This post does not reveal the cover artwork.
I thought I better get that out of the way now, so you can stop reading if you want to! I hope you don’t, because I’m going to do my best to provide a spoiler-free review of the artwork you haven’t seen yet.
Also, agog. What a brilliant word. Agog. Agog agog agog. Ha.
I am, frankly, astonished by the intricacy and patterning of the cover art for Godblind and the fact it looks absolutely nothing like I was expecting. IN A GOOD WAY. I really didn’t know how Harper Voyager’s art department was going to approach Godblind’s cover. I’d always had some ideas and I knew very firmly what I didn’t want – abnormally muscular men with huge swords (not a euphemism. OR IS IT?) and scantily-clad skinny yet strangely buxom women. Oh no, not for me and my blood-stained book baby. And I did not get what I did not want, so by default, what I did get I wanted.
The cover art is bold and beautiful and like nothing I have seen as a cover before – which is awesome. It’s also got great potential for the other two books in the trilogy – there’s so much that can be done to tie the three together in terms of visuals.
Words that spring to mind when I look at it – and I look at it a lot, it’s the background on my laptop and I’m staring at it right now – include magic, pagan, wild, bloody, mystery, cruelty.
I’d say that’s a fairly intriguing mix and hopefully captures the contents of the book itself.
I know that a cover reveal is in the works and hopefully the artwork will splash into the world to cries of “ooh, would you look at that?” fairly soon. My editor and agent, with minimal useful input from me, put together the back and inside copy, which is excellent, and Godblind itself is due back from the copy editor any day now, after which proofs will be sent into the world – see my previous post about the pants-wetting terror of that event.
So obviously, I need to distract myself from the thought of live humans reading Godblind and reviewing it. I’m doing that by drafting the sequel. You know what I’ve discovered? Writing brand new words is hard. I’ve been stuck at around 11,000 words for a few days now – writing, then deleting. Writing, then deleting. It’s enough to headdesk myself into oblivion.
What’s even worse is the looming deadline. 1 July. That may not sound looming, but when there’s an abyss of 110,000 as-yet-unwritten words between you and that date, believe me, it looms. Looms like a loomy thing on a loomy day.
It’s not that I don’t know what to write, I’ve got an outline and everything. A plot. Brilliant characters. The chance to eviscerate and annihilate in lots of juicy and memorable new ways. And yet here I am, writing a blog post that furthers none of those aims in order to avoid thinking about the words that I can’t write. I don’t think it’s writer’s block, I think it’s that I’m still caught up in Godblind. I’m still in editing mode, not drafting mode. Is there a magic button somewhere to put me back in drafting mode? Can you show me where it is, please?
So, the aim is to complete 1,000 words AT LEAST today before the rugby (come on England!) and then at least 2,000 words tomorrow. Monday is my writing day, so I really have to be productive. Let’s aim for … 5,000 words.
Okay, that’s it, in black and white. Hold me accountable, people, and if you see me on social media, do give me a good ticking off.
Words will happen, whether I like it or not. I rather suspect the latter.
Currently listening: Two steps from hell, Battlecry
Currently reading: The Cathedral of Known Things, Edward Cox (so good)
Currently watching: Taboo (hell yeah!), Vikings season 4 (can someone please save that badger that’s been stapled to Ragnar’s chin?)
Anna Stephens, word seeker 