As ever, with the SPFBO, well, for the past two or three years, there is, at the start, a little cover competition. (And clearly a few overactive commas!)
This year, through a process of alchemy, magic, and bribery we, the judges, have decided on our top three covers from the 30 books which Mark issued to us. I have to say the quality of the covers is impressive. There really is no difference between self-published covers and those from the big publishing companies these days.
Every year the standard gets higher and higher – soon they’ll be platinum plated and worth more than the national earnings of a large European country!
Without further ado….
3rd Place: Blood-Stained Heir by T. Norman
A lone axe and a discarded shield. The stump of a tree. A bird flying away, into the distance. This cover has a hint of death, of loss and loneliness. The weapons are not to be used again, the tree has been cut down and destroyed and the bird is departing – there is nothing left for whomever the axe belongs to.
2nd Place: Rise of the Fallen by Peter Fugazzotto
An elf with two swords running towards battle, or perhaps away from it. The typography gives me a very 1930s/40s pulp feel. Flash Gordon-esque (the Black and White serial), but updated, and the angles grant the whole composition a sense of movement and pace.
1st Place: Carnifex by D. P. Prior
It’s got a fierce dwarf with an axe! What is not to like about his cover? There is dynamic movement, the sense of rage and a hint of the destruction to come (we hope). More than that, what is his (her – with dwarves if can be tough to tell) name?
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If you’re interested, and of course you are, the voting on the covers came out in this order and it was a close run thing!
1. Carnifex by D.P Prior
2. Rise of the Fallen by Peter Fugazzotto
3. Blood-Stained Heir by T. Norman
4. Phoenix Descending by Dorothy Dreyer
5. Rogue Arcanist by Alan Brenik
6. The Tenth Reaver by Sandell Wall
7. BattleCry by Emerald Dodge
8. Awakening by Ross Kingston
9. Child of the Daystar by Bryce O’Connor
We look forward to reading them all. Onwards, folks!
Jennie Ivins
JC Kang
Since all this is completely subjective, I say that my favourite of those 3 is the one in third place, actually 🙂
And I really like the font used on the First place cover.
#3 is eye catching and draws you into the scene.