Two shinies for you.

We’re almost at the end of January, which means we can stop talking about Christmas like it’s a race-memory of the apocalypse. We survived, people. We’re good.

This week:

• Comparison of covers, old vs. stylish;
• A new wallpaper for you; and
• Your final reminder about Tyche Forever*.

* The download code turns into a pumpkin next week.

Let’s rock.

More of my mistakes

Back in November I showed you the cover evolution for my Night’s Champion books. I thought it’d be fun to do the same with Chromed: Upgrade. I made many mistakes with the original Upgrade, which we can all laugh at about now. One of the mistakes was thinking I was writing an edgy spy thriller.

The Future Forfeit series are gritty cyberpunk. Rock music. Neon. Violence. Enhanced reflexes, all that. Here’s the first cover I went live with:

TBH, I was amazed at my brilliance. JUST LOOK AT THOSE FONTS. They were so good, I ignored the rest of the cover.

Amazement: this didn’t go well at all. The second attempt was a little better. It at least looks like something futuristic:

The problem is, we’re not sure what from the future it is. Dude crying? A machine? There’s no rock music, enhanced reflexes, and so on. The fonts are still pro, amirite? Let’s check take #3:

This one’s good. I like it, and it’s converting (selling) at retail. It’s got Mason in his armor. It’s got a visualization of the overlay. It’s got buildings on literal fire. When I took this edition down, I saw a used physical copy appear for sale for USD$2,499, which I thought was hilarious. I mean, it’s a great cover, but you can get an iPhone and a Coke for that sort of money.

Why did I take it down? Well, it turns out branding’s important, especially after everyone stole my idea and called their movies “Upgrade” as well. Let’s turn branding to 11, get a custom illustration, and see where we go. Our latest edition:

This I love for many reasons, but mostly because it’s perfect. And my cover artist didn’t want to divorce me as a client at the end of it. I must be learning!

How about a wallpaper?

Since that was so excellent, I’ve prepared a wallpaper for your phone or desktop. Get your favored edition below (you can check out all the wallpapers in the gallery):

I hope you enjoy Rebekah’s art on your device of choice.

Tyche Forever

Last week I mentioned Tyche Forever was done, ready for your download. Only a couple hundred of you hit the link, so I want to check *taps mic* this thing’s on. After next week the download stops working, so y’all need to hustle on in there.

It’s a story about a thug and a robot on a road trip. What’s not to like?

[GIMME TYCHE FOREVER]

Next week, I’ll share the results of my reader survey with you (you’ve still got a couple more days to put in your responses, if that’s your thing). Have an excellent weekend.

R