A great book cover inspires readers to ask the question the book seeks to answer. Since my design skills scream “amateur” (to put it kindly), I hired professionals to design great covers for two books I will publish in 2013. I think both designers did a fantastic job conveying the question of each book, and it was a pleasure to work with them both.
ZERVAKAN
ZERVAKAN is a fantasy novel set in a world with 19th century technology — steam engines, guns, telegraphs — where two magical bands of light suddenly appear in the sky one night, spanning the horizons like rings around the planet. A scientist and a priest must discover the mystery behind the rings before their world is consumed by an evil they’re not ready to fight.
Given the setting, I wanted a cover with a 19th century feel, but one that said “fantasy” and not “historical.”
TJ Lomas brought my vision to life. He found an old photograph and added two bands of magical light on the horizons. He added color to the bands so they stood out. It’s simple, but elegant. It grabs your attention and makes you ask, “What’s with those two bands of light?”
ZERVAKAN will be released in January 2013, but you can read the “pre-published” version on on this site.
UMBRA CORPS
UMBRA CORPS (a working title) is an alternate history/sci-fi novel about a Roman Republic that survives its true-life fall and reaches the stars. A star ship crew of rogues must help the 12-year-old Consular Heir escape Rome with the terrifying secret behind the Republic’s god-like technology.
For this cover, I worked with professional illustrator Stone Perales. My idea was to combine something iconically Roman with an anachronism that told readers it was alternate history.
The result: Mark Antony holding a musket while looking down on his Legions as they sack Rome.
Stone did a wonderful job capturing the ethereal look on Antony’s face and the subtle detailing of his armor. My hope is that readers will see the cover and think, “Why is that ancient Roman soldier holding a musket? I’ve got to read this book to find out!”
UMBRA CORPS will be released in 2013.
Cross-posted at New Podler Review of Books.
When two bands of light appear in the sky spanning the horizons, the Recindian Compact asks disgraced history professor Taran Abraeu to accompany a secret diplomatic mission to the homeland of the legendary Mystics. But can Taran overcome the scorn of his countrymen toward his "supernaturalist" beliefs to fight a horrifying enemy that only he among all his people can comprehend?
Detroit tech-blogger Toni Dzielny gets a mysterious computer disc in the mail from her ex-boyfriend with instructions to “keep it secret, keep it safe.” When she learns he was later murdered because of it, and the police consider her a suspect, she enlists the help of her brilliantly nerdy friends to clear her name and learn the contents of the disc before she becomes the next victim.
Raven Byrne is a novice dahkshari warrior-priest about to complete his training when he discovers that a popular war hero named Thallan Brael wants to use an ancient magic called the Reaping Key to avenge the deaths of his family. It falls to Raven and an outlawed band of heretics to stop Brael from committing genocide against an innocent nation.