Design an original, eye-catching cover for a Paranormal Fiction/Fantasy Novel

Terracotta Rose Publishing

Young Adult Paranormal Fiction/Fantasy Novel

I am looking for a full CreateSpace cover (front cover, back cover,
and spine) for physical release, as well as a front cover image that
will work for a thumbnail on Amazon. This is for the first book in a
series, so whoever wins would hopefully be willing to design future
covers, as well. The cover should be eye-catching
and striking. It is for a Paranormal Fiction/Fantasy book for Young
Adults, so the cover image should appeal to readers of that genre.

Title is "XODUS" and should be written in all capital letters. The
author name is K.J. McPike. I would like the title font to be unique
so that it could double as a word mark. I'd prefer the "X" to stand
out in some way from the rest of the letters.

The book is about a girl who can astral project, so I would like the
cover to convey that somehow. I also want to work in
realistic-looking
stars because constellations are really important in the story.

I would prefer the picture on the front cover to wrap around to the
back cover. Right now, the front cover image is the lower half of a
woman's face and she is pulling down her lip to reveal an X symbol
she has tattooed insider her lip. I love this concept, but it's been
a
challenge to make the X symbol look like a real tattoo. If you could
pull that
off, that would be great. I am attaching the current cover image and
the
symbol (hand-drawn rough draft—if you could make the symbol even on
all sides with even half-circles cut out that would be amazing, too)
for those who would like to
take a stab at that. I am also open to completely new cover concepts
if you think of something better. The same goes for the symbol. I
just want a design that incorporates the letters X, O, D, U, and S
somehow
in a small, tattoo-able symbol.

The book's size will be 5.25" X 8" with a spine of approximately 1".
The entire image will need a 0.125" bleed and no harsh lines for the
spine (it should allow for 0.0625 variance). Please also leave a 2" X
1.2" space in the lower right hand corner of the back cover for the
bar code. The design can continue into that space, just make sure
nothing important is in that area. :)

I am also working on the publishing company logo, and will
get that to you so you can work it into the lower left hand corner of
the back cover. The max file size is 40 MB. All the guidelines for a
CreateSpace cover can be found here:

https://www.createspace.com/Product…_type=SITE

Here is the back cover copy:

LALI’S MOM KEPT A SECRET.

THEN SHE DISAPPEARED.

Sixteen-year-old Lali Yavari can’t explain what’s happening to
her. Two months after her mother’s disappearance, she is flashing
between realities and strangers are watching her every move. And in
the small town of Browshire, there’s nowhere for her to hide.

Then the unsettling Kai Awana shows up at school. He won’t leave
Lali alone, and she soon discovers why he is so persistent: She has
inherited the ability to astral project—with a surprising
twist—and Kai needs her help. Unsure of his true motivations, Lali
follows her gut instinct to stay as far away from Kai as possible.
That is, until he promises to find Lali’s mom using his own unique
power . . . but only after he gets what he wants out of the deal.

Lali is sure she can’t trust Kai, but with her mother’s life
hanging in the balance, will she have a choice?

Please also my headshot on the back cover, along with the following
author bio:

K.J. McPike may or may not live in Seattle right now. She is a
self-proclaimed tumbleweed and has pretty much made moving across the
country a hobby. After spending five years as an infant teacher, K.J.
was inspired to write XODUS and decided to pursue writing full
time.
So far it's working out well, even though she doesn't get to hug
nearly as many babies.

For this contest, I would like to make sure to have all of the
following:
1. A sized PDF image for the ebook
2. A PDF image (front cover, back cover, and spine) for CreateSpace
3. A small, high-resolution black/white/grayscale version of the
symbol for inside the book
4. The original PhotoShop file in case edits need to be made in the
future

The winning cover artist will be credited in the front matter.

Finally, I have attached some covers I admire for inspiration. :)

Back Cover Copy:

LALI’S MOM KEPT A SECRET.

THEN SHE DISAPPEARED.

Sixteen-year-old Lali Yavari can’t explain what’s happening to
her. Two months after her mother’s disappearance, she is flashing
between realities and strangers are watching her every move. And in
the small town of Browshire, there’s nowhere for her to hide.

Then the unsettling Kai Awana shows up at school. He won’t leave
Lali alone, and she soon discovers why he is so persistent: She has
inherited the ability to astral project—with a surprising
twist—and Kai needs her help. Unsure of his true motivations, Lali
follows her gut instinct to stay as far away from Kai as possible.
That is, until he promises to find Lali’s mom using his own unique
power . . . but only after he gets what he wants out of the deal.

Lali is sure she can’t trust Kai, but with her mother’s life
hanging in the balance, will she have a choice?

Author Bio for back cover:

K.J. McPike may or may not live in Seattle right now. She is a
self-proclaimed tumbleweed and has pretty much made moving across the
country a hobby. After spending five years as an infant teacher, K.J.
was inspired to write XODUS and decided to pursue writing full time.
So far it's working out well, even though she doesn't get to hug
nearly as many babies.