Coming in April
Orbit UK came up with a terrific cover that conveys the overall feel of the book...it's not a walk in the park or a stroll down memory lane when Ky Vatta visits her home planet after seven years away. And though she's Grand Admiral of her own fleet, the universe has ways to make the powerful feel small.
(I must admit, the release of this cover image on this day seems singularly appropriate. But that's not what this post is about.)
The US cover, from Del Rey, is also a terrific cover that focuses more on Ky Vatta herself than the exact situation she's in, and for those who missed it earlier, here it is again.
And these covers are why nobody was interested in MY sketch for the cover art (and why should they be? I'm a writer not a professional artist.) BUT It gave me a great excuse to open a box of crayons and play for awhile. Wheee! That weird thing in the lower left corner is supposed to be coil of the kind of rope that floats and is bright yellow. That was supposed to be snow blowing off the top of those red cliffs. (I am much better with horses, wildflowers, and even crawdads than I am with dramatic scenes. Still, fun to make pictures sometimes instead of stories, even if the pictures are far from pro standards.
The point of cover art is to suggest that the book is worth picking up (and won't embarrass you if you're seen reading it....that, too.) This next phase in the Vatta saga is about dealing with a dangerous reality that arrives suddenly and threatens more than mere survival. About new challenges and the need to keep learning and adapting. About leadership and treachery and blind spots and mistakes good people make. But mostly it's about Ky Vatta, and the Vatta family. (Just as a teaser, the book *after* this is almost-nearly ready to send to Editor. It's called INTO THE FIRE.)