Yep, just a short story.
I’m not a particularly artistic person and I’m not a particularly visual writer. If you asked me to draw one of my characters, I’d stare at you blankly and excuse myself, saying I needed to refold my socks. If you asked to draw one of my characters and started asking details about the face, I’d mumble a few nonspecific answers and insist that the cat sand needed emptied right now, sorry, you’re on your own.
So, when it comes to creating covers for my self-published stories, I tend toward the simple. Find a nice royalty-free photo that gives the sense I want, throw on a nice title, and voila!
I really lucked out for my upcoming short story “The Clock Tower.”
A year or so ago, I had some free credits at fotolia.com and started grabbing images I thought I might use in the future. The cool clock image was originally meant for an unfinished serial called “Out of Time,” but since it’s likely to stay unfinished for a long, long time, I decided to use it for “The Clock Tower.”
But here’s the problem: I’m pretty sure the cover’s cooler than the story.
I started writing “The Clock Tower” probably two years ago. I finally finished it a few weeks ago. (Some stories are just like that. You have a great idea–but no idea how to write it.) Now that it’s done, it seems like a big deal to me. I mean, it’s been rumbling around in my skull for years.
Question: But can it live up to the Chrono-Trigger-meets-Phillip-K-Dick vibe of the cover?
Answer: Since the story has to do with neither time travel nor anything associated with Philip K. Dick, absolutely not.
But, hey, it’s a good short story, regardless, and if you like my stuff, you’re almost certain to enjoy it. That’s enough for me. (Coming soon!)