Archive for Orbit US

Griffins!

Land of the Burning SandsAt Orbit, we love to try something new… and in this case, the something new was Griffins. We are publishing Lord of the Changing Winds and Land of the Burning Sands in May and June.

When I first read Rachel, I was instantly transported to my favorite book as a child, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip.  I thought Rachel’s story of the relationship between griffins and mortals in a world where magic and science coincide was too amazing to pass up.  So of course, I bought the whole series – just so I could read it in one go!

They are both out now so you can grab them at your nearest bookstore – and the final book in the trilogy, Law of the Broken Earth, will be out this December.  So all three books out in six months.

Cover Launch: DEEP STATE

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. (more…)

Cover Launch: THE HAMMER

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.

(more…)

Two Orbit Nominations for the Moby Awards

Hundreds of entries have been submitted for the first annual Moby Awards for Book Trailers, a contest to select both the best and the worst of the past year’s book trailers sponsored by MobyLives.

We’re very pleased to note that in the category of Best Low Budget/Indie Book Trailer, Jeff Somer’s trailer for his novel THE ELECTRIC CHURCH (US/UK) is one of the select; and that in the category of Best Big Budget/Big House Book Trailer, the
trailer put together by Orbit Creative Director Lauren Panepinto for Gail Carriger’s
BLAMELESS is a strong contender (we’re also happy to point out that though categorized as Big, the budget for the latter was extremely reasonable indeed).

The winners will be announced at the award ceremony in New York on Thursday, May 20.

Blondesweeper

Blonde BombshellTom Holt’s Blonde Bombshell (UK | US | ANZ) – the intergalactic comedy about blonde bombshell Lucy Pavlov – blasted into UK bookstores last week, with US and Australia hot on their heels for a June/July publication.

To celebrate, we’ve created a game based on the Windows95 classic, Minesweeper, or Blondesweeper in this case.

We’ll also be giving away a collection of Tom Holt‘s books to the person with the highest score, so be sure to make the most of the game’s Twitter sharing function and tweet your high score @orbitbooks!  The high score winner will be announced on the US pub date of June 10.

Good luck!

Cover launch: COLD MAGIC by Kate Elliott

We’ve spent a long time working on this wonderful visual for Cold Magic (US I UK I ANZ), first in a fabulous new trilogy by Kate Elliott. Kate has created something special,  a fantasy advenure with a Victorian-era feel and a dash of steampunk — featuring mages, dragons and two girls who’ll decide the fate of their world. I think the illustrator Larry Rostant and designer Peter Cotton have done a great job in capturing these elements, showing a moment in time where ancient magic and new technologies meet, generating powerful individual dramas.

And here’s a bit more on Cold Magic, book 1 of the Spiritwalker trilogy, out from Orbit in September.

As they approach adulthood, Cat Barahal and her cousin Bee think they understand the society they live in and their place within it. At a select academy they study new airship technologies and the dawning Industrial Revolution, but magical forces still rule. Drawn into a labyrinth of politics involving blood and old feuds, Cat is betrayed by her family and forced to marry a powerful Cold Mage. As she is carried away to live a new life, fresh dangers threaten her every move and secrets form a language she cannot read. At least, not yet.’

Cover Launch: THE ENTERPRISE OF DEATH

The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart had one of my all-time favorite Orbit covers, and I was thrilled to work with Keith Hayes from the Little Brown Art dept. and the illustrator Istvan Orosz on the design. So when I saw that a new Jesse Bullington book was on this list I was  really excited at the challenge — and really curious to see where Bullington would go after his violent, revolting, sensibility-offending debut novel (and I mean that all in a good way!)  Well, let’s just say The Enterprise of Death does not disappoint on any count — you’ll either love this book, or you’ll want to burn it at the stake.

Like Brothers Grossbart, the story takes place in a specific historical place and time — this time during the height of the Inquisition and Moorish expulsion from Spain in the late 1400s. Not only are there real-life historical characters in the  story, there’s also real-life art that’s critical to the story. That’s actually a challenge for a cover designer. Sometimes when you use fine art on a cover it can give the design a very quiet, even  static feel. Luckily for me, I don’t think anyone would call Death and the Maiden by Niklaus Manuel Deustch quiet or static.

(more…)