There are two simple rules for creating an image that won’t be easily forgotten. So if you want to know what they are — head on over and see if you agree, or disagree.
I am very excited to have such a fine cover to show off for our wonderful new fantasy The Heir of Night (ANZ | UK), book 1 in The Wall of Night sequence by Helen Lowe. To reference Orbit’s new survey of cover art, there are no unicorns or dragons here, but instead see a seriously on-trend sword, and some fashion-forward, dark (and meaningful) mist. But the main thing is that it’s gorgeous, richly atmospheric and stand-out to go with the fast-paced breathtakingly good content inside.
The Heir of Night is Helen Lowe’s adult fantasy debut, and we enter a world where the violence of an age-old war casts a long shadow. There we meet Malian who, although she’s being trained to rule, is unprepared for the savagery of her people’s ancient enemy as they attack in the darkest part of the Night.
Helen may be new to adult fiction, but she’s already received critical acclaim for her previous YA novel Thornspell. Last year this won New Zealand’s prestigious Sir Julius Vogel award for Best Novel, Young Adult. Helen won the Vogel award for Best New Talent in the same year, so we are delighted she’s turned her hand to adult fantasy, and you can find a free advance extract for The Heir of NightHERE. The book will be out in Australia and New Zealand in Oct 2010 — and if you are going to WorldCon in September look out for Helen as she’ll be doing some panels and a pre-publication reading. UK readers will have to wait a little longer for the book until March 2011. But rest assured, it’ll be so worth the wait!
I’ll leave you with a quote from Robin Hobb, which perfectly encapsulates this wonderful adventure:
The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe is a richly told tale of strange magic, dark treachery and conflicting loyalties, set in a well realised world’ Robin Hobb
Calling all Kelley fans! It’s official: Waking the Witch (UK | ANZ) has arrived in a bookshop near you and it’s looking fantabulously gorgeous. It’s the brand new title in the Women of the Otherworld series from international bestseller Kelley Armstrong, and it’s the first hardback to be whipped out with Kelley’s striking new cover style.
During the author’s recent tour to the UK we managed to steal her away from her hectic schedule, corner her in a tiny, tiny room with a camera and throw some questions her way. We think she did exceptionally well considering the circumstances . . . Take a peek here for comments on her series and Urban Fantasy in general (after all, she was one of the ladies responsible for starting the whole genre off in the first place!):
And here’s a sneaky preview of Waking the Witchto tide you over until the book is safely in your hands . . .
Truly a cover designer’s work is never done…a sunny hot saturday spent in the studio of fabulous photographer Laura Hanifin working on a top secret book cover for next season…I’ll just have to let you keep guessing which one until the final cover is released! Just wanted to share for your viewing – and squirming – pleasure. Now if only I could share the stink. Yuck.
I’m delighted to announce, after much careful tweaking, amending and perfecting, that we now have artwork for Gail Z. Martin’s The Sworn, book 1 in the Fallen Kings cycle (US I UK I ANZ). This is a new series but has many familiar faces from Gail’s Necromancer series, so will be great for new readers and Gail Martin fans.
We wanted something that would draw you into Gail’s world, that would hint at the action and pure thrill of her writing and I think Steve Stone has delivered something wonderfully atmospheric with this visual. Here be swords, brigands, dark magics and other forms of mayhem aplenty, so those seeking adventure between the pages need look no further.
In addition to saying something about this new book, we were also keen to produce something that would be in sympathy with the cover style of the Necromancer Chronicles, as this book is set in the same world as that series. But at the same time, we had to balance this against not wanting to reproduce the previous style exactly as this book is of course the start of something new. And to find out for yourself just how much excitement is in store, have a look at our first sneak preview of The Sworn with this early extract here.
You can also expect more from Gail Z. Martin all this week, as she will be talking about this new book as part of her Hawthorn Moon online book event. This has been a great success for several years now, so look out for interviews, giveaways, twitter-only extras, podcasts and much else!
I know I skipped a week (I’ve been busy working on the Spring/Summer 2011 season), so to make up for it I give you not only a cover launch but also a fun behind-the-scenes video I made at the photo shoot for the collected edition of Lilith Saintcrow’s Dante Valentine Series.
I know a lot of you are already familiar with the five books of the Dante Valentine series, and as a fan myself, I was excited to get a chance to try a new look for Dante. The original series covers were very cool and graphic, but we felt for the relaunch with the Omnibus edition we wanted to go for a whole new look, and it would be fun to get a chance to actually personify Dante in the flesh. Read the rest of this entry »
Instead of this week’s scheduled cover post (and it’s a good one, as those of you who were at BEA this weekend and got a sneak peak can attest) I have for you some very exciting news. We are looking to hire one fabulously talented junior designer to join our art department. You will be answering directly to yours truly, and working on both Orbit books and Yen Press titles. (A double bonus for all you manga fans out there.) Orbit and Yen have both been taking on fabulous projects, and we need the help giving everything the art attention it deserves. It’s a great entry-level opportunity for someone with the proper design experience and who has interest in our debates over spaceship design, breeds of mythological creatures, and dissecting manga pages. Read the rest of this entry »
Cyberpunk is not really my cup of tea, so I was surprised when I got into This is Not a Game as much as much as I did. It’s all about connectivity, and how fast information and communication flies around the world now. There was of course also a cool thriller plotline along with it. Deep State is the next book by Walter Jon Williams, and picks up with the heroine & story of This is Not a Game. If you like William Gibson and Snow Crash-era Neal Stephenson, then you should check out these books. Read the rest of this entry »
Tricia Sullivan is the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author of an impressive body of work, including Maul, Double Vision and Sound Mind. Here’s just a sample of the praise that has been heaped upon her work:
‘A challenging, disturbing, often compulsive read’ Time Out
‘Tricia Sullivan returns to science fiction not a second too soon . . . I haven’t enjoyed a book so much in a long time’ Guardian
‘Painfully gripping throughout – read it if you dare’ The Times
‘Maul confirms an increasingly badly-kept secret – Sullivan is one of the best and most ambitious SF writers around’ Dreamwatch
‘Intelligent, sensitive and engrossing . . . You’ll be thinking about it long after you’ve finished reading’ SFX
‘Tricia Sullivan is why I refuse to give up on science fiction’ Pat Cadigan, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author
I think it’s clear from the above that Tricia is almost universally regarded as an audacious and original voice in modern science fiction. And what better way to signal that to the reader than with an audacious and original cover. Ladies and gentlemen (and other forms of life – we’re not speciesist at Orbit!), we give you Lightborn:
Lightborn is a revolutionary new technology that has transformed the modern world.
Better known as ‘shine’, it is the ultimate in education, self-improvement and entertainment – beamed directly into the mind of anyone who can meet the asking price.
But what do you do if the shine in question has a mind of its own . . . ?
K.J. Parker’s critically acclaimed Engineer trilogy featured three great covers by Keith Hayes. Since then, Parker has been writing stand-alone novels, and any one of them is a great place to jump in without any series-long commitment. Of course, I’m sure you’ll be back at the bookstore buying the Engineer books as soon as you finish any of these books, but you can start slow if you don’t believe me…
The Company was really an ensemble story, so we wanted to show the characters on the cover, but for The Folding Knife and The Hammer, I really wanted to continue the “artifact” look of The Engineer Trilogy.
- - August 25th, 2010
