Cover feedback please!

Back in January, many of my Aussie writer friends joined together to produce an anthology of short stories and poetry, with the proceeds going to bushfire relief. I didn’t join in because I’m not very good at short stories, but I’ve wanted to do something ever since. And now there’s this damn virus…

Anyway, to do my bit, I’ve poured all three books of Innerscape into one omnibus, and I’m going to be offering the omnibus for a limited time – basically the 90 days Amazon requires in order to give readers 5 free days. After the 5 free days are done, the omnibus will revert to 0.99 cents. I wish I could offer the whole 90 days for free, but Amazon won’t let me.

So…I’ve done the formatting and the omnibus is ready to go, but I need to settle on a cover. These are the three I knocked up yesterday:

Version 1

The version 1 cover at thumbnail size

I quite like this one as the white squares can be either shoji screens or the ‘catacombs’, both of which feature in the story. But…the image will only have meaning for those who have already read the whole story. I fear that it will do nothing for potential new readers.

Version 2

The version 2 cover at thumbnail size

This is the one I prefer, aesthetically, plus it’s more consistent with the individual covers, but will the contrast between the ideal beach and the circuitry intrigue readers enough to give the story a go? No idea.

Version 3

Okay, this is the one I like the least, but it may well be the one that most closely fits the scifi/thriller genre of the story. As my Indies Unlimited buddy, Lynne Cantwell wrote in her post about covers:

‘My cover was terrible. Oh, it’s pretty enough. But I’d been marketing the book as urban fantasy, and the cover screamed women’s fiction. The image was all wrong. The font was all wrong. Even the title was all wrong. There was nothing there to entice a reader of urban fantasy to click through and buy my book.’

How to Match Your Cover to Your Genre : https://indiesunlimited.com/2020/03/10/how-to-match-your-cover-to-your-genre/

I know my covers are never going to match either genre exactly because the typical sci-fi cover has stars and space ships, while many thrillers include images of weapons. Still, I’d like the cover of the omnibus to convey something of the two genres, and the simple circuit board of version 3 may just be it.

I would really love your feedback on the three versions, or if none of them appeal, suggestions as to how I could make the look and feel of the cover better.

Thanks in advance,

Meeks