“When it came to the cover for A Method to the Madness, I wanted to put together something that worked well with the overall tone of the book — a satirical take on a how-to-be-evil manual for aspiring villains. For me, the most amusing thing about this entire premise is the notion that there are stereotypes and clichés that need to be adhered to in order to become properly evil. After all, if you were being introduced to a mad scientist, you have some very specific expectations — a lab coat, unkempt white hair, a spooky lab full of bubbling chemicals, ray guns, preserved specimens lying about, things like that.

“I decided to take some of the more campy mad scientist tropes and integrate them with the border of the book, using the same superficiality that Hollywood relied on when using them. The intent was not to make something sinister, but something that was going out of its way to appear sinister and ominous . . . and failing. The border elements, the font, the exaggerated ‘mad scientist fellow in the centre  all are sufficiently over-the-top enough for you to understand that this book is not truly about evil, but rather a madcap, misguided desire to inspire terror.”

A Method to the Madness: A Guide to the Super Evil, is scheduled for release August 1, 2013 in both print and eBook.