Chris Tomey asked Brian Staveley:

Epic stories so far sir. I very much look forward to #3. I originally purchased this book because I loved the cover art and thought it would be the type of book I liked. I was not disappointed. Q.- Do you get a say in what goes on the cover of your book and do you think the covers for your books are a good representation of your story? Also how important do you think cover art is to new authors? Any advice?

Brian Staveley Hi Chris -- I'm thrilled you're enjoying the books! As far as cover art goes, I love Richard Anderson's cover for the US version. Contractually, I had no power over the cover. Tor could have slapped up some clipart from the 80s and that would have been that. My editor, however, and the art director, are both really great people to work with, and they've managed to include me in the process. I still don't make any of the final or crucial decisions, but they say, "Hey, we're thinking of two options, do you have a strong preference?" I really appreciate that, especially considering their ideas are always way, way better than my own.

As far as the importance of cover art to new authors, I'm just not sure how important it is. The only book I can think of that I'm excited for because of the cover is Dinosaur Lords (cover also by Richard Anderson). In fact, I suspect that cover design might be more important than cover art. Books that are poorly designed look amateurish in a way that makes me a little gun-shy...

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