BSC Artwork – Proofs
The final step of the process is for proofs to be made, that is some examples of the final cover printed in the same manner and on the same paper as they’ll appear on the finished book, to make sure everything works properly. The main difference here, apart from the colour balance being slightly changed, is that any ‘specials’ – that is features like foil and embossing – will be present for the first time. On this cover the sword and the coins are embossed (they stand out a little from the paper) the title and author name are debossed (stamped into the paper), which gives the whole thing some added depth. It’s quite a subtle effect, in fact, almost more impressive to the touch than to the eye, but it certainly adds a little something, and it continues all the way round the book, which is sweet.
The foil they’ve used this time around is pretty damn cool, from most angles it looks almost black, but hit it just right and…
Oh, yeah. You want it. You need it. You MUST have it.
But I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until June…
BSC Artwork – Design
Now that the elements were in, it was time for Laura Brett, designer par excellence, to work her magic and combine the whole thing into a classy yet pulpy, genre yet mainstream, commercial yet literary cover. I mean, how hard can that be? This first effort already demonstrated the idea was going to work, which […]
BSC Artwork – Map
Now, if it was key that the sword should hit the right note, it was much more key that the map should. Plus the map obviously had to reflect the facts of the text. So first of all, obviously, I had to provide my own childish scrawl which the artist, Dave Senior, would then art-i-fy […]
BSC Artwork – Sword
Burned and spattered papers, such as the ones on the First Law covers, are pretty much universal, but a sword has to hit the right note, especially since it’s meant to be the one the main character uses in the book. So it has to be the right era, and have the right feel. Since […]
BSC Artwork – Concept
People occasionally ask me how much input authors have into the cover art, and I guess it varies greatly, but contractually, the publisher usually has no obligation to involve the author at all. For the vast majority of books, the cover will be the main selling tool at the publisher’s disposal, and that’s far too […]
Best Served Cold Artwork
Take THAT. Pretty much the final cover for the UK edition of Best Served Cold. I should point out it’s a hardcover release, though, and you really need to see the whole wraparound, which looks like this: Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Click on it to see it in all its glorious detail. Go on. Click on it. You […]
Dutch Edition
Rejoice, good people of Holland, for The Blade Itself is available in Dutch translation, in hardcover, via the good people at Mynx. It goes under the title, De Macht van het Zwaard, or “The Power of the Sword” and it looks a little something like this: I like it. It’s unashamedly a fantasy cover, but […]
Midwinter Fair On – Aetherica Cancelled
The lord he giveth and the lord he taketh away… Sorry to say Aetherica, the new convention in Chester that I was due to be guest-of-honouring at in June 2009, has been cancelled. Poor economic circumstances and some unforeseen problems with the venue are apparently to blame. And not at all outrageous demands on the […]
The Wire Season 5
Well, those of you who haven’t seen the Wire are probably bored of hearing people spout off about how it’s the best thing on TV. But it really is the best thing on TV. I’ve already said so here. Nothing touches it for realism, for characterisation across a simply immense cast, for depth of investigation. […]
