Friday, July 26, 2013

These guys will kick your butt!

James D. Best
Bandits' Roost, Photograph by Jacob Riis, 1887


New York City gangs were notorious. This historic photograph appealed to me because in The Return, Dancy must defeat a street-gang to save himself and his friends. The feud starts in Leadville, Colorado and follows our hero east. I liked the photo so much, I suggested that it be used for the cover.

Final cover for The Return, A Steve Dancy Tale.



This is the full cover. I especially like the cowboy shadow the designer added.



The designers did a great job. As I mentioned in Get a Spine, the spine is crucially important because it is all a browser will probably see in a bookstore. Here are the six spines for the Steve Dancy Tales.




Do people judge a book by it's cover? Do book covers sell books? Yes and yes. Need evidence? Here you go.

You might also enjoy Vintage Photograph to Western Book Cover.