Guest Post/Virtual Tour ~ Alexander Galant

July 18, 2012 By 3 Comments

Book Covers
 
You can't judge a book by its cover. Of course, this idiom is supposed to apply to judging people on first impressions. However, when taken literally we have no choice but to judge a book by its cover. Especially in the digital age where Amazon is the largest bookstore in the world and the first thing you see on the screen is the book cover.  It is the first impression a reader has of your work and sadly the author rarely has had a hand in creating this first impression.
 
I have a good understanding about this since I used to be a graphics artist and even designed book covers for books I never read and authors I've never met. But I would try to get as much information as I could to do it justice. A book cover should reflect the theme, mood or characters of the story. More often than not, authors have no say in how their cover is made. When I worked as historical researcher on 'Dracula the Un-Dead', I designed a book cover that was marketed with the manuscript and tie-in movie when it was sold to Dutton in the US and Harper Collins in the UK. After the edits they did their own covers which in my opinion did not adequately  reflect the theme, mood or character of the book.  On the UK cover for example there was a woman in a red cloak walking away under an archway. Not only was there no woman in a red cloak ever mentioned in the novel, the cover looked like the story of Little Red Riding Hood. When I asked about it, I was told that a woman in a red cloak is terrifying in the UK (I have yet to find out why).
 
Since I self-published 'Depth of Deception (A Titanic Murder Mystery)' I was in the fortunate position to design my own cover. I had the concept but asked my talented wife, who is an illustrator to draw it for me. The image done in old fashioned cross-hatch is of the Manhattan skyline with the ship Titanic reflected in the water. Because of the skyscrapers, it's definitely not the 1912 New York that Titanic never reached. However, it's also clear that this is not present-day New York. It is how the city skyline looked in 1982, the year the novel is set. The reflection of the ill-fated ship was to reference that this story is not set aboard Titanic but it's ever present throughout the novel. For the title I used a font and style that was similar to those used in detective shows in the 1980's — another subliminal way to set the time period.
 
I think authors should have adequate input to make sure their story is represented properly. Indeed most authors are not graphic artists, so finding someone who knows how to do a layout and balance of illustration and title in a way that makes someone stop and click to read more is important. And the author should be happy with it, after all, you'll be looking at it all the time. The cover is what you'll use on your website, postcards, Facebook page and book trailers (something I've also been doing for indie authors). Make sure it serves your novel and does its job — make people want to buy your book. 

Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: Alexander Galant (April 30, 2012)
Genre: Mystery
ISBN-10: 0987983512
Buy: Kindle, Amazon, IndieBound, The Book Depository

depth-of-deception

The year is 1982, and a beautiful young woman, dressed in Edwardian clothing, is found floating unconscious in the North Atlantic with a 1912 boarding pass to the RMS Titanic. Over in England, Callum Toughill, an insurance investigator, is assigned the case of a missing brooch that was stolen during a horrific, unsolved murder in 1909 Glasgow. He is chosen because it was his own grandfather who had botched the original investigation.

Despite the painful family memory and likelihood that all evidence will be long gone, Callum dives in. As he begins to uncover the tangled truth that the missing brooch may have ended up on the ill-fated RMS Titanic, someone is one step ahead, trying to stop him. Miraculously the mysterious young woman, nicknamed 'Myra' because of the inscription on her locket, survives and awakes in a Manhattan hospital with no memory of who she is. Myra’s vague recollections are from the gilded age of 1912 and she is lost in the alien, harsh world of 1982.

A respected and wealthy Titanic survivor named Edward Hoffman assists in exposing her as a fake, but the plan backfires and stirs up more details in Myra's memory which include the fact that Edward may be her son. Is it a bizarre case of time-travel or an elaborate hoax?

Alexander Galant was the historical researcher for the novel 'Dracula the Un-Dead', which was on the New York Times Best Sellers list in October 2009. Alexander also co-wrote the screenplay adaptation that was optioned briefly by Jan de Bont and adapted the novel into a dramatic stage reading for the Toronto book launch of Dracula the Un-Dead, which brought out the highest turnout for any event on the book tour.

Alexander has also written and directed several short films including "The Jigsaw Puzzle", which won the Festival Buzz Award (most talked-about film) in the New York Independent Film Festival; "First Light", Winner Bronze Remi Award for Fantasy Horror at the WorldFest Houston, USA, Special Commendation Award at the Festival of Fantastic Films, UK, and Best Technical Achievement from the International Festival of Cinema and Technology; "The Missing Piece", Winner Silver Remi Award for Suspense Thriller at the WorldFest Houston, USA; and co-wrote and directed "Star Wars: Blasted Behavior", a finalist in the Atom Films/LucasFilm Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge (George Lucas was one of the judges), which also won the Best Foreign Sci-Fi Film Award at the New York International Film Festival and continues to make the festival circuit this year.

Alexander's love of historical details can also be seen in some of the stage productions he has directed, such as the silent film era of "Singin' in the Rain" (Act-Co Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement in Live Theatre), a 50-year span in "Love Letters" and the World War II Amsterdam annex for "The Diary of Anne Frank".

Visit Alexander's website
Follow Alexander on Twitter
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Become a fan of Alexander's on Goodreads
Contact Alexander

Check out Alexander's other tour stops ~ 

June 25 – Introduction at VBT Cafe' Blog

June 27 – Reviewed & Interviewed at On Emily's Bookshelf

June 29 – Guest Blogging at AZ Publishing Services

July 1 – Reviewed & Interviewed at A Book Lover's Library
July 3 – Interviewed at KWOD Radio

July 7 – Reviewed & Guest Blogging at Waiting On Sunday To Drown

July 10 – Interviewed at MK McClintock's Blog

July 11 – Guest Blogging at Celestial Reviews
July 12 – Reviewed at A Word Fitly Spoken

July 15 – Guest Blogging with Cindy Vine
July 16 – Guest Blogging at The Book Hoard

July 17 – Reviewed & Guest Blogging at Words I Write Crazy

July 18 – Guest Blogging at Lori's Reading Corner
July 20 – Reviewed & Guest Blogging at The Lucky Ladybug

 

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Comments

  1. Connie B says:
    July 18, 2012 at 4:19 PM

    I loved learning about the covers. I’ve always wondered how much input the authors had. Some book covers are right on and others don’t work at all.

    I’ll be getting a copy of Depth of Deception. It sound really interesting

    Reply
  2. BK Walker says:
    July 18, 2012 at 5:11 PM

    Thank you for hosting Alexander :)
    BK Walker recently posted..Chutes, Beer, & Bullets by Jesse Holder Tour Kickoff – Not Your Grandpa’s War StoryMy Profile

    Reply
  3. Denise Z says:
    July 20, 2012 at 9:31 PM

    I agree that the cover should be representative of the read. Sometimes its just a pretty face, although I have picked up reads just because of the cover. Thank you for sharing with us today.

    Reply

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