I’ve found a real talent in designer Brandon Stout. He’s finished the second of four new covers, for The Flatirons, for the new digital editions of my novels. It’s another beautiful design. Before he begins designing, Brandon reads the entire novel to get a full sense of the story, characters, theme and mood. Only then does he begin experimenting with typography and images. For this cover, Brandon found this haunting photograph of the Flatirons shrouded in mist. The Flatirons are an outcropping of the Rocky Mountain foothills that overlooks Boulder, Colorado where the novel is set. The photographer is Joshua M. Hill. He, along with his identical twin brother Jason, capture this picturesque corner of the world through photographs with the aim of sharing the experience of the outdoors. Check out their work at Silent Landscapes.
In terms of process, Brandon doesn’t show me any of the early design attempts; I only see the cover once he’s happy with a design. It’s a process that works: He’s two-for-two in hitting the mark and perfectly capturing the essence of each book on the first attempt.
american author 