I have had lovely covers. Prior to The Creative Fire, my best cover story was when publisher Sean Wallace told me he wanted to buy Mayan December by sending me the cover art (by Scott Grimando) and asking if I thought it would go with the book.  In every other case, I gave input about cover ideas on a basic form, but actually learned what the covers looked like by spotting them on Amazon. My experience with John Picacio’s stunning cover for The Creative Fire has been very different.  My belief is that the support we have each provided the other in talking about the book and the art benefited us both greatly.

I knew John, but not well. We had been introduced at conventions, had talked at parties, and would have recognized each other walking down the street, but we had never had a private conversation that lasted more than two minutes.  I admired his work.  I own his art book, Cover Story: The art of John Picacio. A signed print of his Asimov’s cover, Away from Here hangs on my office wall among other pieces of science fiction art.

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Hugo Award-winning and Chesley Award-winning artist John Picacio has just announced a Kickstarter project for a 2013 calendar featuring twelve of his fantastic illustrations.

This is the debut project of John’s new company, Lone Boy, and it promises to be something worth showing off. It’s being produced to John’s normal high quality standards. It will be printed on 12 pt. premium paper stock with a satin aqueous-coated finish, and is sure to look absolutely beautiful. John has not only illustrated the artwork that appears within the calendar, but he has also designed the calendar itself. One thing worth noting: whereas most calendars feature artwork occupying a 12″ x 12″ page, this calendar will devote more space to the stunning illustrations that are included.

What pieces are included? Glad you asked! Each month, you’ll see the artist’s cover illustration from the following:
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Hot off the heels of his Chesley Award win, his Hugo award win and his announcement about the sale of limited-edition museum-quality prints, artist John Picacio has just announced the opening of his own company, Lone Boy.

The company’s first product offerings will include:

• The 2013 John Picacio Calendar, featuring 12 full-color artworks by Picacio. This will available via Kickstarter later this month.
• A new vision of the classic Mexican bingo game, Loteria, featuring all-new art by the artist in a 54-card deck. More details to come in December!

Don’t miss out: Sign up for the Lone Boy mailing list right now.

Chesley- and Hugo-winning artist John Picacio is now selling limited-edition prints from his vast portfolio. Selections include museum-quality prints in these categories:
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John Picacio has posted his cover art for Ian McDonald’s upcoming novel Be My Enemy, Book Two of the Everness series, which began with Planesrunner. Take a gander at a much more detailed version of the cover at John Picacio’s website.

Meanwhile, here’s the synopsis for Be My Enemy:

Everett Singh has escaped with the Infundibulum from the clutches of Charlotte Villiers and the Order, but at a terrible price. His father is missing, banished to one of the billions of parallel universes of the Panoply of All Worlds, and Everett and the crew of the airship Everness have taken a wild Heisenberg jump to a random parallel plane. Everett is smart and resourceful, and from the refuge of a desolate frozen Earth far beyond the Plenitude, where he and his friends have gone into hiding, he makes plans to rescue his family. But the villainous Charlotte Villiers is one step ahead of him. The action traverses three different parallel Earths: one is a frozen wasteland; one is just like ours, except that the alien Thryn Sentiency has occupied the Moon since 1964, sharing its technology with humankind; and one is the embargoed home of dead London, where the remnants of humanity battle a terrifying nanotechnology run wild. Across these parallel planes of existence, Everett faces terrible choices of morality and power. But he has the love and support of Sen, Captain Anastasia Sixsmyth, and the rest of the crew of Everness as he learns that the deadliest enemy isn’t the Order or the world-devouring nanotech Nahn—it’s himself.

Book info as per Amazon US:

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Pyr (September 4, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 1616146788
• ISBN-13: 978-1616146788

In episode 110 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester and Jaym Gates (continuing the discussion from Part 1) sit down with a mega panel of authors, editors and artists to discuss Sword and Sorcery for the modern reader.

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We turn our attention to book cover art this week. A good cover can mean more sales for a book…but what makes a good cover? We asked this week’s panelists this question:

Here’s what they said…

OK… honestly, I don’t see that many book covers because I’m reading tons of sf and f book manuscripts to then DO their covers…. so when I take a break, I don’t typically head off to the bookstore…. BUT, by way of homework for Mind Meld, this morning I stopped into my local Borders, and spent some time taking a look. In the end, I learned that I should do this more often, just to stay in touch with my market. First off, clearly I need to be doing more hot-babe-w-weapon +/- tattoo images, because clearly that’s half the market nowadays. (pic one)… Now I like those jackets as much as the next id-controlled red-blooded male…but if that is the context, then things that are NOT-context tend to stand out in my quest for “blew you away.” Also, I’ve learned to be leery of my id’s attraction to cover art, in that sometimes there’s a “honeymoon period.” Anyway… I decided to go hunt in the wild for these, and not just open my latest Spectrum, because a) I didn’t want to be filtered through the Spectrum judge panel, and b) I think that book design and type solution are critical to what makes a successful book cover…. and Spectrum doesn’t show me that. I even diligently wrote down all the designers names so I could credit them, and then promptly left it on the last shelf for the Border’s custodial staff, while snapping iPhone pics. I think that type/cover design is like parenting, where it can nurture, showcase and enhance the art if attended to diligently with an insightful light touch, and so easily frak it up otherwise.

