Book Bags and Cat Naps welcomes Kat Duncan: Cover Showcase

I’m pleased to welcome Kat Duncan to the blog today for a Cover Showcase post of her title, Synapse.  Kat is visiting as part of her virtual book tour with Goddess Fish.  As part of her tour Kat is giving away a gift basket of Irish items worth $15 to a randomly drawn commenter (US/Canada only) so continuing following the tour to increase your chances of winning!

Blurb: 

Stalked by a killer bent on stealing her laboratory notebook, scientist Molly Augur is desperate to figure out who she can and cannot trust. With the help of co-researcher Bill Banely, she uses DNA technology she invented to prove she can release hidden ancestral memories. In the brain synapses of her mind she finds one person who may know the truth – her long dead ancestor, Mailsi, whose life memories have been recorded in the depths of Molly’s genes.

Ancient passions and betrayals come alive and collide with the present when Molly discovers philanthropist Dr. Philman, with a secret billion dollar need for the technology only she possesses could be the one after her notebook. And Bill, whose wandering heart she has finally won, is working for Philman. In the face of limitless money, what is the value of Bill’s love? Or the value of her life? The answers lie deep within the synapses of her mind.

Who designed this cover?

My daughter designed the cover. She’s a graphics design genius.

Describe how the cover design came about…

I gave the artist a general idea of brain synapse images. The story is scientifically oriented and also involves dream sequences and historical memories. The artist used a pleasant background, a hill with trees and layered the brain synapses over it. The synapse images were merged and softened to create a dream-like effect.

What hopes/emotions do you hope the cover will elicit even before readers have seen the blurb?

I hope the cover evokes thoughts and emotions of misty dreams. The dreams are of Ireland, but I don’t think there’s enough in the images to let readers know that particular detail. The other thought that I’m hoping for is a clear link to brain science which should be obvious to most readers who should be familiar with images of brain synapses as they appear in a lot of science fiction stories and movies.

Finally, tell us about a book (indie or mainstream) that you feel has incredible cover art.

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. This cover art is all one color, faded and hazy as if you are looking into the sun and can’t quite see the trees or up the hill where someone appears to be waiting for you on a horse. Cover art should draw you in by giving you a glimpse of the secrets and situations you might discover by reading the book. This cover does that incredibly well with a fuzzy picture, making you want to read the book to clarify the image and discover what the story is about.

About Kat

“Kat Duncan is a creation extremist who is doing her best to identify human creativity and free it from captivity, one student at a time. As a young child, Kat once tried to confess the telling of her stories to her parish priest because she thought they fit the definition the nuns gave for telling a lie. With her lies fully sanctioned and blessed by church authorities, Kat has been telling her lies ever since and writing stories to entertain and enlighten. After a successful career as a software engineer, Kat decided she needed something different to do. She’s now a tutor of adolescents with special needs.”

You can visit Kat on her website, blog, Twitter or Facebook.

You can also read an excerpt from Synapse.