Thursday 17 January 2013

THE NIGHT ITSELF COVER REVEAL

Happy - nay, joyful, nay, DELIGHTFUL - Thursday to you all!

Yes, I know that right now precisely none of you are reading this, as you are all scrolling heedlessly down the page to get a load of the long-promised, much-teased, oh-so-pretty cover art of The Night Itself (due from Walker Books in the UK on the 4th of July THIS YEAR).

But hopefully some of you will eventually come back. So allow me to burble on, OK? I've been looking forward to this cover reveal for *so long* that it's started to feel like some mythical event which I would never actually get to experience. I need to bask.

Lovely Lass (whom those of you with fabulous taste and a Twitter account can follow at @AitchLove), when arranging for me to have the final, final, final version of the cover with the correct cover copy and the right kind of file type to post here, also sent me a bunch of other, fascinating stuff, like sketches that the very talented artist Andrew Archer made along the way, and early cover mockups from the brilliant cover designer Maria. Lovely Lass knew that the process of developing a cover is of great interest to many - including me - and that I would very much like to do a huge and detailed post about it (because she is Lovely Lass and therefore by definition awesome + infinity).

But as I sat down to write that post, with its many pictures and detailed accounting of how the cover designer and artist came up with this gorgeous concept for my book, I realised that no one is going to care about that today. You were all just going to do what you've already done and zip right past everything I wrote and all those images. So I decided to wait and do a separate post with all that stuff next week, when hopefully you will actually read and appreciate it.

And with that out of the way, I now present to you...

THE NAME OF THE BLADE: THE NIGHT ITSELF


I am told that this will be printed using a pantone, which my Google-fu has informed me is a special kind of printing ink which has more pigment shades than usual, meaning that the colours will be ultra-vivid, and practically glow on the page.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!


The full jacket artwork reveals that the strange forces coiling around the heroine are, in fact, the mysterious energies of the katana itself! Look, look, there's the grip with the silk wrappings and everything! Plus PINK SPINE and there is my TRILOGY TITLE and that is the coolest font EVER zoh my God!

Ahem.

The cover copy reads as follows:
When fifteen year old Mio steals the katana - her grandfather's priceless sword - she just wants to liven up a fancy dress costume. But the katana is more than some dusty heirloom, and her actions unleash an ancient evil onto the streets of modern-day London. Mio is soon stalked by the terrors of mythical Japan, and it is only the appearance of a mysterious warrior that saves her life. If Mio cannot learn to control the sword's legendary powers she will lose not only her own life... but the love of a lifetime.
Well? What do you all think? Let me know in the comments!

33 comments:

Read Write Reviews said...

Zoe it is so gorgeous!!! I hope you don't mind if I post it over on my blog?

Krispy said...

I totally just squeed at you on Twitter about it, but I LOVE your cover. It's almost graphic novel-esque! I love that the little details like the patterns of the coils and the katana grip reinforce the heroine's (and story's) Japanese inspiration but that the illustration of the girl and design of the jacket itself has a very modern/contemporary feel. It just seems so, so perfect! Congrats!

Zoë Marriott said...

Annabelle: Hurray! Post away, my duck :)

Krispy: You've basically just summed up the whole concept and why I love it so much! So glad you like it.

Raimy from Readaraptor Hatchling said...

Eeeeeeeeee
I love it!
I'm so excited Zoe, so so excited!!!! X

Kristen Evey said...

Love, love, love, love, love! What else is there to say? This is a beautiful cover. The colors and the patterns are gorgeous. I love the modern vibe. Is it summer yet?!

Also, stalking your website and I see you will be working on another standalone set in Tsuki no Hikari no Kuni and it's another FAIRYTALE RETELLING! Beyond excited for this too!

Julie Cohen said...

That's beautiful.

Amy said...

I just crawled out of bed and threw myself at my laptop squealing with excitement to see this haha! It's gorgeous! Pink and black work so well together, it looks really classy and pretty :D

Zoë Marriott said...

Raimy: Eeeeee back! Me too, me too! *Jumps up and down*

Kristen: I share this same thought. HURRY UP JULY! And yes - Beauty and the Beast this time. I'm really excited about that, too. Hopefully I'll start work on that this year.

Julie: Thank you. I'm so happy with it.

Amy: Heh, that's basically what I did, only I was reaching for the 'Publish' button. Thank you! I love the colours, too.

Liz de Jager said...

Gaaah! It is so pretty it HURTSES!

I love it to BITS. Also, I love how completely different it is to your other books, marking the departure / change of series / worlds.

Oh gods, Zolah, it is awesome! I am so excited for you.

L xx

Zoë Marriott said...