So anyway…Here’s what I came up with…

Two, right off the bat by Greg Manchess. He does exceptionally good figure work (full figured?) with a perfectly spartan but juicy brushwork and fairly unfettered backgrounds…everything I do NOT do…hmmm.. Next up came Scott Fischer’s Titans of Chaos, with a beautifully rendered heroine in a levitation trance…. really exploring the boundaries of her image crop in an unconventional way. I also love Scott’s whimsical ornamentation and color use…

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Fiction and fantasy book covers can be as awe-inspiring as the stories they are trying to sell. We asked this week’s panelists:

Read on to see their favorites …and not-so-favorites…

I’m a little out of my league given that I came to SF via art, rather than books… so most of my faves are pretty contemporary. But woe be me to pass up the mike. Here’s a list of representative book jackets , by some artists I love and think are stellar sci fi heads (in no particular order).

1. The Sky People by Greg Manchess (Full artwork)
2. Cities of the Moon by Donato Giancola (Full artwork)
3. The Currents of Space by John Harris (Full artwork)
4. Mission’s End by John Berkey (Full artwork)
5. Variable Star and Quantumscapes by Stephan Martiniere (Full artwork)
6. Species by H R Giger (Full artwork)
7. Star Trek: Wounds by Rick Berry (Full artwork)
8. Dark Horse Comics Dirty Pair by Adam Hughes (Full artwork)

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• Interviews and Profiles:
  • Irene Gallo interviews Scott Westerfeld about the art of Leviathan, his latest book, a steampunk adventure.
  • Jon Armstrong interviews David Anthony Durham (The Other Lands).
  • Peter F. Hamilton answers blogger questions via video.
• Speaking of steampunk, check out Jaymee Goh’s article on Steampunk as Subculture over at Tor.com.
• Ever wonder what a book cover artists thinks of other people’s covers? Head on over to Missions Unknown and see their resident artist extraordinaire, John Picacio, do just that.
• SciFi Scanner points us to retro Iron Man cover art and re-imagined classic scifi movie posters.
• For those keeping track, George R.R. Martin is up to page 1100 writing A Dance with Dragons, and hopes to be done in less than 400 pages more.
• Alan Moore’s New Fanzine, Dodgem Logic, launches in November.
• Patrick at Stomping on Yeti has posted an awesome trailer for Star Wars: Death Troopers, the new novel by Joe Schreiber.
• Here’s Mike Allen on The Speculative Poetry Scene.
• For the writers: Victoria Strauss’ Thoughts on Self-Promotion.
• EVENT: Ray Harryhausen and his co-author Tony Dalton will be signing An Animated Life at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Saturday 24th October 1 – 2pm.
• Amazon Settles Kindle Deletion Lawsuit For $150,000: “Amazon.com has agreed to pay $150,000 to the student who sued the company for deleting his digital copy of George Orwell’s 1984 from his Kindle e-book reading device.” Wow! (Thanks, Daniel!)
• Lists:
  • @Stomping on Yeti: 10 Ways to use Time Travel to Fix the Short Fiction Market.
  • @Automopedia: 10 Fantastic Cartoon Science Fiction Ships
  • Mike Brotherton lists his scientific heroes
  • SciFi Scanner lists Cult SciFi Classics in Need of Interactive Treatment. I’d take a Big Trouble in Little China game any day…

