So, can you deduce any clues from that tagline, or from the subtitle ‘The Unraveller’, as to how the story that started in Million Eyes unfolds (or should that be unwinds or unravels?)
What do we know? Well, conspiracy theories abound (of course). C.R.Berry has mentioned dinosaurs, the Gunpowder Plot, Jesus, the Bermuda Triangle, and the mysterious Unraveller! Time is often likened to a tapestry, and we all know the biggest enemy of a tapestry… moths I mean, unravelling threads. So imagine how much of a threat an Unraveller would be to the tapestry of time itself…
And that was C.R.Berry’s inspiration for the cover by Alison Buck:
Artwork: Alison Buck
Following an impossible discovery in East London, archaeologist Dr Samantha Lester joins forces with software developer Adam Bryant to investigate the events that led to the disappearance of his best friend, Jennifer, and to bring down the people responsible – Million Eyes.
Before long, Lester and Adam are drawn into a tangled conspiratorial web involving dinosaurs, the Gunpowder Plot, Jesus, the Bermuda Triangle, and a mysterious history-hopping individual called the Unraveller, who is determined to wipe Million Eyes off the temporal map.
But as the secrets of Million Eyes’ past are revealed, picking a side in this fight might not be so easy.
Gardens of Earth, book 1 of The Sundering Chronicles is the latest science fiction novel from author Mark Iles, and the first of his books to be published by Elsewhen Press. The story tackles alien war, a future that may be considered either dystopian or utopian, depending on who you ask, and a protagonist coping with his personal demons in an unfamiliar and stressful environment – not to mention immediate threats from a pathological serial killer, the remnants of Earth’s inhabitants now living in a sparse pre-industrial society under the watchful eye of the Spooks, and returning human colonists intent on reclaiming Earth. Underlying all this are issues of social justice, human and android rights, and love that transcends difference. In many senses this is classic science fiction, but the abilities of the Spooks provide an environment, and archetypal creatures within it, that are reminiscent of myth and magic fantasy. Truly cross-genre, Gardens of Earth is an exciting adventure, a heart-rending quest, and an eye-opening insight into the coping strategies of a veteran.
We asked artist Alex Storer to work with Mark to produce a cover that could encapsulate all of that! We were concerned that it may have been a tall order, but we are delighted to reveal the cover that they have produced. What you can’t see here is how beautifully the cover artwork wraps round the spine onto the back of the book. You’ll just have to wait for the paperback to experience that 😉
Gardens of Earth is now available to pre-order in eBook format on most platforms for release on the 6th August, and will be out in paperback in October.
We are delighted to reveal the cover for The World is at War, again by Simon Lowe. The cover was designed by Alison Buck following discussions with the author. The book is a fantasy set in a near future after advanced technology has been blamed for the latest World War and everyone has regressed to old technology (or have they?) So it has a futuristic yet retro feel to it, with both humorous and YA overlays.
Simon Lowe said: ”It’s a serious sounding title but a comic, action packed story”. He was keen for the cover to be “a fun, bright, comic style [that] might get this across … and appeal to a younger audience as the book has YA elements.” When Alison showed him the cover he said “Wow, thanks Alison! I really love this one… I think it’s bold and evocative and really captures … a post-war/cold war poster image that I think works perfectly with the striking rays of light. I love it!” So we concluded that he was happy with it 😉
The World is at War, again will be published in ebook on 2 April and in print on 7th June.
Cover design: Alison Buck
The World is at War, again. New technology has been abandoned, a period of Great Regression is under way.
In suburbia, low level Agent Assassins Maria and Marco Fandanelli are given a surprise promotion as “Things Aren’t Going Too Well With The War”. Leaving their son Peter behind, they set sail on the luxury cruise-liner Water Lily City, hoping an important mission might save their careers and their marriage.
Dilapidated and derelict, Panbury Hall is not what Peter expected from boarding school. Together, with his celebrity dorm buddy, he adjusts to a new life that involves double dates, ginger vodka, Fine Art face painting and kidnapping, as they attempt to uncover the mystery of Panbury Hall.
Despite being a member of the Misorov Agent Assassin dynasty, Chewti is a reluctant AA. She only joined the Family Business to track down her cousin Nadia, the rogue AA who killed her mother. Really, she wanted to be a school teacher. So when Nadia is spotted loitering in the grounds of Panbury Hall, the opportunity to avenge her mother’s death and have her dream job is too tempting to turn down.
