Help Dave Donovan with a new book or magazine cover

Dave Donovan

I'm an author. I used to be a technology executive, and before that a military officer.

I'm looking for an original book cover design (front, back and spine) that will inspire potential readers to pick up my book and give it a chance. I believe I'm telling an interesting story, and that readers will want more of what I have to offer, but I also know that they must first be interested in what they see. So, I greatly value what I hope the successful designer will create.

My book is about humanity's first contact with an advanced alien civilization. That contact comes in the form of a single spherical ship detected approaching the Earth which then re-arranges itself into 18 smaller spherical ships, 17 of which continue toward Earth. As each of these ships enter the Earth's atmosphere, they lose ~90% of their mass before landing (ask me why, if it helps). Shortly after landing, they again lose ~90% of their mass and change from being a single sphere to being thousands of roughly tennis-ball sized spheres. Each of these smaller spheres is a 'gift' to a human, more specifically to a single human. Each gift may help the recipient, or it may be a ruse to hurt the recipient and all humanity.

One recipient believes he might be able to 'save the world.' He accepts a gift in order to do so. I'd like the art to reflect the spherical symbolism and one person's fight against a bureaucratic response to change, especially enormous change. The numeric base of the gift's makers is nine, so there may be some fun with that.

I've spent the last ten years of my life as a technology executive (google my name and staffing, if you wish). I'd rather write, and I'm interested in finding partners who add value. If you amaze me with your design, and if people want to read my books (big if), I'll offer you the chance to share the journey with me. Traveling alone is boring, and art can inspire art. I believe it's possible (maybe likely) that I'll rewrite parts of my books based on the covers I see, and they will make it better!