Hi there! I'm Jay Bell and I like making up stories! I'm the guy who wrote The cover art that never was…
Written by Jay Bell on November 14, 2010 – 12:02 am -
The release of my next book is inching ever closer! Something Like Summer is a coming of age novel that should be out January of next year. All that remains to be done is proofreading by test readers to catch the last of those typos, and the cover art, which Andreas has been diligently working on. I thought the cover art would be a breeze since it has been done for twelve years now. Sort of. Andreas was organizing his art drawer one day when I spotted a painting I’d never seen before. I instantly fell in love with the image, which he had created a few years before we met each other. I’m crazy for grays and blues, so the mix of colors appealed to me, not to mention the sexy male figure with one hand down his pants. Something Like Summer is a sexy novel (although tasteful and heartfelt too) and I felt this image would sell that point.
Andreas tried and tried to reshape his long forgotten painting into being the cover of a book. Despite his best efforts, it just wasn’t clicking. One big obstacle was the limited amount of empty space left for the title. Even after some creative solutions it still didn’t look quite right. As much as I love it, this painting just wasn’t meant to be a book cover. I found the courage to ask Andreas to start over from scratch, and like a rather artistic trooper, he came up with something amazing. I’m not quite ready to reveal it yet, as there are still some small changes to be made, but I’m already glad the above image didn’t work out. I still love this painting, but from now on I’ll simply enjoy it for what it is.
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Posted in Books, Gay, Something Like Summer | 8 Comments »
My curiosity is beyond piqued! Can’t wait to read, and see cover art and all of that good stuff!
Love the painting. I could see you wanting to put the title for the book in the white space… it would have been hot! It’s also fantastic on its own though–a sign of a good piece of work.
You guys are a great team!
Kinda want that on my wall… it would be my second thing i can hang on the wall! if only I wasn’t a broke student…
FYI Love the book so far! there are not enough of new gay fantasy (novels) out there.
~Dray~
Thanks Dray! I hope you enjoy the rest of the book as well. I also hope to add a few more books to the gay fantasy genre over the next couple of years.
J
So, out of curiousity is Something Like Summer a fantasy novel? and is it out Jan 2011 or 2012? crossing fingers in hopes of Jan 11…
Something Like Summer is the quintessential coming of age novel, but one that goes beyond the usual high school setting. So no, not fantasy, but hopefully you’ll still give it a shot. After that, I have another fantasy novel that is already completed (aside from editing) and I’m busily writing a fourth. Something Like Summer will be out early 2011. Keep reading and I’ll keep writing!
Cool. I always get confused when people say “next ___” I’m always sitting there going “is that this coming up Tuesday or next next tuesday…”
Anyways I will most certainly read Something like Summer although I will probably have to buy the PDF format again (I prefer books made of paper). Its hard to find books with gay main characters in book stores STILL (living in Canada). The book stores just don’t sell them.
Sigh
~Dray~
Have you tried special ordering books from a store using the ISBN number? That should work. I’m able to do that in Germany with English books, but Canada might be different.
probably can but I am terribly impatient when it comes to books. If I had to wait a year+ for the book to come out, it better well be in the bookstore.
That and delivery guys creep me out. They ring the doorbell… No one ever rings the doorbell…