Guest Post ~ Bill Walker

 

Everyone's always heard the old saw about never judging a book by its cover.  And whether we consciously know it or not, that old saying is a bunch of hooey.  The first thing we look at is the cover, and in something like five seconds, we make a snap (and usually irrevocable) decision based upon whether we find that cover appealing or intriguing in some way.  Publishers know this and bank on it.  That's why most of the money spent on the actual design and production of a book goes toward creating the cover.  In fact, very often an author's books will have a distinctive visual style that repeats from book to book.  One only needs to look at a shelf of Nicholas Sparks novels to see what I mean.  There are reams of psychological studies that will back up this phenomenon, but it's simple human nature..  People are attracted to things they find visually appealing, intriguing, or familiar.

For the cover of my novel, I wanted an image that evoked themes and incidents from out of the story, and would be eye-catching and evocative in and of itself.  Because art plays an important role in the story, I knew I wanted a still life and the objects that presented themselves as the obvious choices were the Buddha, the letter, and the rose.  I will admit the letter was a bit of a cheat, since Joanna's correspondence with Brian is entirely electronic, but I quickly realized that a laptop screen or an e-mail printout would be anything but romantic.

The next step was to find an artist.  I'm good at manipulating images, but can't draw or paint to save my life.  However, in my work as a designer, I have quite a few contacts and found Mike Kupka (www.mikekupka.com), who was able to take my oral and verbal descriptions and render a lovely and romantic image, totally in keeping with the style of the book.  I couldn't be happier with it.

 About the author ~ 

A graduate of Emerson College's prestigious film school, Bill wrote and directed his first feature film, Pawn, while still a student. After graduation, he founded Newbury Filmworks, Inc., an award-winning production company renowned for making high-quality corporate films and commercials.

In 1990, Bill relocated to Los Angeles, and began a freelance story analysis career for various studios and independent production companies, while devoting his spare time to the writing of novels, short stories, and screenplays. He is also a highly-respected graphic designer, specializing in book and dust jacket design. He has worked on books by such luminaries as: Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Dean Koontz, and Stephen King. In addition, Bill is a member of the Authors Guild.

He has won awards for his screenwriting, his two short story collections for Mid-Graders, Five-Minute Frights and Five-Minute Chillers, are perennial Halloween favorites, and his first novel, Titanic 2012 was enthusiastically received by readers. His second novel, Camp Stalag was released in 2001. Bill lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Debbie, and their sons, Jeffrey and Brian. 

Make sure to check out Mr. Walker's last book, A Note From An Old Acquaintance.  It's one you don't want to miss! You can read my review HERE

 

A Note From An Old Acquaintance 

Mr. Walker can be reached through his website ~ Bill Walker Designs