Instead of going around to all of my artistic friends, I think it would make more sense to just post a journal and hope someone participates.

I'm writing another 50K(+) story for NaNoWriMo this year. There's a little less than a month left until November starts, but I've got my basic plot down, my characters, setting, et cetra, figured out. I'm really pleased with my story this year, and I almost can't wait to start it.

As part of the NaNoWriMo experience, the website allows you to post your novel's title, a synopsis, an excerpt, and a possible book cover for others to see. Last year, around the end of the month, I made a tentative cover for my story Princess Kate. It was simple, black and white featuring the Yin-Yang that became the central symbol of the story. This year, I want to make another That's where YOU, dear reader, come in.

I've searched DeviantArt, and I've Googled, but I can't find a good photograph or art-piece that I feel is usable in my instance without heavy photoshopping (Which I can't do, because I don't have photoshop). If anyone has enough free time that they feel they can draw me up a picture (or wants something more as an excuse to procrastinate), I will be more than happy to base my novel cover on it. If you'd rather just design the entire cover, I'd be even more happy. Of course, there's no guarantee that I'd use your art or design, but I'll be no less thankful because of it's uselessness.

Here are the specifics:

About the Novel:
My novel this year is titled The Burden of Proof, and it's a courtroom-drama/murder mystery, in a sense. It's about a young man who is placed on the jury of a murder trial, who slowly realizes that the entire jury is being blackmailed one by one to vote a certain way in the case, and how he tries to find the truth because no one else is. My protagonist is generally light-hearted, doesn't care much for politics or legal matters, and the story takes place in the desert where I live.

Designing the entire cover:
If you want to design the entire cover for me, remember to have the title of the book, plus my pseudonym (Ginny Moon), visible. The design should be pleasing, and make sense within the context of the story. Look below for suggested images. Also, please save a text-less copy of the image you use (I.E. if you photoshop several images together, save the completed image before adding the title/pseudonym, and save the text'ed version as a separate file) and send both to me. If you upload them to DeviantArt, you can chose one to go in your gallery and one in your scrapbook if you would like, as long as you give me the link to both. I don't mind which version you show off as your own, as technically the design would be your own work, and you can show off both if you so please.

Symbols:
The Scales of Justice - for obvious reasons. Both sides of the scales need not be visible (It might even be more visually appealing if only one side is visible), just that there are scales present. If the scales don't work into your design, that's alright, but out of all of these symbols the scales are most highly suggested by me.
The Gavel - that hammer-shaped thing the judge pounds when people get too loud in court. Not necessary, of course, and for some designs the gavel will probably detract from the image.
The Sword of Reason - is the double-edged sword that Lady Justice is often seen carrying. The sword represents the power of reason, a central theme in my story, so if it fits into your image go ahead and use it, by all means.
Lady Justice - is not necessary at all for the cover, but if you want to, by all means. My only suggestion is that you chose carefully whether to depict her blindfolded or no - if she remains blindfolded, I'm not sure if the image would work well with my story (might not look as dark as my story is), and if her eyes are visible I'd like to symbolically turn her into the defendant of the trial, who appears somewhat cold, broken, and unfeeling.
Other - any other images you feel work well with the overall design, go ahead and use. Just remember that the story is a bit dark, very serious, and has nothing to do with tacos (so don't draw them, Taylor). I'm going to assume I don't have to say anything about pornography or excessive gore here, since none of my friends are into that.

Artwork:
If you want to draw me an image (or paint, crayon, pastel chalk, or whatever other medium) and submit it as a possible cover, I'm more than happy to accept. Use whatever symbols listed above or that you want, and go ahead and submit it to Deviant Art as your own work (because, really, it is). I may chose to use only a portion of your piece as my cover, or I may use the entire work, depending on what visually works better. You may reserve a space for the title if you want, but it's not necessary, as I'm skilled at working with images and I'll be able to find a good spot on my own.

Once you've completed a piece, comment this journal with the link to the DevaintArt page, or email the file to me if you'd rather not post it online (Send me a message if you need my email). If I chose to use your image, I'll tell you by either replying to your email or responding here. The image will then be viewable on my NaNoWriMo writer's page. Remember that submitting the image gives me permission to use the image as my tentative novel cover on the NaNoWriMo website - on the off-chance that I ever attempt to get the book published, I doubt the publishers will let me do whatever I want with the cover, so it's not like I'd be making any money off of your image. this is all for fun and to give you an opportunity to practice art-making skills

All right, thank you for reading this long post. I hope someone considers submitting something, though I can't give you much compensation for your work. If you want to submit something, I'll need it by the end of November. Until then, it's not like I need a cover image anyways.