We fight for the honor of the House of Price.

Dec 28, 2012 14:22

At last it has come; the final round of the Ranting Dragon cover battle is upon us. On one side, the armies of Chuck Wendig. On the other, the armies of my own. What do we fight for?

We fight for the title of Best Cover of 2012. The entrants, Blackbirds, and Discount Armageddon. The prize? INFAMY.

Chuck is a dear friend of mine, at whose head I often hurl foul profanities. This is the basis for our relationship. And Blackbirds is a truly gorgeous cover; if I lose to it, I will feel that my battle has not been in vain. (It's also a truly gorgeous book, which you should totally read, assuming the phrase "foul profanities" is not your kryptonite. He has swear words like I have talking mice, and it is awesome.)

Chuck has said a few words about his cover, and I thought I should say something about mine. Here's something you may or may not know: I begged my publisher to give me Aly Fell. Literally begged, along with mailing my editor half of his publicly available images, while going "see? He has the right quirky cheesecake feel, he would be amazing." When they said he'd agreed to do the book, I cried.

I cried again when I got his roughs for the cover. Literally hand-over-mouth, can't-see, sat at my desk and sobbed, because it was perfect. It managed to be quirky, almost ironic cheesecake: perfectly Verity, perfectly sincere, perfectly Price. This is a series that's aimed at a very strange sort of demographic, almost like Adventure Time meets Sanctuary meets Leverage. I needed a cover that got all those things across, and Aly Fell did it magnificently.

It still makes me tear up when I remember seeing the cover for the first time. I cried again when I got the cover for Midnight Blue-Light Special. Just, "Oh, there you are Verity," and all the tears. All the tears, always.

I love both these covers, and while I would of course appreciate it if you voted for me, I will not feel slighted in any way if I don't win; it's apples and oranges at this point, and Chuck and I have one thing in common. We both won the cover artist lottery.

chuck wendig, party games, silliness, discount armageddon

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