September 2010 Releases

Done with August 2010 Releases? Here are the September 2010 Releases. To see further into the publishing future, check Reading Wishlist.

December 2009 Releases

Done with November 2009 Releases? Time for December 2009 Releases, representing my wishlist from US, UK, Canada and Australia publications. For releases further into the future, Reading Wishlist has been freshly updated.

Cover Art Survey

This survey came via one of the loops I’m on. Thought I may as well share my answers with you, too.

I’ll give you my demographics, too, so you can see where I’m coming from, and perhaps why my opinions are what they are.

23 years old, Celtic-Australian female in suburban Victoria. Am a reader, not an author. Not really into romance as a genre – I prefer it as a subplot rather than the main event.

1. What kind of covers do you like? I prefer photography, or illustration that looks close enough to resemble photography. I’m easily distracted by pretty colours, swirly things, prisms throwing rainbows, pretty cityscapes, gorgeous international architecture, etc.

2. How much detail should be on them? Maybe three things maximum on the front cover – character, setting and symbol. I’m happy to have a very detailed setting, but would prefer more anonymous character models.

3. Do you prefer characters or symbols, and why? Symbols. Would rather see something ABOUT the character, rather than the character his/herself. So pretty much symbols win by default 😉

4. What don’t you like on covers? I’m so over mantitty and clinch covers, and arse/boobs shots. I guess when you’re exposed to something so much, you become desensitised, and that’s pretty much the stage I’m in.

5. What would you prefer in digital artwork? Characters, or something to do with the story? Character faces are fine, but see my above note about T&A/naked torsos. So I guess I would prefer something to do with the story, but surely there’s room on the cover for both character and something that fits the story.

6. Links to covers you do like, both digital and ‘normal’. http://judyyork.com/collections/Fantasy3/imgs/5.jpg This is my favourite cover of all time, done by Judy York for Marianne Mancusi’s Razor Girl. Love the colours, love the setting, love the look of the character – of course, you need great writing to inspire a great cover commissioned just for the book. Think it has elements of both digital and normal. http://www.stygiandarkness.com/store/images/L_a_flash_of_hex.jpg This is Timothy Lantz’s cover for Jes Battis’s A Flash of Hex. This is illustrated, I think, but may also have digital elements. I love the smoke, the colours and the glowing things. http://samhainpublishing.com/graphics/1316.jpg And as for straight digital art, I recently found this gem by Kanaxa for Nicole Kimberling’s Happy Snak. It’s got the right balance of character, setting, and swirly colours. The font is also a good match for the genre.

Nicole Kimberling’s HAPPY SNAK

Nicole Kimberling
Happy Snak
Samhain (22nd December 2009)
Cover art by Kanaxa
Gaia Jones is on A-ki space station for one reason, and it’s not to ogle the hermaphroditic aliens. She’s out to make a name for herself and her line of intoxicating human snacks. Not easy in A-ki’s tightly controlled society. Her task gets even more delicate when she rushes to the aid of a dying alien – and finds herself the unwilling guardian of a shunned alien ghost named Kenjan. And the new owner of his slave. The danger mounts when Kenjan’s grieving lover, the powerful leader of the Kishocha, offers her a dream and a nightmare rolled into one: a new store all her own with a strange double purpose – half snack bar, half shrine. The catch? She must spend the rest of her life there, tending Kenjan the Heretic’s ghost. Or the entire station will be destroyed. There’s only one way to gain both her freedom and justice for Kenjan – teach both the powerful government elite and the Kishocha theocracy a lesson in uncivil disobedience…