Variant Images for the Cover of My Next Book (Fiction; Short Story Collection)

So I've got my second collection of stories completed. It's called "The Machinery of the Heart: Love Stories." I'd been struggling to find some kind of cover art that wasn't cliche, especially considering my stories are not love stories in the normal sense of the phrase. Love of things, love of objects, love of ideas, healthy loves/unhealthy loves, love of love, love of thoughts, love of time, etc. I had the idea of using gears and old maps and cogwheels to create some kind of pastiche of a real heart shape, but that still seemed...meh.

But while I was back in San Francisco visiting last May, my friend Devin altered this strange mannequin into a light and fog machine thing for my friend Makenzie. As soon as I saw it turned on, I knew she needed to be the cover of the book. It wasn't even a question, especially since I want to highlight the art of my friends on all my covers whenever possible. It was perfect.

So finally (FINALLY!), Devin took some photos of this mannequin and sent over the initial images. I could not be more thrilled. Obviously there will need to be some serious editing on my end to make it work with the cover text and whatnot, but still...VERY excited to start putting this thing together now.

Enjoy! And please feel free to let me know which image you like the best and why!

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