons.

First up I searched for models that fit Storm’s descriptions as best as possible. After a couple hours sourcing out some cemeteries, crypts, moody sunsets, etc., I composed three specs for Storm to see if I was on the right track. The good feedback was that Storm loved all three. The bad feedback was that Storm loved all three. *g* The models in spec2 were closer to her vision of the boys, but she liked the mood of spec1, and the font of spec3.

Direction settled, I started off with some work on the boys. In the original image of Joey both his hands are visible, but against the dark background his left hand looked more like one of those dreaded, independently moving body parts. ;-) So I photoshopped his hand out and rebuilt the collar of his jacket where it had been.

With Blake it was the opposite. His elbow disappeared into the background of the original image, leaving me once again with a floating hand. So after knocking out the black background I had to rebuild his elbow and shoulder.

Once I had Joey and Blake how I wanted them it was time to start building the background elements. Flipping and reducing the cemetery image for balance and placement ended up making too narrow for the frame. I didn’t like how it sat any other way, so I built out the left side of the image to fit. Once that was done the sky seemed a little too dark, so I made another layer, lightened it, and blended it overtop. The atmosphere around the cemetery was misty/foggy, so I layered in some more fog around the boys in three layers and two shades.

Now it was time to work in the title and byline. I went with orange/dirty yellow tones to contrast the dark cool tones of the overall image. I was happy with the byline, but the title wasn’t there yet. So I layered in a “grungy” texture on the font. But still just a little something more was needed. In the cover art request Storm mentioned that Joey’s weapon was a twisty old wooden staff that glowed different colors depending on the spells he cast. So I drew a stick, knocked some nicks out of it with a couple photoshop brushes and then dropped in the same texture I’d overlaid on the title, and darkened it a little so it complimented the title instead of drew from it. I was happy with the overall cover, but more importantly, Storm was happy.

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The Blurb…

Sparks fly between virgin teenage demon hunters when the Chosen One turns out to be the Chosen . . . Two?

Apprentice warrior Blake St. Blake is the Chosen One, raised by an ancient order to defend the world against evil. Well, maybe not the whole world, but at least his neighborhood in downtown Detroit. When a dreaded reflux demon is sighted in a local cemetery, Blake is sent off to his very first battle, armed with his sword, his super-senses, his black leather duster, and a few well-rehearsed one-liners.

But another Chosen One gets in Blake’s way—an apprentice wizard named Shadow. While the boys argue about who’s the more chosen of the two, the demon escapes.

Blake wants to be angry, but it turns out he and Shadow have a lot in common. Besides, Shadow’s pretty cute, and Blake can’t help but think that the wizard’s skills (and hands and lips and other bits) might make the perfect complement to his. Blake and Shadow are brave enough to challenge the reflux demon in a second battle, but will they have the courage to tell each other how they feel?

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Few Are Chosen is available now at Riptide Publishing.