Cover Art

Catalyst's cove

Wondered what the legalities are for just using the cover Catalyst Press bought for their publication of Bloodroom in 2003. I mean, who owns the art? Catalyst bought it, but they're out of business. Did the rights return to the artist? I never liked that cover, didn't think it represented the story. I liked my cover idea better but since I used a fashion ad as a base for my Photoshop filtering, using it for this printing would probably be a copyright violation. Got quotes from PhatPuppyArt to do cover art for my re-release of Bloodroom (www.phatpuppyart.com). A custom/exclusive quote means that the design isn't available for anyone else's book cover, which is very important because to a book, the cover is like the logo on a product. Also, I think the cover is THE most important thing, next to the writing because a good cover can make a reader curious enough to look inside, but a bad cover can turn him off the book entirely. Also, PhatPuppy has some really great paintings that remind me of each novel in the trilogy I'm currently concocting.  Fields blowing ominously, rainy swamps...great for The Bad Death. There's one with a girl sitting beneath a gargoyle looking out over a 19th century city. Wouldn't it be a cool version for House of the Apparently Dead to show a black girl crouching in St. Michael's bell  tower, looking out over 18th century Charleston while holding a bloody sword?

A promo piece using my cover idea