Vampire novel with bite seeks eye-catching cover.

Underwood and Flinch

Mike Bennett

Mike Bennett has been writing and podcasting award-winning fiction since 2006. He lives in Ireland with his wife and dog. Underwood and Flinch is his second novel.

Underwood and Flinch is a vampire story.
From a cover design point of view, I think these things are worth noting:

The central characters are:

Lord Underwood, a male vampire in his late thirties. He has short dark hair, combed back, and is approx 6ft tall. He wears a black suit and tie. He is handsome, charismatic, charming; but a dark figure.

David Flinch, a man in his early thirties. Sandy hair, slim build. His look is more contemporary. His demeanour, when contrasted to Underwood, is fearful, yet determined.

There is a third main character, Lydia Flinch, she is a seductive, sinister figure. Late thirties, dark hair (past her shoulders but not much further), beautiful, sexy, think typical evil femme fatale.

The book is set in Andalusia, Spain. So if you look up "Spain, Olvera” (the town it’s set in) you should get an idea of the local landscape. Olive groves feature also.

Iconic objects in the story: Besides the location itself, which is significant, the vampire carries an antique pocket watch. There are guns, too, notably a Thompson submachine gun.

Underwood has the ability to turn into a bat and a wolf, which he does on a few occasions.

There's also a sequel to this book which I'll be wanting a cover for, too. Preferably in the same design style by the same designer.

My audience (audio, anyway) is men and women between the ages of, I guess, twenty and sixty. But saying that, it has also had a keen following among young people over the years. It's adult themed: violence and swearing, rather than sex. The podcast is popular throughout the English speaking world, but the largest audience is in the USA, with the UK coming second.

I'm looking for a cover that says "vampire" clearly enough to catch the attention of vampire fiction / horror fans, but not in a crass way. I loved the white hands and red apple of the Twilight cover, but I think that might be too subtle for a relatively unknown title like Underwood and Flinch.
I want a dark mood: strong black, blood red, and stark white - though I'm always open to colour ideas. Same with fonts: I like the idea of classical handwriting styles, but I'm open to suggestions.

Bodice ripping stuff. This isn't a vampire romance.