I’m delighted to finally reveal the new cover for Argleton, designed by Thomas James. I asked Tom to put together something for me that was stylistically simple, informed by the effortlessness of classic Penguin designs, and which could form the basis of the covers for my next few novellas. The design also had to work digitally too.
We started off thinking about the hardcover design, which will be quarter bound with a gold foiled title. Tom has also designed fantastic endpapers, which I’m not going to show you now because then it won’t be a surprise when I do a second print run! Cruel, I know, but suffice it to say that when this beauty is finally turned into a real book, it’s going to look just gorgeous.
We then moved on to the digital cover. The challenge with the digital version is that if we kept the exact same sizing as the hardback, the title would impossible to read when the size of an Amazon thumbnail, so we had to be a little bolder. I love the shade of green that Tom chose, it fits nicely with the original design and the hardbacks’ forest green endpapers. I also adore the hare, it’s so beautifully drawn. Now I just need to find someone who can create a sterling silver necklace from it!
And this is the mock-up of how the digital cover will look, roughly speaking on an iPad:
All the ebook versions on this site have now been updated not only with the new cover but also to remove a few typos that slipped through our proofreading fingers first time round. Do feel free to download a replacement copy for the first edition, and to email whichever files you like to any friends you think might like it. I’ll also be getting the new version up on Amazon as soon as I can!
Very nice indeed. But where do I sign up for a hardcover copy?
At the moment, my current plan is to get Queen of the May finished and then do a joint Kickstarter project to fund the printing and binding of both that and the second edition of Argleton. If you’re on my mailing list already, then you’ll definitely be amongst the first to hear when that’s launched, but I’ll harass everyone on Twitter about it anyway. 😉
As for when that might be… well, I’m about two thirds of the way through the rewrite of QotM, which is now heading fast towards 30,000 words (Argleton was just under 18,000). Once the redraft is done, then it needs to go out to beta readers, and I’ll probably commission an editor’s report as well, and then there’s a final rewrite to address the issues that that feedback gives me, and then it’s the copyediting… So yeah, at some undefinable point in the future. 😉
That said, whilst QotM is out with readers/editors, I’ll be working redrafting The Books of Hay, which I started about 3 years ago now. Hopefully I’m going to be able to reduce the amount of time it takes me to finish a novella from over a year to something a little more reasonable!
Loved the original Argleton cover with the Google map pin and the old maps below it. This new cover is very classy looking and in my favorite color too so I approve. 🙂
You accidentally mentioned something about the color of the endpapers so I’m assuming Tom is doing more to them. I can’t wait to hold the new one in my hands.
Good luck rewriting QotM. Eagerly awaiting that too.
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