Cover & Interior Design

For Brush With Fire

Book 2, Mayenne Bay Series Novels

Synopsis:       

The sequel to Artifice, this contemporary literary novel set in a coastal Maine town continues the saga of colorful characters the protagonist, Claire, and her love interest, Guy, as they grapple with a mysterious fire, two missing women, and a troublesome town pundit.

Role:                Cover design, typography, interior layout

Format:           Trade paperback, matte finish, (5.5" × 8.5")

Design: The design elements of Brush with Fire echo the first book of the series, Artifice. Where the mood of Artifice is introspective, Brush with Fire unfolds through a bolder series of events. The color palette, though again, cohesive and painted with handwritten typography, is modified to reflect this change.

The front cover conveys the fire theme of the book and highlights two main characters.

The back cover, as with Artifice, reflects an interior scene of importance to the story in artistic unity with the front cover.

The interior design continues the same no-frills approach as in Artifice, with classic serif typeface, hierarchy of typography, balanced margins, and consistent grid system. It also introduces a new formatting and typographical challenge: Letters to the town newspaper are interspersed between the chapters.

The result is a continuation of the cozy, yet clean and contemporary, book design for the Mayenne Bay Series that figures prominently on the shelf and beckons readers.