When work is not work.

Have you ever read a book and thought, I’d love to design the cover for this (or write the screenplay, or whatever your creative bent might be)? I have. It was when I read “Tollesbury Time Forever” by British author, Stuart Ayris. It’s an unusual book. I don’t normally go for ‘literary’ books, but it caught my interest, so I downloaded it and read it while waiting for my husband to have tests in hospital last year. It says a lot for the book that I didn’t mind the six-hour wait at all and even felt a little miffed that P came out before I’d finished. My review of the book is here (and it took me a long time to find because it has a lot of reviews).

A couple of weeks ago, Stuart asked on a forum we both belong to, if anyone knew of a book cover designer who could re-do his book covers. He asked it during the day in England which, of course, meant that I was fast asleep. He’d been given suggestions by the time I saw it, so I watched a dream sail out of the window. Then I grabbed it by the tail and hauled it back in. Cheekily, I sent him an email. I’d no chance if I didn’t try. Wonderfully, he replied with a ‘yes please’. So I have spent the last ten days designing three covers for Tollesbury and the sequels (The FRUGALITY Trilogy).

Here’s the results –

Purchased at Depositphotos_23308274_1

Someone said how clever I was to use vectors. Truth is, I didn’t. I used this stock photo as a basis, resized it to fit the book and went from there, laying layers over the top. I don’t know if I’ve ever enjoyed doing anything quite so much (and those who know me know how much I enjoy doing my art work). The hours I worked on them just melted away. I only hope the covers help Stuart to sell lots of books, because believe me, they’re good!

Soon (hopefully) I’ll be launching a new website solely devoted to book cover design. My big dream at the moment (apart from a trip to Scotland/Ireland) is to be able to earn enough to stay home and work here – with writing, illustrating and book design. So I’m working on some pre-made covers to get people in and hoping that those who have used my services already will like them enough to spread the word. I’ll let you know when it’s launched! 

Tollesbury Time Forever