I completed my second novel in 2018. So…where is it? The answer to that question is here at last, and a big part of it has to do with its cover. I didn’t want to release the book until it was as fun to look at as it was (I hope) to read. So I’m excited to debut On the Loop’s amazing new cover. Here’s a preview of the full wrap:

While I hatched the concept for the cover, everything else, down to the execution, comes courtesy of the immensely talented Chris McGrath, whose work you may have admired on shelves for some time now—definitely check out his site. I love the final result, and I think it puts the perfect face on the story within.

But here’s a fun fact. A friend of mine told me that the cover reminded him of something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. That may be because the rough concept was partly inspired by Darrell K. Sweet’s original cover to James P. Hogan’s 1977 novel Inherit the Stars.

Granted, the context is different (and the story too), but that juxtaposition—a piece of tech where it shouldn’t be—always excited me. Plus, this particular work of art is one that I used to stare at endlessly as a kid, along with the covers of the other sci-fi artists of the time, like Jim Burns (a personal favorite), Chris Foss, Angus McKie, Michael Whelan, Wayne Barlowe, et al.

And I mention those artists because I think Chris McGrath deserves to be mentioned in the same breath. I hope the story does the cover justice!

Anyway, so the question remains: Where is On the Loop? And the answer is: coming, in September 2020. And that title will be followed soon thereafter—all in 2020—by The Last Shadow, The Broken Helix, and (fingers crossed) Songs from the Void.