The Crystal Ball Wins 2nd Place for Cover Design at Annual Awards

Published on Tuesday, 06 May 2014 16:18

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The  cover of The Crystal Ball is a co-creation of author Joyce Mason and cover designer Karen Phillips of Phillips Covers. The Crystal Ball took Second Place in the 21st Annual Book Awards Competition for Cover and Design, sponsored by Northern California Publishers and Authors (NCPA). Joyce and Karen’s synergy is reflected in a design that takes in all major elements of The Crystal Ball story: the costume party (mask), danger/mystery (gun) and a party that’s a sort of love-in (disco ball and people giving the peace sign or the international sign  for “I love you.”)

“Where we got stuck was how to bring in the futuristic element of the party. The come as you’ll be in the future costume theme.” That’s when the Vulcan hand sign for live long and prosper found its way into the design. One of the more amazing finds was the font, used on the credits of the movie The Life of Pi. Oddly enough, Karen and Joyce had the idea to hang the mask off the Y almost simultaneously.

As people do tend to judge a book by its cover, all the TLC that went into creating this first one in the Micki Michaels mystery series was a winner–even before the plaque! “Thanks for bringing my vision to life,” Joyce says to Karen and looks forward to future cover adventures together.