Thursday, July 12, 2012

Paul Beeley~Rising Star of Create Imaginations

Hello! I would like to introduce you to an exciting new artist who has an awesome company called Create Imaginations. Almost a year ago, I found some of his work online and proceeded to get him to do a book cover for me. I was immediately captivated by his style and his knack to understand my thoughts and vision for my book. His name is Paul Beeley and I am so glad to have him here today.

Hi Debra, thanks for inviting me.

Please tell us all about your company and what services you provide.

My company specializes in designing book cover art for independent authors. We create covers specifically for the Ebook market and for paperback versions. All formatting is done and is ready for submission to companies such as Create Space.


Paul, what inspired you to do this line of work?

I love creativity, to be able to tell stories through imagery is what I love. I first began by creating manipulated images for my then 3 year old son, placing him with characters he loved (Star Wars, Dragons and his favourite super heroes). His friends would see the pictures and want one. So, I originally set up personalized images for people and that was the basis for my company. I always created images for fun, having a story in my head and then portraying this in a digital format was my true escapism. I used the website Flickr to showcase these images, and was always met with huge applause at the upload of a new picture by other flickr users.



Creating book covers was a dream come true, it fitted my creative escapism along with helping authors from around the world bring their story to image form.



What is unique about your book covers compared to others who offer this service?

I am passionate about what I do, I get as much out of creating these images as the author. This is why my costs are lower than comparable companies, and why the attention to detail is far and above what others create. Generally I spent around 7 hours creating 1 image, and then some more for final tweaks.

I always pride myself on a good working relationship with all the authors I have worked with, being flexible and always wanting the author to have the WOW factor when seeing the image in its finished state.

I never use templates, so all the covers are completely unique to the story. This uniqueness comes from regular email contact with  the author and I have the ability to envisage what the author sees as there imagined story.

 I understand one of the book covers you did for an author got attention and that book is going to be made into a motion picture. Can you tell us about that and why she contacted you in the first place?

I received an email from the US author, Sherry Gammon, and she was interested in my work and was curious as to whether I would be interested in creating a cover for her new book, “Unlovable.” So, I admitted to never doing this before, but with a bit of research I created it. She absolutely loved it! Her sales for the book went through the roof and is currently in the process of having the book made into a major US movie. I am not saying it is purely down to the cover I created, as the story is fantastic, but certainly helped getting those orders of the shelf so to speak. I have built a great working relationship with Sherry over the past year, and she is always keen to recommend me in all the literature circles she is in.


Give us a little more detail about the other fun things you do on Create Imaginations and an example of that work.




Going back to what I touched on at the start of this interview, I love creating images for fun. Exploring my own imagination and then working on that image. Here is an image I created for the last World cup soccer tournament, of the dog with the two lions in the background, representing Britain’s three lions. Although not intentionally for sale, I had someone approach me and actually bought the image, first print I ever sold.




If someone pays for a book cover, just exactly what do they get for their money?

Ok, for an E-book cover the price is £55 { approx. $86.00 US currency} plus £3 for the paypal fees. What you get is a formatted digital image in both PDF and jpg form. All typography is included, if you wish you can choose whatever font you like.
For the printable paperback/hardback version it is £85 {approx.$133.00 US} plus £3 PayPal fees.

This includes the formatted full cover (Front, spine and back, with all typography. The image is formatted to the authors desired book size with the spine adjusted to fit the page amount also). Covers are presented as a high resolution PDF and JPG. Also, they will receive low res E-Book versions with and without text. Also provided are three 3d renders of the book. These look great for online marketing purposes and really show of the book.


                                       3D Render


                                         3D Render

Both E-Book and print version come with the ability to tweak. So after we have decided upon an idea, I will send the author a copy to proof. If there are any tweaks that are needed that is absolutely fine, and never incur additional costs.

All prices are fixed and the author will never be charged more than the stated amount.

Are you working on anything new right now that you would like to share with us?

I have recently completed an image for a fabulous US author, Ilana Katz, whose book has just been released.
Currently, I Am working on a number of projects, one of which is a 4 book series for the fabulous author Cheryl Shireman. As much as I would love to post the cover here, I am sworn to secrecy until the launch. But keep an eye out for her book “Cooper Moon”, I have a feeling it’s going to be huge bestseller!



Okay, some fun stuff here. What is your favorite movie?

I have a fair few! My all-time favourite has to be “City of Angels” with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. I’m almost embarrassed to say but love emotional fantasy type movies. If you have had a look at some of my images on Flickr this will be obvious J

We would love to know where you live and a little about you and your family.

I live in London UK with my fiancée, I have a little boy who I absolutely adore. I also work as a manager in a contact centre, like to be busy J

Please give us your company links, social sites and e-mail address.

The main website is;
My Flickr page;



Thanks Paul for your time with us! Everyone who comments on this post will be in for a drawing to receive a generous 10% off any purchase. The deadline will be six days from this post. Winner will be announced here.

Thank you, it’s been a pleasure!

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for your kind words about Cooper Moon, Paul. I LOVE working with you.
    Paul is just wonderful! Creative and so easy to work with. His covers are fantastic! He has a loyal customer here!

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  2. Thanks for the interview. Great images, Paul. I enjoyed the pictures with the boy and superman and the dog and lions. The images in the balls look interesting as well. A cover is always worth so many words. It draws the reader in and the great thing about having the flexibility to hire a cover artist means that your book stands out. I have seen books from the same publisher look similar within the same publishing year or even several books. They seem to hit an idea and then they stay that way. Your covers are individual to the story.
    Great.

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