The Opportunity

When Gary Whitta came knocking, I wasn’t taking on new client projects. In fact, I’d more or less taken a sabbatical from book cover design; at the time, I was juggling a complicated day job, writing a novel and experiencing another one being bought by a major publisher, trying to be a good husband and father, and more or less underwater.

Gary—screenwriter of Rogue One, The Book of Eli, and After Earth—had been steered my way by Hugh Howey, a friend and repeat client. I learned something about myself that day: I’m willing to open the books for the right project. Gary was hoping for a cover that matched the intensity and vision of his debut novel, and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

The Approach

Scheduled to be published by Inkshares—then a new publisher with a unique, community-powered model—Abomination was a powerhouse of a book: A brutal, medieval monster tale with a shocking core. The story deserved a cover that would be:

• Visually iconic

• Emotionally unsettling

• Focused on a single, unforgettable element from the story

The book was more than your average genre tale, and the cover needed to represent that.

But the right approach wasn’t immediately clear. I created a spectrum of paths that we might take, and shared them with Gary and his editor. Some of these covers were character-centric, while others established the haunting setting. What captured everyone’s heart, however, was a cover concept centered around an iconic element of the story: A beetle.

Stylized, ominous, almost totemic, the beetle practically leaps off of the cover. The stark central image dominates, set off by a restrained, textured backdrop and a period-appropriate typeface.

The result is a cover that reads like a warning sigil, unmistakable, almost primal, and hard to miss from across a room.

The Outcome

Inkshares’ publishing model asks the community to back its potential books, and Abomination was an immediate hit. The cover was part of the hook, signaling that Gary’s book was something entirely unique in contemporary fantasy.

And for me? A return to the work I’ve always loved doing, and a reminder that the right risks are worth taking.