When I first decided to write a book, my thoughts naturally went to the cover and what I wanted to convey to prospective buyers. At the time, my research was mostly done, and I was keen on describing the difference between what the media represented about violent crime and what actual violent crime statistics showed.
I reached out to a local artist named Brandon. I described the basics of an idea I had. He ran with it, and I liked it a lot. Unfortunately, as I thought about the title, the author, and describing text, I began to see that the cover may confuse people as well as not do justice to Brandon’s artistic vision. So, instead, I decided to include the original cover on my website.
The Jack-In-The-Box represents the media, shown with their typical computer and television screen headlines. However, inside the box, is where actual violent crime statistics are represented. They are the gears that grind away that no one notices.