Two Gentlemen of Verona, with apologies to William Shakespeare

About this time of year in 1997--16 years ago, although that barely seems possible--I sat down in front of my very first PC.  I was determined that, having run out of excuses, I would write the novel I had been promising myself for years.  I had some vivid characters and the outline of the plot.

That Friday evening, after a day at work and a light dinner, I wrote the opening chapter of The Zael Inheritance.  (It transpired, in a process that all novelists will understand, that I'd actually written Chapter 7).

On Cover Design

My last post, displaying a draft cover for The Last Free City, occasioned the nearest thing to see hysteria we see over on ::Acquired Taste.  I fondly imagine that this is at least in part the result of fevered anticipation for the book, but it's an undeniable fact that pictures are always popular too.  With that in mind, I thought I'd set out some worked examples on cover design.  The fact that they are the work of a rank amateur, a dilettante with no concept of how to use Photoshop or Illustrator, may perhaps make them more interesting: all the examples discussed are attainable with basic IT skills and a willingness to hunt around.

The first book I ever published was The Zael Inheritance.  It was also, therefore, my first attempt at cover design.  Unlike my more recent work, Zael is science-fiction rather than fantasy, which in hindsight made the cover rather easier to design.  My cover designs can have a wearying literalism, and since the plot turns on DNA, what could be more appropriate for the cover than a double-helix?  I was lucky enough to find this image on the excellent IStockphoto.com, and instantly I knew this would fit the bill.  This is virtually ready-made as a cover.

Some basic cropping ensued to make the correct proportions for a book cover:

And from there it was simply a question of finding a suitable typeface.

Looking back through my files, I can see that I modelled several other variations on the same theme.  These were rejected for being too cluttered:

This one, on the other hand, very nearly made the cut:

Probably not quite zappy enough for an SF cover, although pleasantly retro.  The DNA image was again hoovered up from Istockphoto.

The key learning from this first attempt: 

• don't try anything too complicated.  It's much easier to adapt something which already exists than it is to create from scratch
• use very large graphics files. Anything below about 3000x2000 pixels will not have the resolution you need for a cover
• use images with plenty of space.  You need room for the title and your name
• simple software will do.  I did all my graphics manipulation in Powerpoint and Irfanview.

Next - a first fantasy cover for Dragonchaser.

Also available in English!

For those of you whose German is as a rusty--or indeed non-existent--as mine, the option of reading Dragonchaser in English is perhaps more appealing. The self-publication is still available here, in every conceivable format bar e-book. Prices vary wildly with exchange rate fluctuations, but the best value edition is perhaps the paperback omnibus (bundled with the rather different The Zael Inheritance) currently at GBP £15.64.

While Dragonchaser was never successful in attracting a UK publisher, it's a still a book I believe in, and will probably appeal to those who enjoyed The Dog of the North. What's not to like about galley-racing, lethal political intrigues, and a man with a past run ragged by beautiful but manipulative women? Aficionados of familiar Stretton motifs will also enjoy a swordfight or two, a trademark hanging scene, and of course a fire, without which no story could be complete.