OT: Announcing ONLY SUPERHUMAN, my first original novel!

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by Christopher, May 24, 2011.

  1. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2004
    Location:
    Lancaster, PA

    Exactly. No big drama here. Just the usual tinkering with the schedule, especially when you consider that Fall 2012 is still a year away.

    To be honest, I don't know who edited Fuzzy Nation. I'm just a consultant at Tor these days so I don't know the list as thoroughly as I did when I was working there full-time. Sorry.

    I'd check the acknowledgements page. Chances are, Scalzi thanks his editor there.
     
  2. Daddy Todd

    Daddy Todd Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2004
    Location:
    Utah
    Thanks for the response!

    Patrick Nielsen Hayden is my guess, based on the acknowledgements. I don't recognize any of the other names there (except Wil Wheaton, who I see read the audiobook. That might be worth checking out.)
     
  3. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    The cover for Only Superhuman has just been released on Facebook and my blog. And here it is:

    [​IMG]

    I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect cover for this book. It marvelously conveys the novel’s sense of high-flying action and adventure in a high-tech setting, and the flamboyance and power of its heroine, Emerald Blair (aka the Green Blaze). It makes the novel look exciting and energetic, and that should help sell copies. (This scene doesn’t appear in the book, but it’s kind of an amalgam of elements of the opening and climactic action sequences.)

    And it’s a marvelous portrait of Emerald Blair. First off, I’m stunned and honored by how closely artist Raymond Swanland followed my character design drawings. Allowing for a bit of idealization, and my own limited ability to translate my visual ideas to paper, it’s as authentic a portrait of Emry as I could’ve hoped for. More, it captures her personality and the life she leads very well. She looks like she just hurled herself off the top of a skyscraper without giving any thought to what happens next. She’s totally focused on fighting the bad guys and won’t let little things like plans or gravity distract her. She’s in an incredibly precarious and dangerous situation and she looks completely at home there. Yes, she is presented in a sexual, glamorous way too, but that’s in character for her, and it’s a very athletic, active, powerful kind of sexiness that (at least to my eye) complements the impression of strength and competence in this image rather than undermining it.

    In any case, it’s an ideal way to introduce Emerald Blair to the world, and I’m very happy with it.
     
  4. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2002
    Location:
    Gotham
    Wow. That is really impressive looking Christopher!
     
  5. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    That's a fantastic cover! :techman:

    And nice job on getting a quote from Kevin J. Anderson. Regardless of his internet reputation, the man's still a recognizable name and a big seller.
     
  6. Deranged Nasat

    Deranged Nasat Vice Admiral Admiral

    That's an impressive cover. Very appealing. Very intense without being overwhelming. It gives a real sense of action (you can almost feel the adrenaline rush) yet it's still subtle in its colours and details. Looks like they picked the right artist.
     
  7. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2004
    Location:
    Lancaster, PA
    Kevin very generously offered to read the manuscript months ago and gave us our very first quote.

    And, yeah, I love the cover, too! It's exactly what I was hoping for.
     
  8. Sho

    Sho Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2006
    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    Very cool, I dig the metallic sort of shading and precision rendition. Should look marvellous in glossy physical print.

    Also: Setting up a future crossover by having her handle a phaser? :p
     
  9. ryan123450

    ryan123450 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2005
    Location:
    Woodward, OK
    I had forgotten about wanting to read this, Christopher. I love the cover and will definitely be checking this out.
     
  10. Thrawn

    Thrawn Rear Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2008
    Location:
    Washington, DC
    I can't remember - will this be hardcover or trade or MMPB?
     
  11. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    ^Hardcover to start, MMPB reprint eventually.
     
  12. NotLKH

    NotLKH Lieutenant Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2009
    Ah hA!
    So, Greg Cox and Christopher are the same person?
    Or...the "us" seems to indicate body "sharing" personas,
    perhaps in the same vein as Clark Kent:Superman?
     
  13. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2004
    Location:
    Lancaster, PA
    Sorry for the confusion. It's Christopher's book. I just edited it for Tor.
     
  14. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    I've always wondered how exactly that worked. When publishers are trying to promote their book, do they just call up authors who write in a related genre and ask them if they'd be willing to give them a quote?
     
  15. NotLKH

    NotLKH Lieutenant Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2009
    No need to apologize.

    Hmmm, but I'll bet nobody at Tor has ever seen both you and Christopher at the same time :)
     
  16. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2004
    Location:
    Lancaster, PA
    Basically, you work whatever connections you have and rely on the kindness of friends and colleagues. One also tries to approach authors who might be sympatico to the subject matter and appeal to the same audience. (I wouldn't approach Anne Rice for a quote on an interplanetary hard-sf adventure!)

    In this case, I contacted various authors, asked them if they would be willing to look at an advance copy of the manuscript, then crossed my fingers and hoped they liked it enough to give us a quote!

    So far we've gotten great quotes from Kevin Anderson, Mike Barr, and Stanley Schmidt, and I'm hoping for more before we have to go to press . . . .
     
  17. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Very cool. Thanks for the info! And I hope you get more quotes. :techman:
     
  18. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2004
    Location:
    Lancaster, PA
    Maybe not at Tor, but anybody who has ever been to Shore Leave has! :)
     
  19. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    That's true. The one time I've been to Tor's offices was last year's NY Comic-Con, which Greg couldn't attend. However, we've attended several Shore Leaves and earlier NYCCs together.
     
  20. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    Love that cover. I'll definitely be picking this up. Or downloading it, since I'm trying to go 100% digital.