Hell's Horizon is the second book in Darren Shan's The City series. Because it was a series, I wanted some continuity with Procession of the Dead, the first book, but wanted something that felt like a stand alone book as well. The same metal letters were used, but this time I wanted them to look big.
City signs like this one and the Silver Cup sign in Queens inspired the cover.
This photograph by Ryann Cooley had the exact mood I was looking for and he immediately got the concept when we spoke.
A photo Ryann took on his iPhone while scouting locations with my sketch for the lettering overlaid
The final book
The full jacket
For the paperback of Man Made, we decided to change the cover to something with a little more humor. Since Joel tries out several manly personas in the book— fireman, soldier, hunter, ultimate fighter— the "head-in-hole" concept seemed like a great fit
An image I pulled for inspiration
Photographer Melanie Dunea and her team brought my vision to life with an amazing set and Ross MacDonald did the illustrations.
Another illustration direction from Ross
One option for the cover with the finalized illustration
The final cover with Joel and his son
Fashion blogger Leandra Medine's hilarious book of essays needed a great fashion photographer to match Leandra's fun energy.
Photographer Jennifer Livingston's work had just the combination of fun and fashion that I was looking for.
Between Jennifer's awesome shots and Leandra's incredible wardrobe, it was hard to pick a single image for the cover!
Another cover option we were considering
The final cover