As I’ve said before, I doubt cover reveals do much to sell books. Great covers, sure, but does announcing the cover in advance really hook anyone or build excitement in anyone who wasn’t already excited? That said, it does seem to be a tradition of modern promotion, so here’s mine, courtesy of my friend Kemp Ward:
Here’s the promotional copy, though I’m still tinkering with it: “It’s the 1900s but not as we knew them. Nazi shadow invaders battle Tesla and Edison. Teenage girls face sorcerers who kill through mirrors. A science fiction convention hides a conspiracy by Nazi occultists. Robert F. Kennedy’s death unleashes cosmic horror. Nursery rhymes walk the streets of New York.
Welcome to 19-Infinity, a supernatural version of the 20th century captured in 11 short stories. Whether riding along with a woman reporter in the 1930s or an aging actor in 1999, we get to see the last century as it never was — and given what magic does, that’s probably a good thing.”
The book will go live for sales in August though I’ve ordered advance paperback copies for my appearance at Con-Carolinas. The contents:
1930s
Leave the World to Darkness. A woman reporter stumbles into the story of a lifetime — if she survives to write it.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. After two thousand years of accursed immortality, the Wandering Jew is one cynical S.O.B. The death of a good guy at the hands of the “Bad Samaritan” may turn things around.
1950s
And He Bought a Crooked Cat. At twenty-five, Paul is already middle-aged and stuffy. Then he has to walk a crooked mile to save his best friend from a crooked cat.
No One Can Slay Her. Despite the doom laid upon her, wealthy amateur detective Jennifer Armstrong is young, happy and in love with her new wife Kate (in this 1950s, gay marriage is legal and unremarkable). Only someone’s threatening Kate with a deadly magic that ties in with a sleeping god and a low-budget film stuido.
1960s
The Savage Year. In the wake of Robert Kennedy’s death, a bronze-skinned vagabond girl and a woman working as a Secret Service sorcerer have to stop a British mage from unleashing cosmic horrors.
Shadows Reflected in Darkness. Maud picked the wrong night to sneak into a Soho jazz club in “swinging London.” Because now Death’s Jester intends to kill her.
1970s
The Glory That Was. Years ago Elizabeth and Molly adventured in a fantasy realm of Greek mythology. Now they’re back together in our world, but their lives have taken radically different paths.
1980s
Death Is Like a Box of Chocolates. It’s only a box of Stuckey’s praline candy. How can it be causing chaos?
1990s
Where Angels Fear to Lunch. The Wandering Jew now works as a PI. When an angel walks into his office and begs for help, it launches a case that could decide the fate of the world.
A Famine Where Abundance Lies. A cutting edge search engine. An overworked IT professional. A mysterious consultant. It adds up to trouble.
The Schloss and the Switchblade. When Ward Hanover agreed to be guest of honor at Nevercon, he didn’t expect they’d be screening his long-lost first film, The Juvenile Delinquents Meet the Nazi. And it’s dangerously different from the low-budget movie he remembers.
Needless to say I’ll be blogging more about the book this summer.
#SFWApro
