Shameless Self-Promotion

Synopses of Burning Dreams and the 40th Anniversary re-release of Strangers from the Sky went up on the Simon & Schuster site this morning, and I finally get to post the cover art:

 

A new afterward!!?!?

Aww, dammit, you roped me in.

 

^

 

I'm there, dude . . .

 

That's mighty good cover art.

 

Congrats garamet!

You're part of a pretty elite club, you know. If I'm interpreting that Simon and Schuster page correctly, along with Diane Duane and the duo of Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens , you are one of four authors in the world to have multiple novels released for the 40th anniversary celebration. WOW!

:

 

Thanks, guys.

 

Very nice covers.

I still remember reading Strangers from cover to cover (with a few snack and doze breaks) on a 14+ hour flight from LAX to Narita in 1989.

 

Hey garamet, congrats. The new strangers from the sky cover is sweet but that burning dreams one... blech. Good grief it's like the Nemesis poster's even more gay twin brother. Not that it matters obviously.

 

Meh. I think the artist may have been stumped about how not to give anything away on the cover and decided a closeup of an Angst-ridden Pike was the only way to do it. As a veteran of those early Vallejo covers that sort of kind of almost bore a resemblance to the characters, I'm grateful he got the image right.

As for the Strangers cover, yeah, it's a beauty. I was never crazy about the original. While I liked the step-back design, Boris pretty much ignored the editor's suggestions and just phoned it in. This one's a lot more dynamic.

 

So how does one go about getting an autographed copy?

 

^One sends a copy of the book, with return postage, to my mailing address.

 

Heh, I must confess I used to love those old Boris covers. They were absolutely barking mad.

 

^I met his ex-wife once. Oh, the stories I could tell...

 

My PM's always open.

 

Is that why his art changed from being interesting and unique to really racy and not so great?

 

Oh, no fair!

 

One thing that's pretty obvious if you're a fan of his work is that he tends to iconize whatever woman he's currently with. Earlier Trek covers, including Dwellers in the Crucible, feature a dark-eyed beauty with masses of black curly hair. That would be his first wife (and author) Doris Vallejo.

Since he hooked up with Julie Bell, there's been a shift to Nordic-looking blondes.

Not saying it's bad or anything, just interesting.

 

Hmm. Topic for a whole 'nuther thread. But Royo is my favorite, hands down.

 

You know that in addition to being artists, Boris and Julie model for one another, right? That's why Boris' females tend to look like Julie (or Doris before her), and Julie's guys tend to look sorta like Boris.

 

^Which is fine for their original work, but when he was contracted to do the Trek covers he might have made *some* effort to make the characters look the way they were described in the books. Of course then he'd actually have had to *read* at least a synopsis of each book...

 

^His wife probably does not allow him to paint anyone but her...

Congrats on the book, btw!

 

All she had to do was sit in on the sessions and keep her whip handy to keep the guy controlled. Sheesh.

 

For cryin' out loud, they're both artists. They probably pretty liberal when it comes to that sort of thing. I think that most professional artists probably don't attempt to seduce their models, at least not on a regular basis. Bad for business, y'know?

 

Just wanted to jump in for a moment to say that Boris and Julie are both hack artists. Boris's work is why motor cycles have gas tank space, and of course, why we have vans with big flat sides. such a hack. IMNSHO. stinky.

 

Well then, let's see some examples of your fine work.

 

holy carp, we can only critisize, or recognize bad art if we're better than it? I hope you have made no critisism of ANYTHING in your life unless you're some sort of superior freakin being. and it is my OPINION I'm sharing. dick.

 

^Easy there. No flaming in this forum, remember?

 

Unfortunately, or fortunately, there are a lot more folks who don't share your opinion.
He might be a hack, in your opinion, but he's getting paid a whole lot more than most hacks, I'll bet (the starving artists).