Hey, check this out! I just got the new cover for THE MOUNTAIN OF KEPT MEMORY.
Nice, isn’t it? Now, yes, I grant you, it would be perfectly in character for the girl to be leaping boldly down toward a window ledge or something rather than standing demurely on the roof, because Oressa is that kind of girl. Though her brother Gulien might not like to actually watch her in action, so perhaps she is having pity on his nerves. Certainly Oressa is perfectly capable of pretending to a demure attitude.
Anyway! The city looks great, the mountain looks perfect — it’s not actually visible from the city, but artistic license, right? The falcon! That’s a subtle but excellent detail, not only because falcons are just in general snazzy, though they are, but because the falcon really is important in the story.
My favorite element is actually the light. So eye-catching, and letting the sunset reflect in the river leads the eye down to the figures in the foreground. The mountain is not a volcano, but the impression is apt, because it certainly does contain immense power.
The cover artist is Marc Simonetti, and his Deviant Art gallery is here. If you visit his gallery, you can see that he often likes dark, shadowy scenes with light coming down from above or shining up from below. It does add drama, even in dark covers such as the one for Game of Thrones.
The cover designer is Michael McCartney, and if the scrollwork was his idea, well, good job! It’s very elegant, whoever thought of it. Nice clean font, easy to read the title and (a not-unimportant detail) my last name stands out well.
What do you think? I think this one’ll be hitting the shelves round about October-ish. Fall, anyway.
I think Amazon is currently saying November 8!
Freaking sweet title, too.
Still love the title, and now the cover, too. I definitely prefer these evocative painted scenes versus the recent trend of clip art macguffins on a plain background. This I would notice and pick up in a store for sure.
That is a beautiful cover.
Gorgeous. I particularly like the way the artist painted the water with the light reflections and all.
And color wise ties in to the Griffin covers, which aren’t related except by being the same author so something to help tie the books together probably isn’t a bad idea.
Beautiful. I like how the corner of the “K” and just a bit of the “E” are covered by the mountain….pulls the title into the picture. Then the bird in front of the “M” and the bottom of the “R” behind the building. And very cool use of light and color.
Beautiful–I think it’s one of my all-time favourite covers. Can’t wait! Meanwhile, I have your latest on hold at the library. It hasn’t officially arrived yet, but as soon as it does… :)
And November 8th? A week after my birthday! What a perfect present!!
Thank you all! I’m glad you also like this cover. Yay! Katie, that’s great, and I hope you love MIST! Mary Anne, it took me *forever* to notice that a bit of the lettering is covered up by the mountain, and now that is perhaps my favorite detail. And yes, the light is gorgeous and really makes this cover sing.
that is lovely–I want to visit and explore in person!
I love it! It’s pretty different from your other covers, I think, but really eye-catching and lovely.
I totally missed this post, but I had to comment.
This cover is gorgeous. Love the light, but also everything! Setting, characters, the little bit of a sword you see behind the cape, the buildings, the river. I want a postcard version.
The designer did a great job adding necessary detail too. *applause* Did I mention I love scrollwork?
Thanks, Mona! I totally agree.