Here’s the second take on a trade paperback cover for THE SHOTGUN RULE.

While the general consensus is that this is a huge upgrade over the FIRST TAKE, it is still missing the mark.  In an of itself, it’s a nice cover.  Truth be said, I prefer this to the hardback cover.  The problem is that Ballantine is trying to adjust the marketing for my books.  A concerted effort is being made to reach readers beyond the hardboiled/pulp/noir audience.  Not just mystery and crime readers, but readers who appreciate an offbeat story whatever the genre.  The leading edge of that effort is packaging.  The cover for THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH is the first cover that is meant to tilt toward those readers.  As the TPB of SHOTGUN will come out a month before the MYSTIC ARTS hardback, we want the two covers to be speaking the same lingo.

With all of that in mind, the problem I see in this very handsome cover is that it seems to look back toward the old marketing as embodied in the covers for the HENRY THOMPSON TRILOGY books, rather than looking forward to the new effort as embodied in the MYSTIC ARTS cover HERE.

 And so the process continues.