Art of Death - New Cover Reveal and Blurb!

You guys are the first to see it!  My upcoming novel Art of Death (2nd ed) is scheduled for a September 3 release, which happens to also be my birthday. XD  I'm gonna be doing a whole lot of reveals over the next couple of weeks, including a new author website and a new thank-you video for patrons, but we're starting with the new book cover and blurb!

A new era, new manuscript, and new publisher called for a new approach to the cover.  It's definitely a different vibe than I thought I'd aim for at the start.  Gritty paranormal thriller about serial killers and the undead?  Let's go with hot pink! :D  But I just get really excited whenever I have a chance to take an approach that's less traditional.

This cover is also optimized to look best at thumbnail size.  I don't have the easiest time doing that because I love detail.  But like I said, it's another era, and now thumbnails sell more books than full size physical covers.

Want to know what the book is about?  Well, I got a blurb for ya too!

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Art of Death (Lychgate: Book 1)

Starving artist Riley Burke refuses to be dependent on his rich older  boyfriend—hence his second job as a nude model at the local art  school.  When the famous artist Coliaro requests him for a private modeling session, he jumps at the chance to earn some real cash.

But then Westwood, a mysterious stranger, warns him to steer  clear—it’s said Coliaro is undead. That his worshippers perform rituals to fill him with life energy. That every time he paints a male nude, the painting transforms to depict a gruesome murder. And that shortly  after, a young man turns up dead.

Riley dismisses the rumors—until they start to play out before his eyes. When he becomes a target, Westwood comes to his aid. But Westwood is secretive and dangerous himself… which just makes him more attractive to Riley. Riley is in over his head, and even his tenuous alliance with  Westwood might not save him.

Genre: Paranromal, thriller, romance, gay, LGBTQ

Publisher: DSP Publications

Release date: September 3, 2019

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Now, some of you already know what the book is about because you read the first edition.  Here's some of what you can look forward to in the second edition:

-We get much deeper into Riley's head this time.  Version 1 hit the fast-paced thriller aspects hard.  Version 2 isn't slow by any means, but now we take the time to get to know Riley and understand why he's doing what he's doing, and we'll see him make some better choices for better reasons, even if they still don't always work out for him. ;)  Basically, we've got about a 70% increase in feels and a 50% decrease in tstl.

-We have a bunch of brand new Westwood and Porter POV scenes.  We learn more about how they feel, how they see the world, and how they see Riley.  We also get a lot more detail on the inner workings of Westwood's powers.  Actually, my all time favorite scene in the book is now the very last scene I added in edits.

-The Riley/Westwood relationship is more enjoyable this time around, and it builds better in the next two books too!

And finally: why the publisher change?  The first edition was put out by Dreamspinner Press, which is primarily a romance genre publisher.  Back in 2011, there weren't many options for queer genre fiction outside of romance, so a lot of them got lumped in with romance, where they ended up getting unfairly judged by romance genre criteria.  Art of Death *has* a romance, but it's a paranormal thriller first and foremost.

DSP Publications is the LGBTQ genre fiction imprint of Dreamspinner Press, and it didn't exist when Art of Death was first contracted.  I always wished I could have been part of that imprint because I knew it was a better fit, but the timing didn't work out until now.  We all agreed that the genre fiction elements in the series were a greater focus in this story than the romance, so it made sense to move the books to the imprint that would land it with the right audience.  This edition of the book will also have a better chance at getting into libraries and book stores - and a better chance at landing trade publication reviews.

So there you go!  Questions?  Comments?  Let me know! :D