*Grabs Liz* *Hugs very tight* *Dances in a circle* I KNEW YOU WOULD GET IT. Thank you :)

Rachel Balcombe said...

Oooh, I love it! It's so different from your other covers, and yet there are some similarities, with the swirlies and such - really emphasises its individuality (does that make sense?) Can't wait for July now!! XD

Amanda D. said...

I don't like this. Because the cover is absolutely and totally stunning and I love it so much, but I live in America. Which means, I'm assuming, a different cover, and I will never get to lay my hands on that incredibly gorgeous book. so I'm sad about that... but hopefully the USA cover will be just as incredible? :)

Zoë Marriott said...

Rachel: yes - it does :) Thanks!

Amanda: Ooh, my heart went ba-thump then! I don't know if the U.S. might go with the same cover (they haven't in the past, but this cover *is* different) but you could always order it from The Book Depository. Free international delivery.

So Many Books, So Little Time said...

That's gorgeous! Congrats! :)

Zoë Marriott said...

So Many Books: Thank you!

Q said...

Oh my goodness. Can't even express how lovely this is. I LOVE that it's not photographic. And there's totally the potential for unified trilogy covers! Just change the color scheme!

Zoë Marriott said...

Q: Very shrewdly noticed! I've seen an extremely rough concept for book #2 and that's the idea they're working with. I love the fact that it's a genuine piece of art, too. Everything on that cover comes from the book itself - there's no stock art that's been photoshopped to fit. It's such a special thing.

Enna Isilee said...

OH MY GOSH!!! LOVE!!! And NEED!!! But it's not available for pre-order on TBD yet. Blargh!

Will there be a blog tour? Open just to UK?

Zoë Marriott said...

Enna: Yay! So glad you like it! And yes, it's annoying about TBD - I don't know the U.S. release date and so I keep wanting to give ppl a TBD link instead, and I can't. Gah.

Lovely Lass hasn't spoken to me about possible book tours or anything like that yet. Sadly (bc I love you and other international peeps) they usually do only want to approach UK bloggers. Not that I don't also love UK bloggers! Just wish we could make a more unified effort with promotion and release book in UK/US simultaneously. *Sigh*

Megha said...

ZOE. Way to almost kill me with overwhelming beauty!

I absolutely LOVE it! And it's really different from all your other covers too, isn't it? But it's awesome :)

I am terribly excited to read it! ;)

Rebecca Lindsay said...

It looks great!
I can't wait to read it :D

Zoë Marriott said...

Megha: Yes, and I'm so thrilled about that - I really WANTED it to be, so that maybe people who weren't into my other stuff would give it another look. I love it. I'm very excited too!

Rebecca: Thanks, Rebecca :)

CB Soulsby said...

Oh. My.

That is just stunning! Like seriously the loveliest cover I've seen for a long time! Wow!

Zoë Marriott said...

C.B.: Is it wrong that everyone someone says something like that, I get this fizzing, night-before-Christmas feeling and have to jump up and down in my chair and squee? 'Cos if so, I don't wanna be right.

Sarah said...

Zoe you always get the most amazing covers and this one is no exception! I can't wait to get hold of a copy :o)

Zoë Marriott said...

Sarah: I've definitely had more than my share of luck - and especially with this one! Thanks, Sarah :)

Emma Pass said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE this cover. It is so utterly gorgeous. Ohmygosh I can't wait to read this!!!

Zoë Marriott said...

Emma: Thank you, hun! I'm so glad you like it! And this means we're even in the book-cover-envy-can't-wait-to-read stakes :)

Amanda D. said...

Oh my gosh thank you Zoe :) I had never heard of that website before and now I am very excited to use it :D And now, July seems very far away... and since July 4th is a really fun holiday here, plus my grandfather's birthday, I have a lot to look forward to! Eeeee!

Isabel said...

GORGEOUS and unique! I can't wait for this :)

Zoë Marriott said...

Isabel: Thank you! I'm wishing away the months until July as well :)

Unknown said...

It's BEAUTIFUL. Oh god. It's so beautiful it hurts.
I can't wait to see the covers for the other two as well. If they're anything like this the prettiness might actually make me spontaneously combust.
And I'm so excited to read it as well! July is so far away. But it's good, because I'll be able to read it in between revising for exams.
Not that that'll happen. I'll end up doing an all-nighter instead.
2013 is set to be awesome. There's a new Meg Rosoff book coming out in March too.
I'm kind of jumping up and down in my chair with sheer joy.

Zoë Marriott said...

Cherie: Ha ha - thank you! I appreciate the love very much (and I hope you're right about the other covers, although not about the spontaneous combustion).

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