Create a creepy cover for my upcoming novel, The Pedestal.

Technology

My company provides website development, website integration and graphic design services to small businesses and individuals. My business will operate as an independent publisher for a novel I intend to print within the next month or two.

I will be publishing a science fiction thriller entitled, "The Pedestal." The title refers to the entire world's singular reliance on a global network, called the "nexus". Nothing happens on plant earth without the nexus tracking it, so entrepreneurs sometimes take illegal research and development into space, where the nexus can't watch. A bizarre species of plant called a "blood plant" has been genetically designed on a Martian research facility. It has been carefully engineered to embody a variety of hallucinogenic properties, perfect for earth's starving illegal drug market. Unfortunately, because of Mars's harsh environment, the plants evolve to be extraordinarily hearty. They literally root on anything. When a few blood plant seeds are prematurely introduced to earth, the alien plants quickly overtake local plant populations. They grow with unnatural speed, and they feed on the heavy metals found in building structures and electrical systems. In very little time, the entire nexus infrastructure is compromised. Without the nexus to coordinate day-to-day activities commerce and social interaction, the human population returns to the dark ages virtually overnight. I'm looking for a design that draws from the creepiness of the plants, which are both lethal and able to grow literally anywhere on earth (from a solid piece of concrete, to your face, if you were unfortunate enough to fall asleep with a seed on your pillow). The male plants are small (knee high) with a purple hue. The females grow like trees on crack, up to 100 feet tall in a couple of weeks. The underside of their leaves are blood red. Both resemble a cross between ferns and bamboo in terms of form. As well, I'd like to incorporate the "pedestal" metaphor if possible. Looking for something simple and powerful. Not a fan of 'busy' designs, and I'd prefer to not see any "characters" in the design. I may consider one exception: there is a scene where a man falls asleep after a blood plant seed has gotten into his ear on Mars. He is discovered curled up as if asleep, only a blood plant has taken root in his head and grown from his ear as if from a flower pot. Kind of a creepy image which may or may not work as a cover design. Also, I'll be producing a book trailer in the near future, so no space suits or space ships, since your designs may not mesh with the designs we end up filming. Beyond that, I leave it to your creativity.

Here's a rough draft of the jacket description (it still has a way to go, but it should give you an idea of how much space will be needed for copy on the back cover): "Meet Robert Sinclair, 2105’s most eligible bachelor. Tall, dark, handsome. Intelligent, a natural athlete. Women can’t resist him; men look upon him with awe. Okay, now forget about him, because this story isn’t about him. Meet Wilson Abby, 2105’s most… well, it’s no surprise he’s a bachelor. Painfully ordinary, more than a little socially inept. In a world ruled by vanity and self-gratification, the few women who notice him at all do so with pity or mild irritation. Good times. But life isn’t all bad. Since birth, Wilson’s behavior has been tracked, quantified and influenced by the NEXUS, a global framework that draws the planet’s human populations into a single community of super consumers. Tethered to a tiny device implanted in every man, woman and child, the NEXUS is constantly evolving to more efficiently govern the fulfillment of human proclivities. Wilson is fortunate to be on the cutting edge of NEXUS development, cranking out code for a highly innovative software development firm while others are pouring concrete and repairing solar tiles. He should be happy. But while his endless superficial whims are satisfied in an instant, there remains no cure for loneliness. When his coworkers and loved ones suddenly begin dropping like flies, it becomes clear that loneliness is the very least of Wilson’s problems. As clues to a sinister conspiracy begin to emerge, his frantic search for the truth drives him from the lazy comforts of home to the barren surface of Mars, where unspeakable horrors await. Wilson must outrun gangsters and politicians, outwit trained assassins and fend off hordes of flesh-eating creations before the world as he knows it is completely destroyed."

Every design category has flexible pricing for all budgets. Book cover starts at $299.