When I originally published my first two novels, Three Worlds Collide and Low Men, I opted to create my own covers.
I drew the scorpion for Three Worlds Collide: Rise of the Demon Scorpion by hand in pencil. Then I imported the sketch into an app on iPad called Procreate. In the app, I inked the outline of the scorpion then filled it with the red color you see below.
I also hand sketched the woman and the man on the cover of Low Men. I followed the same procedure with Procreate. I did this cover in shades of gray because this novel is all about morally gray characters struggling to find their way in a world with constantly diminishing lines between right and wrong, while caught up in the fight between good and evil. This story, as well as that told in Three Worlds Collides, asks: what would you? How far would you go? Are right and wrong relative to the situation in which you find yourself?
The man’s face is none other than the main character, Detective Mark Slade. I chose this image as my avatar across the web. Slade was a complex character to write. It took months of research to come up with a viable construct for him. I realized afterwards that, in many ways, he represented the best of my efforts concerning character development. This is why I chose his avatar to represent the work of Gransom Hayes across social media.
At the time I was satisfied with my work. But months later, I wised up and sought the help of experienced cover designers.
I realize my cover art was not that great, but I appreciated the home made feel they gave the novels. At the time I took a lot of pride in my efforts not only because they looked decent, but also because they conveyed the essence of each novel. Which is why I’ve left them available in paperback print with my original cover art.
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