My Chat with Cora!

Hello and welcome!

Today I have a very talented artist who does some amazing digital designs. I first heard of her when M. A. Abraham told me that she hired a new cover artist for her books and I think this was a great decision!

Please welcome Cora from Cora Graphics!

Cora! I love this cartoon portrait of you!

Do you have a nickname?
Cora is my middle name and nickname.

What is one word best describes you?
Curious.

What makes you laugh out loud?
Hubby’s ironic humor 😀

What is your favourite smell? What does it remind you of?
The smell of  laundry. Reminds me of childhood and afternoons spent in the laundry room with my mother and my grandmother.
This made me think of my own grandmother’s farm. The rugs were done at the river along with the neighbours and I loved the banter and teasing, the whole country side was echoing with laughter. Happy memories! I love hanging my laundry to dry in the sun, the smell is heavenly.

Favourite place to spend time in.
In the countryside, walking with my dogs.

Is there a genre that you refuse to read?
Horror.
I agree on that.

Designing book covers! What started it?
In 2011, while I worked as a web designer at a graphic design studio, I felt it wasn’t what I wanted to do. Book covers caught my attention and then I realized that is what I wanted to be… a cover artist! So I started to create images, I designed a small website, uploaded the images I created and waited. It paid off!

What do you like most about your work?
I like everything, but above all, the possibility to be creative.

I know what it takes, being a designer myself, but many readers do not know, I think it would be great if you could give a short description of what are the steps in creating a book cover.
I start with a contract. The author needs to know my work rules and I need the graphic details, essential for starting the project and quote.

Then comes the image search. After I find the images I think are suited based on the story’s outline provided by the author, I send them to the author which in turn chooses the best one and I create a first draft. The author and I work together on the changes.

Unlike many artist I offer “unlimited changes.” Sometimes it is counterproductive, but I am of the view that the customer must be completely satisfied with the result. If not born a relationship of trust is almost impossible to create a beautiful cover.
I so agree on this! Without trust and communication, the results are not quite satisfactory.

What was the most challenging cover to create?
There have been many difficult covers, but I love challenges.

Who is your favourite artist?
I love two artists: Jon Paul Ferrara and Gene Mollica.
I checked them out and they have awesome designs.

Do you remember one of the first things you drew/sculpted/painted/photographed? What makes it memorable?
I remember the drawing that I did the first day of school. I designed a Barbie, and since then I have not stopped. I won several school competitions with my Barbies.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies or maybe a fun story about an experience involving your artwork?
I love to read.

If you could choose another career what would it be?
I would love to work in the library.
I would love to work surrounded by books, a library or a bookstore!

Thank you Cora for the chat and wishing you much success in your future.

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Hope you enjoyed today’s chat and you will check out Cora’s designs, I think she is amazing.

website • Romance Novel Center • Facebook • Pinterest

Here are a few of “before & after” images to give you an idea of the process and work that goes in the covers that grace the books you purchase.

And here are the covers she designed for M. A. Abraham‘s various stories, and because I know the stories inside out being the author’s ‘Alpha reader’, I can tell you that the covers represent the stories beautifully, especially that Cora doesn’t read the books beforehand.

Question of the day

Is the cover part of your decision to buy a book?

To me, the cover is a start, it is what grabs my attention. Being a graphic designer, my eye is trained to appraise it differently.

Cora is graciously offering 1 lucky commenter, who will be chosen by Sexy Mr. Random, an image created by her. In case the winner is an author, one “pre-made book cover” complete of texts and changes, the link will be provided. If the winner is a reader, a couple of choices will be provided to choose from Cora’s designs. Winner will be posted after 3pm EST on Tuesday, May 19, 2015. GOOD LUCK!

Take the time to really check out the cover of the book you are reading, the colours, the fonts used, what makes it a pleasing sight. Until next time!