The World is at War, again, blends genre and expectation as characters take on an extravagant, often comic search for identity and meaning in unusual times.
Riftmaster is an adventure by Miles Nelson, telling the story of college student Bailey Jones who is plucked from his life on Earth by the Rift, a mysterious and unpredictable force which appears to move people at random from one world to another. Stranded on an alien planet, he is relieved when he meets a fellow human, the self-styled Riftmaster, who is prepared to assist him. Bailey is curious about his new companion’s real identity, but hopes that, with years of experience of the Rift, this cosmic traveller can help him find a way to return to Earth. First though, as the two of them are ripped without warning from one hostile planet to another, Bailey must rely on the Riftmaster to show him how to survive.
Cover art: Miles Nelson
For many of our books we commission an artist to design a cover based on one or more ideas from the author, ideas that may be expressed in words or illustrated with a basic scribble. In this case Miles, the author, provided an eye-catching concept design that was virtually ready to be used. After he had made a couple of small tweaks, the cover was complete. The intriguing star-filled silhouette of the eponymous Riftmaster sets the scene well for this story.
We probably shouldn’t have been surprised that Miles would provide suitable cover art, as each chapter starts with a stylish fleuron, also designed by Miles. One of them, depicting the Riftmaster and Bailey, makes an additional appearance on the back cover of the book.
Artwork: Miles Nelson
Riftmaster, an adventure, an exploration, is concerned with loss, and letting go, while still holding onto your humanity and identity, even when life seems hopeless. It will be published in eBook format in March and in print in May.
In January, Elsewhen Press will be publishing The Night Has Seen Your Mind, the latest title from France-based British author Simon Kearns. Cutting across genres, The Night Has Seen Your Mind is a literary fusion of science fiction, existential terror and psychological thriller in the style of the ‘New Weird’.
Set in the snowy winter landscape of Alaska, Simon wanted a cover that would set the scene for his story without giving away any of the plot, “something involving a night sky and the aurora borealis” was his brief to artist Alison Buck. Below, you can see the cover she has designed. When he saw it Simon said “I LOVE IT! I was nervous about the cover, but Alison has created something so very similar to what I had in my head. Wonderful work!” Alison’s response was “Phew!”.
Cover artwork: Alison Buck
Tech billionaire, Mattias Goff, has invited five creative professionals – programmer, pianist, writer, actor, and photographer – for a month-long residency at Crystal Falls, his Arctic retreat. Researching brain waves, and especially the enigmatic gamma wave, Goff asks his guests to wear a kind of EEG cap in order to record the electrical activity in their brains while they engage with their respective disciplines. Although they will be paid $5Million each for the experience, they all start their sojourn a little wary – some more than others. Cut off from the outside world in the stunningly beautiful, if stark, Alaskan winter landscape they immerse themselves in their work. Soon, though, reality seems to be shifting. What is Goff really researching? Are his guests only being observed, or manipulated?
The Night Has Seen Your Mind will be published as an eBook on 22 January 2021 and in print on 22 March 2021.
Anyone who knows Tej Turner will be excited to hear that his Epic Fantasy series, The Avatars of Ruin, will launch in the New Year.
This series has truly epic world building (see map below), history, and pantheon; and, of course, a thrilling story to tell following a group of people from the village of Jalard as they become embroiled in events way beyond their experience. The story starts with Bloodsworn.
“Everyone from Jalard knew what a bloodoath was. Legendary characters in the tales people told to their children often made such pacts with the gods. By drawing one’s own blood whilst speaking a vow, people became ‘Bloodsworn’. And in every tale where the oath was broken, the ending was always the same. The Bloodsworn died.”
When one of the villagers from Jalard feels compelled to swear a bloodoath, even knowing the tales of old doesn’t deter them from becoming Bloodsworn.
Here is the cover for Bloodsworn which represents the talents and skills of the Bloodsworn.
Cover design: Alison Buck
Bloodsworn will be published in digital formats on the 8th of January 2021 and in paperback on the 8th of March 2021. Reviewers and bloggers can contact us now for digital ARCs.
