My cover for "Murder @ Work" (Echelon Press 2004) was commissioned by the publisher and designed by Nathalie Moore. And yes, I had the opportunity to give input. I remember requesting "a minimalist cover with no realistic dead bodies". There is nothing more off-putting than a young beauty lying in a pool of blood, particularly if the book in question is marketed as a cosy read.
Because the setting of my book is an important element, I also wanted the cover to shout "South Africa" with all its implications, but without too many political overtones. After all, my book is a murder mystery, not a treaty about power struggles. As the blurb promises, it's the story of a ordinary people in a country whose culture and social structures changed literally overnight, from a country where a woman couldn't open a shop account without her husband's permission, to a democracy learning its first steps.
The cover turned out fabulous and it fulfilled all my expectations. See for yourselves.
Yvonne Eve Walus
http://yewalus.kiwiwebhost.net.nz/index.html
