Speculative Chic contributor J.L. Gribble needs your help!
The third book in her urban fantasy/alternate history series, Steel Blood, comes out this summer. Her publisher has provided two cover options. They look very similar at first glance, but don’t be fooled. The cover on the left has the shadow of vampire fangs behind the title (relevant because the main character is a vampire); the cover on the right does not. J.L. and her editors love them both for different reasons, so they decided to leave it up to everybody else!
Take a look at both covers and vote for your favorite. (Note: No registration is needed to cast your vote.)
From the Back Cover:
As her children begin lives of their own, Victory struggles with the loneliness of an empty nest. Just when the city of Limani could not seem smaller, an old friend requests that she come out of retirement for one final mercenary contract — to bodyguard his granddaughter, a princess of the Qin Empire.
For the first time in a century, the Qin and British Empires are reopening diplomatic relations. Alongside the British delegation, Victory and her daywalker Mikelos arrive in the Qin colony city of Jiang Yi Yue. As the Qin weredragons and British werewolves take careful steps toward a lasting peace between their people, a connection between the Qin princess and a British nobleman throw everyone’s plans in disarray.
Meanwhile, a third faction stalks the city under the cover of darkness.
This is not a typical romance. It’s a good thing Victory is not a typical vampire.
About the Artist:
Bradley Sharp was born in 1977 in Oxfordshire, UK. From a young age he filled many sketch books, so it only made sense to study Graphic Communication at Nene University, where he received a BA Honors degree in 1997.
But the real world called Sharp away from academics, so he traveled around the globe a couple of times, working as a graphic designer. Now he makes a living by designing magazine spreads, but freelances with vector illustrations, allowing him to create something far-removed from what he does in his nine-to-five job.
Sharp finds vector to be an easy tool and believes anyone can use it. “I’d say my artwork is nothing more than glorified doodling. I like the logical inconsistencies of surrealism and find inspiration from many places such as music or the science fiction genre. Dog Star’s novels lend themselves well to my style. I look forward to working with DSB in the future, and hope fans will like the imagery as much as they enjoy the words.” Find Sharp’s work online at http://www.bradsharp.co.uk.
I like them both! I think the vampire teeth one is more subtly menacing, but I also like the clarity of the title just against the dark red! So helpful, right?
All about the teeth!!
Teeths for the win!
I would go with the fangs–adds more interest and menace, even though subtle. The no-fangs cover is kind of plain.
I agree. I also like how if I hadn’t been told there were fangs, the fangs version can also sort of resemble an axe, which is kind of cool. Also, I’m probably the only person in the world who would look at the fangs version and think, “Oooh, that looks like an axe too!”