Here we go again. The last round of the rereleases.
It's been strange thinking that I've come out with a book a month for the entire year, and I haven't published anything new yet outside of short stories.
Then again, I'm going to keep publishing with new material starting September and going forward from there.
Right now, I hope everyone has read Honor at Stake, Demons are Forever, and Live and Let Bite. There might be some minor spoilers along the way.
Anyway...
For those folks who were here the first time through will remember the original cover to book four, Good to the last Drop. It was made by author Dawn Witzke, and looked something like this.
And, again, if you've finished Good to the Last Drop, you have some idea of why it looks like this. It was taken from the original batch of photos I made when doing Honor at Stake, at Mount Olivet cemetery in Queens... though that is technically not a spoiler.
Those of you who have read it already, you know why there's a red wolf there. You know why there's a sword. And you know why the location.
I never thought this one was perfect (the face on Amanda seemed a little off) but I was fine with it.
Now, we have a new publisher, a new artist, and a new cover.
The new cover is
Ah... dang, that redhead is hot....
I'm sorry, what was I saying?
Anyway, the art is solid. The model is attractive. I can even fit it into one of the scenes from the book. I even like the lens flair.
Though on the other hand, I recently had someone on Twitter tell me that the covers would probably make him bolt for the hills if it weren't for the fact that he was familiar with me and my work. Probably too much romance novel.
Um, guys, while I do see that you have a point, I would like to discuss what genre we're in. In a world where we have gunfights with the mafia, Vatican ninjas, vampires, SpecOps teams, flashbangs, MOABs, werewolves, and throwing Stars of David.
From what I can tell, there is no such thing as "urban fantasy thriller." However, the best genre that they DO have is "vampire suspense." Now that sounds like the proper genre for what we're doing.
Now, look at this photo of the top books in vampire suspense from a few months ago.
I will say again:
This isn't the genre vampire romance.
This isn't the genre vampire girl books.
This is the genre of vampire suspense.
Even though #4 was written by Lynsay Sands... a romance author.
But again, this is a snap shot of the top books in vampire suspense.
And, frankly, if I could turn your attention to the "creator" of the urban fantasy genre (no, not Bram Stoker, even though I'd make that argument), this is the cover of Laurell K Hamilton's earlier work, back when I would argue she was still a good urban fantasy novelist, as opposed to writing ... well ... bisexual furry orgy porn.
.... That's it. You couldn't tell that her costar in this book involved a mercenary named simply "Ted" who decided to hunt supernatural beasties because humans had become "too easy."
What about the comic book version of the same novel? Certainly, those have to be "better suited" to an urban fantasy series with enough guns that Hamilton and Larry Correia end up on the same gun panels.
.... Uh huh. Okay. Nevermind then.
So, if anyone has a problem with the new cover of Good to the Last Drop, well, take it up with Amazon's genre system. Because we're following the trend of cover art in a genre that should be perfect for us.
Also, again, the redhead is hot. And the art is nice, full stop.
Good to the Last Drop will be coming out within the next few weeks. And if you haven't read the previous books yet, here they are.
It's been strange thinking that I've come out with a book a month for the entire year, and I haven't published anything new yet outside of short stories.
Then again, I'm going to keep publishing with new material starting September and going forward from there.
Right now, I hope everyone has read Honor at Stake, Demons are Forever, and Live and Let Bite. There might be some minor spoilers along the way.
Anyway...
For those folks who were here the first time through will remember the original cover to book four, Good to the last Drop. It was made by author Dawn Witzke, and looked something like this.
And, again, if you've finished Good to the Last Drop, you have some idea of why it looks like this. It was taken from the original batch of photos I made when doing Honor at Stake, at Mount Olivet cemetery in Queens... though that is technically not a spoiler.
Those of you who have read it already, you know why there's a red wolf there. You know why there's a sword. And you know why the location.
I never thought this one was perfect (the face on Amanda seemed a little off) but I was fine with it.
Now, we have a new publisher, a new artist, and a new cover.
The new cover is
Ah... dang, that redhead is hot....
I'm sorry, what was I saying?
Anyway, the art is solid. The model is attractive. I can even fit it into one of the scenes from the book. I even like the lens flair.
Though on the other hand, I recently had someone on Twitter tell me that the covers would probably make him bolt for the hills if it weren't for the fact that he was familiar with me and my work. Probably too much romance novel.
Um, guys, while I do see that you have a point, I would like to discuss what genre we're in. In a world where we have gunfights with the mafia, Vatican ninjas, vampires, SpecOps teams, flashbangs, MOABs, werewolves, and throwing Stars of David.
From what I can tell, there is no such thing as "urban fantasy thriller." However, the best genre that they DO have is "vampire suspense." Now that sounds like the proper genre for what we're doing.
Now, look at this photo of the top books in vampire suspense from a few months ago.
I will say again:
This isn't the genre vampire romance.
This isn't the genre vampire girl books.
This is the genre of vampire suspense.
Even though #4 was written by Lynsay Sands... a romance author.
But again, this is a snap shot of the top books in vampire suspense.
And, frankly, if I could turn your attention to the "creator" of the urban fantasy genre (no, not Bram Stoker, even though I'd make that argument), this is the cover of Laurell K Hamilton's earlier work, back when I would argue she was still a good urban fantasy novelist, as opposed to writing ... well ... bisexual furry orgy porn.
.... That's it. You couldn't tell that her costar in this book involved a mercenary named simply "Ted" who decided to hunt supernatural beasties because humans had become "too easy."
What about the comic book version of the same novel? Certainly, those have to be "better suited" to an urban fantasy series with enough guns that Hamilton and Larry Correia end up on the same gun panels.
.... Uh huh. Okay. Nevermind then.
So, if anyone has a problem with the new cover of Good to the Last Drop, well, take it up with Amazon's genre system. Because we're following the trend of cover art in a genre that should be perfect for us.
Also, again, the redhead is hot. And the art is nice, full stop.
Good to the Last Drop will be coming out within the next few weeks. And if you haven't read the previous books yet, here they are.
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