This month, Michelle Argyle at Melissa Williams Design reimagines the cover of The Last Will and Testament of Ernie Politics by Brad Grusnick, who said that “the new cover will make the book more enticing to readers.”

Design Note #1: Though the original cover is interesting, it’s doesn’t represent the book’s genre. Including the image of a knife and blood immediately tells the reader this is a dark crime thriller.

Design Note #2: To make sure the author’s name didn’t get lost on the cover, I gave it a unique color.

Design Note #3: The title is very long, so I stuck with a tight, concise font and created artistic elements to give it a spray-painted look. I also tilted it slightly to soften the mood a bit.

Design Note #4: The author wanted a sense of back-street grittiness, so I included many layers of grunge as part of the background.

To submit a book for a free cover redesign, email us at booklifeeditor@booklife.com.