Khaki=Killer
Cover Designer: Vincent Chong
Comments about cover design
Vincent Chong of the U.K. has done numerous covers for authors as well-known as Stephen King and Ray Bradbury. He is one of the few cover artists I have met who actually reads the entire book before illustrating it. While that seems pretty “elemental, my dear Watson,” it is more normal for the artist to ask for a quick synopsis, which is not nearly as effective in later collaborative talks about sequences the author wishes to highlight.
It was actually my idea to put the blood on the knife and the tattoo on the arm, which is about the only “artistic” contribution I can honestly claim to the work of an artist who is arguably the BEST artist working today in the genres thriller/horror. Not only is Vincent Chong a much-decorated artist, he actually reads the book before he corresponds with the author to discuss the joint vision for the cover. I love both of the covers he has done that are entered here (this one and HELLFIRE & DAMNATION II) and I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with for HELLFIRE & DAMNATION III, for which he is also doing the (next) cover. If there is a better artist working today (in these genres), I have not seen their work. So glad to have had the opportunity to work with an artist of his caliber. Just found out that he was the Artist Guest of Honor at the World Horror Conference held in Austin, TX, in 2011. I was actually there, but never met Vinny “in the flesh” and, since he lives in the UK and I live in Illinois, I probably never will, but I feel I have gotten to know him, and he is truly one of a kind (as evidenced by the many Top Notch authors who routinely use him (Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, William F. Nolan, etc.).
Congratulations! This cover has made it to the finals! Vote for this cover by commenting about what you like about it, and by sharing on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest using the links above. The more shares, the more votes this cover will get!
Winners are determined by number of comments (one or two word comments don’t count) and combined number of shares. Please only share once a day, we don’t want to spam any social media!
This cover makes my heart pound! Even if the knife with blood wasn’t there, the tattoo convinces me that the man it belongs to is bad ass! This is one eye catching cover!
Nice cover. It’s got a slightly graphic novel sort of style to it, and I don’t know whether that’s appropriate without reading the book, but the perspective of having the killer’s forearm in the forearm while the fleeing victim is in the distance is a nice bit of composition. The tattoo gives the impression that this person is dangerous, and the one bit of color — the muted red of the blood — in the otherwise khaki-tinted cover is a nice touch as well.