Gary Alphonso created this cover for the Harlequin paperback edition of “Hazards of the Game” by Norma Tadlock Johnson. The art director wanted a very graphic feel to the cover where type would be a major element.

They decided to place the text within the shape of the sand trap since the story takes place on a golf course.  Another requirement of the illustration was to include some of the clues to the mystery: the pink golf ball, the discarded putter and the Siamese cat.

Gary’s challenge was to design the illustration with the type from the early rough stages, as opposed to creating the illustration and having the designer apply type after the fact. Here are two versions: an early draft and the one with the tweaked type that became the cover.