• John Picacio shows off his awesome cover art for Are You There and Other Stories by Jack Skillingstead. (Also at Missions Unknown)
• Pyr SF shows off the full jacket design for Paul McAuley’s The Quiet War. Meanwhile Paul McAuley pimps his own covers for his numerous current reprints.
• Great news of the Week: Solaris Books has been picked up by Rebellion and will continue to produce great science fiction and fantasy.
• Interviews & Profiles:
  • @Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf: Mark Teppo (Lightbreaker).
  • Over at Joseph Mallozzi’s blog, Jasper Fforde answers reader questions. (And a reminder for those folowing in his book club: discussion starts soon on the next book, Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover.)
  • Agony Column continues with part 2 of their podcast interviews celebrating Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine’s 60 Years, featuring Jeffrey Ford, John Kessel and Delia Sherman
  • Ideology of Madness interviews Matt Sturges.
  • @The British Science Fiction Association: Andy Remic
  • Genreville TV interviewed Kaaron Warren and Robert Freeman Wexler at KGB Fantastic Fiction.
• Jess Nevins on The Zeppelin Pulps.
• Scott Edelman shares another installment of the 2000 Nebula Awards Weekend.
• Hal Duncan has a new BSC column. In the first installment, he talks about the definition of science fiction.
• NK Jemisin asks Who’s Afraid of Urban Fantasy? [via Bibliophile Stalker]
• Serialized Excerpts:
  • Sciencefictionandfantasy.co.uk is is serializing the first 5 chapters of Kells Legend by Andy Remic.
  • Barbara Martin is is serializing the first 5 chapters of Angel of Death by J. Robert King.
• Cheryl Morgan has posted her thoughts on Thoughts on Hugo Nominations.
• Norilana Books announces that Warrior Wisewoman 3 edited by Roby James, their annual anthology of science fiction featuring powerful and remarkable women, is now open to submissions.
• Empire Online asks: Is sci-fi better when it’s low budget? [via Whedonesque]
• Tom Baker says…er…I mean stars in Doctor Who: Hornet’s Nest, a five-part adventure series for BBC audio dramas. [via Big Dumb Object via Wired]
• Dave Franzese has posted a fun set of ray gun drawings. [via Drawn!]
• Blow Your Circuits With AMC’s SciFi Robots Quiz.
• Lists:
  • @SFX: The Top 10 Greatest Superheroes Ever Revealed. (Realted: The Daily P.O.P. looks at Captain Britain.)
  • @ScifiSquad: The Top Ten Sci-Fi Mind Control Movies.
  • Mike Brotherton lists The Ten Scariest Science Fiction Movies.
  • @Movie Moron: Top 10 Best Graphic Novels – Being Turned Into Movies. [via Raymond Thornton, an excellent illustrator.]

San Diego Comic-Con attracts between 125,000 to 140,000 attendees over a four-day weekend, whereas the World Science Fiction Convention draws anywhere from 4000 to 7000 attendees over a four-day weekend, depending on location. SDCC stays in one city and operates with a fairly stable staff structure from year to year, while Worldcon changes cities and staff lineups every year and is essentially a wholly volunteer, fan-organized effort. The two are almost impossible to compare, but we asked this week’s panelists:

Read on to see the responses…

For the first time this year, I went to the San Diego Comic-con instead of Worldcon. I’d never been to Comic-con before, and while I’d been warned, the scale is truly beyond belief and has to be seen to be believed, from the hordes waiting to enter, the lines for anything and everything, and the mass of people and exhibits to the sheer spectacle.

Unlike Worldcon, attendees are younger–primarily teens up to 40s-somethings, including numerous families–and of all races.

And the joy and energy and excitement of the attendees reminded me of the first con I ever went to-a tiny Star Trek con outside of Philly, simply because it was there-where everything was new and so exciting and cool. I’m not ashamed to say that I had an absolute blast-being a geek is truly celebrated and welcomed there, and every turn had something fabulous to look at or explore. In the first couple of hours I saw Adama from Battlestar Galactica, amazing (and horrifying costumes), and ran into several people and authors I didn’t expect to-tons of fun!

What can Worldcon learn from Comic-con? Ignoring budgets, which simply cannot be compared, having a fixed location, timeframe, and many of the same staff and volunteers each year means Comic-con can focus on attracting stars (of all sorts), building their presence in re publicity/exposure/attendance, and constantly improving the overall experience (for example, selling all of the attendance badges beforehand, thus shortening the entrance lines), rather than having to start from scratch every time. Further, Comiccon’s constant location and timeframe makes it much easier for attendees to plan (and budget) for, versus the constantly shifting Worldcon (which this year was in Montreal and next year is in Australia).

