So I definitely didn’t update this space fast enough.
Chalk it up to life, paranoia about accidentally leaking information not meant for the public yet, and like I said before — I’m very not into the social media thing. Apparently, that applies to WordPress blogs nobody reads too.
Anyway, to start with the Big One, we finally have our cover and it’s gorgeous.
… I mean, holy shit, right?
There’s a lot I want to say about this, from the function of the book cover as marketing material to how much creative control authors actually have over their cover design, to the step-by-step process of this particular one, to how fucking relieved I am that the industry’s really pouring a lot more of their time, effort and resources into making covers you’d actually want on your shelves. I might make that post someday. Maybe after I clear including screenshots of cover sketches with my publisher. (I’m way too paranoid about leaking information. Or maybe the right amount of discreet. Time will tell.)
But for now, to keep it rolling, all I’ll say is that the artist, Marco Lawrence, has a portfolio to die for and the work he and art director Deena Micah Fleming did here is phenomenal. “Delightfully pulpy” is the phrase my agent used to describe it and man is it accurate. As someone who nearly went into the visual arts (and continues to plot a way into writing comics and graphic novels), my artistic itch is scratched. As someone who understands that book covers are advertisements first, it’s a snazzy cover that could catch your eye across a bookstore or while you’re scrolling on your social media platform of choice. As the writer of the book this is meant to sell, I’m proud that this is the world’s first impression of it.
It also looks even better in person.
I’m definitely biased, but last weekend, it turned out that ALA agreed!
Which brings me to the second Big Milestone crammed into this post: I went to the American Library Association’s annual convention for the first time last week.
That was an avalanche of firsts. (Not first-convention-I’m-attending-as-an-author — the Austin Film Festival holds that honor). First big girl author dinner with my editor and publishers. First ALA, period. First time seeing my ARCs in the wild, with people reading them. First signing ever! (To the woman whose name I misspelled, don’t worry: I’ve been thinking about it nonstop and I’ll never forgive myself.) And we even ran out of ARCs! Gotta be a good sign, right?
I wish I’d taken pictures of the convention, but honestly, I was too busy soaking it in. I’ll be sure to grab more next time.
Finally: Preorder links are live, so if you want to lock in a copy of He Always Comes Back ahead of time, you can do so at one of these links:
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