Cover Art on World Book Day

Some of you may not have heard, but today, April 23rd, is World Book Day. It's also the Day of the Impossible Astronaut, but not everyone is a Whovian, so we'll move on. People all over are praising their favourite authors and books, which means I'll be throwing in some praises of my own.

Now I've personally loved books since I was a child. Finding me without a book at hand is actually a very hard task to accomplish because I never leave home without one if I can help it. I've always loved fantasy, which is probably why I started writing it. I think. My earliest memory of writing fantasy is in grade two when we had to write a story and I made mine about a witch so . . . I apologize for being uncertain about the origins.

World Book Day is when people are giving credit to their favourite books, the ones that changed or helped them in some way, the ones they couldn't live without. I have a few of my own - namely, books by Rick Riordan, Juliet Marillier, and Brandon Mull. And yes, I'm aware that two are "for children" and one is "for adults", but heck I started reading them all before I was even a teenager so these are life long favourites.

Each author has helped me in some way. Rick Riordan's books really got me into writing seriously. Reading them was like coming home, I was hooked from the first line and while they didn't spark my earliest novel idea, the books got me digging into childhood files and coming up with new worlds. Juliet Marillier (I hope I'm spelling this last name right) is the only one who can write "romance" without me puking in my mouth. She was the first example of intricate characters and plots I really got into, and she also showed me how to make character relations less cheesy. I'm actually okay with writing characters as more than friends now, unlike before I read her books. Brandon Mull just gave me all around adventure and fun and a new take on some classic bits of magic and mythology. I love his books for the brilliant originality.

Basically I'm saying, if you want to find a new favourite book today, I'd recommend one of them. Percy Jackson, Sevenwaters, Beyonders - my favourite series to read a hundred times over. Well, not a hundred, but you get the idea.

By this point I'm sure you're all wondering why the title has "cover art" in it. Simple. I'm about to reveal the cover for the first installment of the Nightvale series. It's not to be released for a while yet - exact date is iffy, but I'm thinking late August or early September - and for that I'm sorry. But you can enjoy the cover in the meantime.

I think the cover looks wonderful and links up with the first installment beautifully. I'm quite looking forward to the day when I can release this over Kobo (and maybe Kindle, we'll see. Kindles are a bit of a rarity in Canada).

There we are, I've said my bit. You've seen the cover and I hope you enjoy the rest of World Book Day and find a new favourite! Now I have to get back to writing for Camp NaNoWriMo . . . success will only be known after the month is complete.