In the Evil Above the Stars series by Peter R. Ellis, we were introduced to heroine September Weekes. In that trilogy, September discovered who she is and was called upon to save the land of Gwlad from the evil Malevolence (in case you haven’t yet read them yet – why not? – I won’t introduce spoilers by saying any more!) Now Peter has delivered the first September Weekes novel, Cold Fire. September is still at school and is still the Cludydd o Maengolauseren, but this time she finds herself closer to home, at least in space if not time. As far as she can tell, her appearance hasn’t changed, she’s even wearing her school uniform. But in a London of 1680, others see her as a lady of considerable social standing. She has been brought here to stop something happening that would give the Malevolence an opportunity to enter the universe. But she doesn’t know what. Her first stop is a tavern, to meet Robert Hooke, and then off to see Sir Robert Boyle demonstrate to the Royal Society the results of his investigations of the phosphorus and its cold fire. Far away at the edge of Wales an alchemist has learnt of Boyle’s discovery and, helped by his young assistant, is attempting in his own way to form the mysterious material, little suspecting that his work threatens to open the universe to the evil power of the Malevolence. September starts to understand what is happening but feels powerless to stop it. Then she encounters some fantastic beasts who may be able to help her, if she can work out how to save them from the Cold Fire.
The cover design by Alison Buck shows us September meeting one of those fantastic beasts, the dragon Obsidian.
Artwork: Alison Buck
Cold Fire will be available as an eBook at the beginning of August and in paperback in October.
Artwork: Hannah B. Farrell Photograph of Dingle Dell: Jose Manuel Revuelta Luna/shutterstock.com
In July we will publish the long-awaited next book in Ira Nayman’s increasingly improperly named Transdimensional Authority series (really, would it have killed him to plan the series more in advance? George R. R. Martin planned the first 137 books in his series – it will take more generations in his family to write than the books themselves actually chronicle – before he wrote a single word, and everybody knows where they stand with him), It’s Just the Chronosphere Unfolding as it Should featuring Time Agency agent Radames Trafshanian, but we can unveil its cover now.
Artwork: Hannah B. Farrell Montreal Background image: Gisela McKay
Fans of the series will remember Radames from the story of Random Dingoes (and peering out of a Time Suck Tube on the cover). She was such a popular character that she got her very own book**. When she is not trying to impress her good friend in the Transdimensional Authority, her very special friend, if you know what we mean (and, if you do, could you please tell us, because we’re not entirely certain…), she is busy trying to solve crimes against time (that is, crimes that are themselves against time, not trying to solve them against time – she’s not on the clock… well, she sort of is, but you know what we mean, don’t you. You don’t? Well then, you’ll have to read It’s Just the Chronosphere Unfolding as it Should to find out).
Anyway, in this novel, which is not nearly as parenthetical as the previous paragraph may have led you to believe, we accompany Radames on her latest case, followed by her previous case (time travel’s like that) and on the way we find out much more about the origin of the Time Agency itself and why it’s organised like a Library, which is very timely (see what we did there?). Featuring guest appearances by Noomi Rapier, Elvis Presley and Margaret Atwo–.
Once again the cover features the appropriately unique artwork of American artist Hannah B. Farrell, on a photograph of a small town called Dingle Dell. We can see the town founder’s statue being inspected by the town’s founder himself – who was rather surprised to find himself displaced in time – as well as the purposefully striding Radames with TAMI. What does it all mean? You’ll have to wait until next month to find out.
It’s Just the Chronosphere Unfolding as it Should will be published as an eBook on the 8th July and in print on the 10th October.
* [Editor – I thought this was a Transdimensional Authority series novel, so why is it called a Time Agency novel? I mean, I know they’re both abbreviated to TA but… [Proofreader – actually TA is an acronym not an abbreviation. Just sayin’] …okay, I know they’re both ‘acronymised’ [Ed – better? [Pr – yes thanks.]] to TA but that doesn’t make them the same does it? If Ira wrote a book about a Teaching Assistant in the Territorial Army living in Taunton that wouldn’t be the same, would it?
[Marketing Executive (while scribbling a quick memo to Ira) – hmmm, interesting… that is, no, obviously not. We should explain it a bit better. Okay, I’ve got it, I’ll add in a clarification… [Editor – good, and don’t forget to change it in the opening sentence too] …aargh! Too late, I’ve already pressed ‘Save’]
** [Editor – I don’t think we should say this, it makes it sound like Ira hasn’t thought these plotlines through in advance but is entirely driven by audience response. Where would we be if authors just wrote what their readers wanted?]
