I sourced my picture components from Dreamstime.com, and found a good science-fiction style corridor by Savagerus, and another shot of the girl I've been using to represent Cutter, from Yekophotostudio. Those links are above.
I also used GIMP to compile the cover.
Step 1: This never varies. I create the base with the font and layout I'm using to brand C.M. Simpson's fiction.
Step 2: I find a background, in this case Savagerus's corridor, and position it on the cover.
Step 3: I isolate my female lead from her background, using the Outline and Cut functions in GIMP, and import it as a layer into the cover file... and then I use GIMP's Flip feature to face her the other way.
Step 4: I resize the background, and then trim the image so that nothing is hanging off the edges (even though it can't really be seen; it's just tidy, and I like tidy).
Step 5: I use the Erase tool in GIMP to remove the pieces of background that give the female character a light-coloured outline, in an attempt to make the two pictures seem to be one.
Step 6: I save the final cover.
