Welcome to my worlds!

I'm James Maxey, author of fantasy and science fiction. My novels include the science fantasy Bitterwood Saga (4 books) the Dragon Apocalypse Saga (4 books), numerous superhero novels including Nobody Gets the Girl and the Lawless series, the steampunk Oz sequel Bad Wizard, and my short story collections, There is No Wheel and Jagged Gate. This website is focused exclusively on writing. At my second blog, Jawbone of an Ass, I ramble through any random topic that springs to mind, occasionally touching on religion and politics and other subjects polite people are sensible enough not to discuss in public. If you'd like to get monthly updates on new releases, as well as preview chapters and free short stories, join my newsletter!




Friday, January 21, 2011

Potential new Bitterwood trilogy ebook covers

I'm not thrilled with my current covers on the ebook editions of my Bitterwood trilogy. It's not that they are actively bad, I just don't know that they really catch the eye. I also think that ebooks present some challenges that are going to require some rethinking of what works as a book cover. On my Droid, I'm seeing covers smaller than my thumbnail on my bookshelf. Fine detail and small print just vanishes at this scale. And, even on Amazon, unless "see larger image" is clicked, the cover is seen at two or three inches high, or even less if it's being seen on a net book. On the flip side, people are starting to browse the web on wall-sized televisions. Trying to create a cover that looks good when it's 1 foot tall and 1 inch tall is a designer's nightmare.

Below are my new attempts at solving the problem. Simple, bold, high contrast images. I should probably make the text simpler, but part of me wonders if covers really even need text any more. Every reading device or software I've seen so far displays the title and author name in plain text immediately next to the cover image. For now, I'm using the text more as part of the design than with an intense concern for readability.

Thoughts? Comments?







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