Tickety Boo Covers Feedback Forum...

[Dan Jones]

It's a bit cooler in tone now; I like it. Quite a lot.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

It's my favorite colour.

Faded strawberry?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I like it a lot. the book is more reflective than book one, so the colours suit the feel well. nice job.

 

[ratsy]

I think it looks awesome and will look great on my bookshelf. Good work Gary, and Jo this is a catchy cover to sell more books!

 

[ralphkern]

I like the general color scheme and positioning of the elements. The only thing that bothers me is that the planet seems... cartoony compared to the ships and back drop (which do fit together).

I presume it's a composite image? Backdrop, planet and the three ships?

 

[Gary Compton]

Thanks for all the feedback. Now another one - Boneman's Indigo Heartfire.

I think I may have got it wrong on the first cover so have been toying with the idea of a new one in readiness for a Bookbub promo.

This is a romantic comedy with some fantasy elements. Does this do it for you. The original cover is here. I have tried to get away from the fancy font as the pic itself is busy enough.

I still have stuff to do on it like the beads in her hair should be all Indigo

 

[Juliana]

Personally, I think having the couple and the fairy makes it a little busy. I love the fairy! But I don't read a lot of romance nowadays (despite all the Barabara Cartland's I devoured in my far off teen years) so I'm out of synch with what the fashion is. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will come along!

 

[thaddeus6th]

Should stress romantic comedy isn't my cup of tea, but I agree on it perhaps being busy (there's also the CGI and photographic difference).

 

[Ray McCarthy]

The couple needs a different background, or the Fairy needs to stay with a different foreground element?
It's busy and clashy?

Put the couple on the beach or just have the fairy?

It reminds me of the covers for Willard Price 1980s Knight published version.
http://www.gdprice.com/books/02482.htm

Better version
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Willard_Price_Amazon_Adventure.jpg

[EDIT: I have a bunch of the 1980s Knight Edition and I think it's the worst cover of all editions, it just looks daft having the large figure rising out of the regular image]

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I agree - stronger just with the fairy. For me, the font on the title is a little too unfussy and needs a bit more of a defined font.

 

[Gary Compton]

Any better?

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Better without the couple -- they looked odd. Err... you want just one T in Marryat.

She looks a little ... intense? And somehow the dress is not quite right on her body.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Any better?

Much

somehow the dress is not quite right on her body.

Maybe she lays eggs and has funny ribs rather than the usual female mammal equipment?
If she is even a she. I'm not well up on fairy anatomy. I have a book of flower fairies. They don't look very human either.

Is her hand resting on a blue hoop? If so it maybe needs to be a little more definite.

She looks a little ... intense?

maybe that's OK, perhaps she is a bit intense.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

She is a bit intense, yes, but I didn't have the impression it was quite that kind.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

The dress does look like it needs a ribbon round the back of her neck (there seems to be a metal bar between the points), or else is glued on or else is made of very stiff stuff.
Some people make dolls clothes to test feasibility ...

 

[Dave]

The man on the original seemed to have very large hands, but he is gone now! And the dress looks like it is about to fall off the fairy.

 

[ratsy]

I'm not a huge fan of CG covers of people. Ships and planets are okay, but doesn't feel as professional when done in CG and not drawn. But that's just my humble opinion.

 

[Gary Compton]

There ain't no planets or ships in the story, Ratsy!

The original pic is drawn

 

[TheDustyZebra]

There ain't no planets or ships in the story, Ratsy!

Clearly an oversight.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Since the fairy in the book is a flirtatious sort of fairy, I think the amount of skin she is showing is appropriate. Plus, romance covers often feature a lot of skin.

I see the font for the title is very similar to the one you used on the cover the book has at present, but for me it's more readable, and I think the font for Jo/Jeff's name is much improved over the one you had before. Though with the general look of the cover, a serif font for the name might be better still.