“The cover is a perfect reflection of my book, and every time I watch the video, the power of the images and music makes me want to cry.”

—Vicki Allen-Hitt

In Family Matters, a young teenage girl looks at the cracked glass to see her dysfunctional family. Yet, at the broken center, a portion of blue sky shines through, which suggests a hopeful future.

World in Exile takes place several hundred years in the future when the earth is controlled by a giant corporation. A small group of revolutionaries escape and try to find a better world, but the corporation and its minions pursue them into deep space.  The spaceship, the threatening skies, the pirate, the girl, and the rather stern fellow bottom right hint at some of the challenges that await the protagonist.

Most of my promotional videos last approximately 20 seconds. This video lasts over a minute and includes multiple transitions and images. The same young girl on the book cover watches the glass of a frame crack over and over, and each time, she see more family members until, in the final frame, she sees herself as a woman.

"I highly recommend Jim Hitt as a cover designer and artist. He gives and receives suggestions graciously and with great attention to detail. His work effectively references the key elements of my novel, imparting a strong flavor of what lies inside. Thank-you, Jim, for a job well done."

—Daniel Kuttner

The video adds movement to the cover.

The next two books are mine.

I made two videos for the author. Both use part of the cover design to emphasize the action and plot.

Texas, 1925.

Two murders, one black, one white.

Two communities, one black, one white.

Deputy Sheriff Davy Stoneman has only three days to uncover a murderer and avoid a bloodbath.

Murder, violence, the Clan—the cover reflects these qualities of my novel. It also implies a man reaady to stand up for his beliefs.

NOTE: I suggested the idea for the cover—three riders, two men and a woman—ride toward a storm on the Llano Estacado. My publisher, Gale, designed it.

When I came to make my video, I wanted the image to show the main characters in my novel—an African American narrator in the forefront, a young man who was half Indian-half white, and a Comanche woman. Behind them, the skies hint at a passing storm.