French Cover for Book 1

I just thought today I might show you a rough I received from my French publisher, Milan, for the cover of the French (surprise surprise) edition of Foundling.

The title, roughly translated, is "Land of Monsters" and the subtitle, "The Child Lost" - sounds so much better in French, I reckon. (I now know that it in fact means "Child Found" - still sounds better in French)

I was warned that some publishers would want to show Rossamünd's face and here is a good example. After acquiescing to my US publishers about revealing Ross' dial, I am no longer fussed about such things - it was a cute idea of mine to leave the reader's conception of him to themselves but it has not survived "translation". Indeed, given the current results of the 2nd Poll Question, it would appear that this is in fact a good thing.

I am truly learning this writing thing each day.

Either way, I really like the cover, which will be illustrated by a certain French illustrator, Benjamin Lacombe. Said to be '...one of "the most brilliant and popular artists for young readers'...", Mr Lancombe's work is at times dark and melancholy, whimsical and fairytale grim, just how I conceive the Half-Continent. So, this will be the first occasion another professional will have attempted to illustrate MBT (though let us not forget the excellent work done by Spanish readers), which I think is rather cool. If this is a rough then I am very very much looking forward to the finished cover. What fun!

Your thoughts?

...oh, and for breakfast today I had a pineapple, yoghurt and caramel smoothie.

(Also, I do not know if this is a bit lame but I have put a little white widget box some way down the righthand side with a small sellection of some electronic music of my own compisition. Just wanting to share.)

Quack! (of Interviews, Illustrators & Gazeteers)

Just a quick post to say that there is an interview with Miss Erin over on her blog. Thank you to her for the opportunity!

Also, it was Coz I believe who asked me a little while ago about illustrators in the Half-Continent. Sometimes they are called imagineers or fabulists (a name they happen to share with artists and sleight-of-hand men) but typically they are called simply illustrators. As it might be for some in our own lands, they consider themselves distinct from artists in the

Some of the more famous currently are Pill and Berthezene (who was the etcher of the plate of the Slothog Rossamünd reads of in his pamphlet early in Foundling) and the near legendary Gouche. My own favourite is a relative obscure fellow, Economous Musgrove (originally of Fayelillian but now residing in Brandenbrass) - who studied under the master Frabritis - and struggles to find enough work to keep he and his wife "in biscuits". His most constant source of work is for a radical periodical called Quack! (a word whose closest equivalent in our world would be "blah, blah").

With a wide yet secret readership, Quack! spends most of its articles railing against the government and the Empire and the borish attitudes of the mass. All too frequently this vaguely monthly publication finds its self being shut down by local authorities under (dubious) Imperial direction; its gazeteers and emenders are served brief stints in gaol and all those who rely on its patronage (such as Economous) now looking for other work. As the "game" goes, almost as soon as they are released the gazeteer and emenders find some new secreted location to set up new presses (the old ones having usually been confiscated or destroyed), call in all the old "gang", reconnect with the ghostly crowd of their many mysterious distributors and begin to publish once more ... until they are once again raided and shut down. They are able to carry on so because of the patronage of some figure of great substance and circumstance who remains unknown to the authorities and even the gazeteer themselves.

Ok, I am done now.