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| Cover art for Louise Turner's new novel, Fire and Sword. copyright 2013 by Thomas Vandenberg |
The artwork is for the cover of Fire and Sword, a new historical fiction novel by Louise Turner that will be released this fall by Hadley Rille Books.
The novel is set in the late 1400s and recounts the story of John Sempill of Elliotstoun in Scotland. Sempill became a sheriff, and then through many struggles rose to knighthood (and beyond). His rival, Lord Montgomerie, the antagonist of the story, both aided and hindered John's success. The novel features lots of great battles and conflicts, and promises to be an all around awesome read.
The author Louise Turner has met John Sempill's descendent, the present Lord Jamie Sempill. She has done a lot of historical and archaeological research in order to show in vivid detail what life was like back then for nobles as well as for the common people.
I am very excited about the release of this novel, so you'll be hearing more about it during the months to come, both on this blog and on Heroines of Fantasy.
Most of all, I am delighted that this same artist, Thomas Vandenberg, will do the cover for High Maga!
Tom finished reading the manuscript for High Maga last weekend, and is very excited about the novel. Right now, the key word we're working with for the cover art is sinister. Our goal is to craft an image that will communicate the very deep and harrowing conflicts of this next stage in Eolyn's life. In looking at Tom's work with other Hadley Rille titles (check out Poets of Pevana and King's Gambit, both by Mark Nelson), I know he will not disappoint.
In other news, please stop by Heroines of Fantasy this week, where I've written a post about publishing choice. With self-publishing, traditional publishing, and everything in between, options for authors have rarely been as diverse (and confusing!) as they are now. I point out some of the costs and benefits of each route, and talk at length about why I chose the small press option for Eolyn.
This weekend, I will be at the Campbell Conference in Lawrence, Kansas. Woohoo! This is one of my favorite conferences: small, relaxed, entirely focused on talking about science fiction and fantasy, and on celebrating the best science fiction of the year.
If you happen to be in Lawrence this weekend, stop by the All Season's Den in the O'Read Hotel from 12:45pm to 1:30pm to meet all the authors in attendance, including a good number of award-winning heavy hitters in science fiction and fantasy. Their books will be available for purchase in the adjacent bookstore.
That's the update for this week. Summer has arrived in Kansas City, hot and fierce, so I will try to get out and enjoy some sun this afternoon. Hope you are able to enjoy some sunshine as well, wherever you are!
