THE SUMMER LAYOFF by Matt Bucher

I was happy to have the opportunity to design the cover of Matt Bucher’s The Summer Layoff because I had enjoyed his previous book, The Belan Deck, so much.

After reading the manuscript, I picked up on the visual significance of trees. In the middle section of the novel, it’s a lone tree in the middle of nowhere that marks the start of the protagonist’s transformational journey. I liked the tree as a symbol of branching paths, but also the idea of being firmly rooted where you are. Another theme in Matt’s writing is the family tree - the idea of lineage through time that has brought him to where he is today.

After I told Matt about my tree concept he sent me a photo of his favorite tree in the world for inspiration. I used that as the illustration reference.