The time has finally come for me to reveal the cover for my debut dystopian novel Rockstar Ending which will go on sale on New Year’s Day.
I chose the first day of 2020 for publication because the book is a definitive dystopia for the new decade. No other date could feel so right.
The opportunity to choose my own cover art was a deal-breaker when I turned down a traditional publishing offer. If you work with a big publishing firm, it is standard for the author to sign away their right to decide what their book looks like. The reasons for that are understandable, but that path was not for me. I wanted to be in control of the whole caboodle.
When I first saw the drawing that artist Tim Doyle had produced for my cover it was so haunting that it kept me awake at night.
Tim’s prints had fascinated me ever since I tried – and failed – to buy a copy of Keep Off The Moors, his picture based on the classic horror movie American Werewolf in London. I came across it at The Flood Gallery in Greenwich, London.
When I returned to pick one up, they had sold out everywhere. Luckily, since then, a smaller version of the print has been made and now has pride of place in my home alongside several others.
We started talking about the concept for the illustration months ago. As a debut author, I knew that a gripping cover would be essential for getting my work noticed. Tim gave me some sketches to think about, bringing to life the central ideas in book. It’s fascinating to see how the visuals took shape over on Tim’s Instagram.
I wanted something to suggest – in the blink of an eye – how easy it could be for human beings to be seduced by hidden technologies, and use them to manipulate one another. There also was the David Bowie obsession of one of my lead characters to take into consideration. Once the final artwork was delivered, Streelight Graphics worked their typographical magic to make it into a full cover appropriate to the genre.
You can download a FREE copy of my introductory novella, For Those About to Rock to get to know my unlikely heroes. Two ordinary people who will go on to do extraordinary things.
