Voilà!
The blurb on the back cover of The Friday Society will intrigue any lover of strong female characters, adventure, mystery and danger, all within a steampunk milieu.
Be Your Own Hero . . .
Set in London at the turn of the last century, the novel follows the stories of three intelligent and very talented young women, all of whom are assistants to very powerful men: Cora, lab assistant to a member of parliament; Michiko, Japanese fight assistant to a martial arts guru; and Nellie, a magician's assistant. The three young women’s lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball that ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man.
It’s up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder—and the crimes they believe may be connected to it‐‐without calling too much attention to themselves.
Told with Adrienne Kress's sharp wit and a great deal of irreverence, this Steampunk whodunit introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike--well, relatively ladylike--heroines poised for more dangerous adventures.
(Retrieved from http://ididntchoosethis.blogspot.ca/2012/04/cover-reveal-for-friday-society.html?m=1 on April 3, 2012)
In Her Words
Reading Adrienne Kress' blog (http://ididntchoosethis.blogspot.ca), I was especially curious about her take on the cover and what she especially loved about it. With her permission, I share her words with you here:
What I love about this cover:
1. The three girls. Let's meet them shall we? From left to right - Nellie Harrison (magician's assistant), Cora Bell (personal assistant/lab assistant to a member of Parliament), Michiko Takeda (fight assistant to a self defense guru).
1. The three girls. Let's meet them shall we? From left to right - Nellie Harrison (magician's assistant), Cora Bell (personal assistant/lab assistant to a member of Parliament), Michiko Takeda (fight assistant to a self defense guru).
I've already talked about what I like about how the girls look (though I
should add I also adore their outfits . . . and weapons). What's also
fantastic about them, is the way they are posing. They look tough.
They look like they have agency, that they can take care of themselves.
Which is good. Because they do and can. :)
2. The pinwheel effect. Okay, note to self, adding a pinwheel automatically makes stuff look awesome. It's subtle, but present. It both draws the eye into the middle of the page, and explodes out in fantastic fun times. It adds a wonderful sense of energy. Love it.
3. The London skyline. Because it's the London skyline.
4. The grainy effect. Look up close, the picture has been made to look slightly weathered. Cool? Yes, yes it is.
5. The font(s). Font, to me, is often far more important than any other element on a cover. It can make the difference between whether a cover is seen as professional or not. And it can dictate the intended audience for the book. I love both the fonts on this cover. I love the title, I love how strong it looks, how cool, both contemporary and classic. And I love my name. I mean, I love seeing my name on a cover of a book in any font really (it's kind of overwhelming every time when you do see it - and maybe just maybe I got choked up seeing it on this cover for the first time), but this font is also just plain cool. I don't know why, but I love that the A isn't pointy. Yeah, I know, but I do.
6. The border. Now I have had the honour of being bordered by many a great object. With ALEX we had octopus tentacles. TIMOTHY we had a dragon:
2. The pinwheel effect. Okay, note to self, adding a pinwheel automatically makes stuff look awesome. It's subtle, but present. It both draws the eye into the middle of the page, and explodes out in fantastic fun times. It adds a wonderful sense of energy. Love it.
3. The London skyline. Because it's the London skyline.
4. The grainy effect. Look up close, the picture has been made to look slightly weathered. Cool? Yes, yes it is.
5. The font(s). Font, to me, is often far more important than any other element on a cover. It can make the difference between whether a cover is seen as professional or not. And it can dictate the intended audience for the book. I love both the fonts on this cover. I love the title, I love how strong it looks, how cool, both contemporary and classic. And I love my name. I mean, I love seeing my name on a cover of a book in any font really (it's kind of overwhelming every time when you do see it - and maybe just maybe I got choked up seeing it on this cover for the first time), but this font is also just plain cool. I don't know why, but I love that the A isn't pointy. Yeah, I know, but I do.
6. The border. Now I have had the honour of being bordered by many a great object. With ALEX we had octopus tentacles. TIMOTHY we had a dragon:
And this time, well this time we get a supremely kick-ass Steampunk mechanical piece.
That border might be just about my favourite part of the cover. Not quite my fav, we'll get to that at 7. But still. Yes it is all kinds of Steampunk amazing, but what I love about it the most is that it really looks mechanical, like a real machine where one piece influences the other, and not just like there are some random gears hanging out together 'cause, you know, they're gears and they've got that in common. I also love how the border makes the whole cover have a kind of movie poster vibe. And as a fan of movies, you can understand why this would make me happy.
Lastly I love the accidental continuity. That I get to be border girl! All my books have borders (despite being published by different publishers and being different genres), and I love borders, and I love my books. So it's like such a love fest man.
7. And my number 1 (which I guess is number 7 for some reason) thing I love about this cover is . . . wait for it . . .
This:
??
This is a screw.
There are four of them, one in each corner of the cover. Making the cover look like it's been screwed onto the book. It might not be grand, it might hardly be noticeable at first glance, but it's this kind of small detail I absolutely adore. It demonstrates care, and I think wit as well. The cherry on top of the sundae.
This is a screw.
There are four of them, one in each corner of the cover. Making the cover look like it's been screwed onto the book. It might not be grand, it might hardly be noticeable at first glance, but it's this kind of small detail I absolutely adore. It demonstrates care, and I think wit as well. The cherry on top of the sundae.
* * *
November seems like a long time from now, doesn't it?
This looks fab. I've just gotten into steampunk and really enjoy it. Love those cover details you have pointed out!
ReplyDeleteOne thing that bugs me though: the Japanese girl names Michiko at the turn of the 19th century. The -ko ending didn't show up in girls names until about 40 years later. Probably I'll be able to deal though, but I hate those little niggling things right from the start.