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• Interviews & Profiles:
  • @Dark Wolf’s Fantasy Reviews: an interview with Ekaterina Sedia, author of The Alchemy of Stone.
  • The always-awesome Fast Forward has video reactions from Chesley Award winners John Picacio and Lou Anders.
  • Guardian looks at the myth-making genius of Hugo winner Neil Gaiman. “His Hugo award doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but it’s supremely well deserved.”
  • Orbit has a video interview with Joe Abercrombie, as well as an excerpt of his novel Best Served Cold.
  • Bibliophile Stalker has an interview with Aliette de Bodard.
  • @Strange Horizons: David Weber. [via Bibliophile Stalker]
  • Shat alert! Time interviews William Shatner.
  • @Subterranean Press: Joe R. Lansdale interviews Hap and Leonard. Yes, they’re his fictional creations. What’s it to ya’?
• Wired says the Hugo Awards are overdue for a videogame category. [Thanks Pawel]
• At Barnes & Noble, author Paul DiFilippo on Cyberpunk and its legacy while he discusses John Shirley’s Bleak Histoy, Rudy Rucker’s Hylozoic and Bruce Sterling’s The Caryatids. [via Enter the Octopus]
• Underwire looks at Vintage Mexican Sci-Fi. [via Boing Boing]
• “The relentless cacophony that is life in the 21st century can make settling in with a book difficult even for lifelong readers and those who are paid to do it.” So says the LA Times in their article about the lost art of reading.
• Book View Cafe’s 4th Twitter Fic contest is being held from August 11 through 13.
• The Onion illuminates us on the fine art of sf writing with the revelation that one Sci-Fi Writer Attributes Everything Mysterious To ‘Quantum Flux’. [via Bookninja]
• Now this is an idea I can get behind: Wizard of Oz Remastered And Returning To Theaters!

• Interviews & Profiles:
  • @Bibliophile Stalker: Artist John Picacio, who beautifully illustrated the covers of Mark Chadbourn’s Age of Misrule trilogy.
  • @Falcata Times: Chris Roberson (Dawn Of War II).
  • Jeff VanderMeer interviews Ann VanderMeer on WorldCon. [via Bibliophile Stalker]
  • @Suvudu: Karen Traviss discusses Gears of War.
  • @Angry Robot Books: 20 Minutes With Tim Waggoner.
• Terry Pratchett campaigns for the right to take his own life.
• Lorette C. Luzajic discusses The 44 Novels of Philip K. Dick. Meanwhile SFGate looks at PKD’s Valis and later novels. [via Locus Online]
• Author David Moody talks about the story behind the cover of Hater.
• One for the writers: Angela Slatter On the Fine Art of Submission.
• There’s more writerly linkage over at Marty Halpern’s blog.
• Attention artists: SFBC is having an art contest.
• Brad Shorr on What science fiction has taught me.
• Cool images of cities from space. Hey, I think I can see my house!
• Den of Geek discusses The plot-obstacles to an Alien prequel.
• @SFX: The extended Doctor Who universe.
• MoviesOddity lists 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies Of All Time. A Boy and His Dog? Really?
• Wired.com’s Underwire blog lists (and shares some of the) 10 Space-Rocking Astronaut Songs. #1 should be obvious.

• Interviews and Profiles:
  • @Fantasy Book Critic: Liz Williams (Shadow Pavilion).
  • Book Banter podcast-interviews Robert J. Sawyer, author of WWW: Wake, and Christopher Golden, author of The Map of Moments.
  • Sci-Fi Fan Letter interviews Tony Ballantyne (Twisted Metal).
• Adam Roberts’ Hugo rant to fandom is making waves. Check out these responses from artist John Picacio, author John Scalzi…and web comic My Elves are Different.
• Jim C. Hines is not happy with Realms of Fantasy covers and says “Sexism is Not About Your Ego“
• At the Washington Post: Kim Stanley Robinson has the essay Return to the Heavens, for the Sake of Earth: “Does the notion of sending humans to space still make sense in the age of climate change?” [via Locus Online]
• It’s Brent Weeks vs. Joe Abercrombie at Borders SciFi blog.
• Barnes & Noble Plans an Extensive E-Bookstore: “Barnes & Noble said that it would offer more than 700,000 books that could be read on a wide range of devices, including Apple’s iPhone, the BlackBerry and various laptop or desktop computers. When Barnes & Noble acquired Fictionwise in March, that online retailer had about 60,000 books in its catalog.”
• Orbit Books has whittled down the enormous outpouring of responses received from their Worst Book Cover Contest and came up with the Top 5 Worst Book Covers. Head on over and vote for your favorite!
• Entertainment Weekly’s new book blog, Shelf Life, asks Why aren’t there more bookish types on TV? But the even cooler item in that post is the mock-trailer for the PBS soap opera about well-read youngsters called ‘llectuals.
• BBC Film Network has a short film called Pop Art which is based on a short story by Joe Hill. [via Charles Tan, who listed this very story in today's Mind Meld of favorite short stories.]
• At Avalanche Software Art Blog, Adam Ford presents this cool Space Cowboy.
• Lists:
  • @Total Film: 20 Movie Worlds That Could Make Great Holidays.
  • Bibliophile Stalker Charles Tan (Him again?) lists 5 Quick Points on Print vs eBooks
  • Matt Staggs points us to this list of 61 essential post-modern reads on which you’ll find several genre-ish titles.
  • Joseph Mallozzi’s favorite Movie Twists.