Cover Reveal and GIVE AWAY: The Gate To Futures Past by Julie Czerneda
Posted June 1, 2016
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The next book in Julie Czerneda’s Reunification trilogy, The Gate to Future’s Past, is coming out in September, and I’m super excited to reveal the cover art and talk more about the series all day today. What’s the gist of the Clan Chronicles, and the newest trilogy in this career spanning series? I’m glad you asked!
The Clan Chronicles is set in a far future with interstellar travel where the Trade Pact encourages peaceful commerce among a multitude of alien and Human worlds. The alien Clan, humanoid in appearance, have been living in secrecy and wealth on Human worlds, relying on their innate ability to move through the M’hir and bypass normal space. The Clan bred to increase that power, only to learn its terrible price: females who can’t help but kill prospective mates. Sira di Sarc is the first female of her kind facing that reality. With the help of a Human starship captain, Jason Morgan, himself a talented telepath, Sira must find a morally acceptable solution before it’s too late. But with the Clan exposed, her time is running out. The Stratification trilogy follows Sira’s ancestor, Aryl Sarc, and shows how their power first came to be as well as how the Clan came to live in the Trade Pact. The Trade Pact trilogy is the story of Sira and Morgan, and the trouble facing the Clan. Reunification will conclude the series and answer, at last, #WhoAreTheClan.
And what will be the fate of all.
With stunning cover art by Matt Stawicki, the artwork brings together an epic story told over the course of nearly twenty years.
Julie chatted with Matt Stawicki about incorporating earlier artwork, capturing Sira’s emotions, and more. Let’s see what they said!
Ta da! Here it is. The wonderful work of Matthew Stawicki, revealed at last. I’ve been waiting to share this cover with you for the better part of a year, for it was complete well before the book.
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Pardon? you say. How can that be?
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Remember the bricks? This image was one of them, firmly in my mind since I started writing This Gulf of Time and Stars.
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Book #2, Sira, meeting her destiny. Triumphant!
Or is she?
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That’s the magic of an image like this. Knowledge morphs impact, grants new meaning and alters perspective. What you think you see now, before reading The Gate to Futures Past, will change once you have.
The moment Matt’s captured won’t. Sira’s passionate desire to help her people. The great building beyond. The spectators watching their world forever change. The incredible stakes.
Let alone the craft. I did ask Matt a couple of questions for you.
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Julie: I love this cover, Matt. An important feature was to incorporate the alien architecture first shown on the cover for Rift in the Sky, by Luis Royo, something I feel you’ve expanded upon, especially with your flying vehicles and pillars. Did this present any particular difficulties or opportunities? (And great job on the “modern” buildings too.)
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Matt: It’s always a bit of a challenge when you are recreating subjects that have been painted by someone else. It seems you are either trying to live up to someone else’s vision, if it was successful or redesign it, if it wasn’t. In this case, I really like the earlier covers by Royo, so I tried to be faithful to what he created and still give it a little of my own spin. The other challenge in this piece is that there are two distinctly different types of architecture. It may seem simple now, but by making one very round and one that is more square and elongated, it helps make the distinction between the two.
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The alien circuit tech was a great opportunity to get in some cool graphics and also add a shot of color!
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Julie: But what really hits home with me is how beautifully you captured Sira’s emotions, that mix of utter I’ll-do-anything desperation, and hope. What helped you accomplish it?
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Matt: Sira is a fun character to paint. This is more of action pose than the last cover. Her clothing is more that of an adventurer as opposed to the gown she was in last time, which I think gives her a capable appearance. Her expression, looking up, as if to say ‘I hope this works’ shows some vulnerability rather than aggression. Not to mention her animated hair always helps get her emotions across.
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Julie: No wonder I love this cover art. I’ve had it on my screen as I wrote Gate, a privilege, believe me, and an assist. Thanks, Matt!
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This is more, however, than a great cover. My writing career started with a talented artist’s vision of Sira, 1997, Luis Royo, A Thousand Words for Stranger, a vision that made me gasp in amazement. Okay, I cried too. Sira–just as I’d imagined. This makes me cry as well.
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Here, from Matthew Stawicki, is the Sira I will always remember.
::drumroll:: Let the reveals continue!
Remember those feet in the bathroom doorway? I forgot a detail: the legs and so forth checked out that morning.
The title of the final installment of The Clan Chronicles is To Guard Against the Dark, coming September 2017 from DAW Books.
And that would be a clue.
About the Artist, Matt Stawicki
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From superhero comics to the illustrations of Frank Frazetta, Matt has always had an interest in fantasy. Matt was born and raised in the Delaware area. He attended the Pennsylvania School of Art and Design and graduated in 1991. Since beginning his professional career in 1992, he has created many images for a wide range of products and clients including bookcovers, video game covers, collectible card images, collectors plates and fantasy pocket knives to name a few.
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Like many illustrators, Matt is influenced by the wonderful work and technological advancements taking place in the illustration field. Although trained as a classical oil painter and doing all his work in oils for the first several years of his career, Matt has moved to doing most of his work in ‘digital paint’. He likes to point out however, the computer is not the “push button” solution many perceive it to be. The same craft and attention to design must be present for the artwork to succeed no matter what the medium.
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The paintings of noted illustrators like Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish are among his traditional influences. Also the films of Walt Disney, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg are sources of inspired imagery.
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In 2001 Matt won the Silver Award for Advertising in Spectrum 8. The first book of his work The Art of Matthew Stawicki was published by Cartouche Press.
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Matt’s work has also been showcased in The Masters of Dragonlance Art and Dragon Art published by Flame Tree Publishing among others.
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Select clients include, Harper/Collins, Tor, Warner Books, Penguin Books, Wizards of the Coast, Daw and Tor Books. Other clients include Milton Bradley, The Franklin Mint and The Bradford Exchange.
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When not painting Matt enjoys playing guitar and wood working. Matt currently resides in Delaware with his wife Cathy and their two dogs.
Give away details for a copy of THE GATE TO FUTURES PAST:
Give away is open to residents of the US and Canada only (sorry international friends!). To enter, simply comment in this blog post and leave me some way to reach you, such as e-mail or twitter. Give away ends on June 15th, and winners will be contacted shortly afterwards. Because this give away is happening so far ahead of time, the book may not ship from the publisher until August. Good luck to everyone who enters!
101 Responses to "Cover Reveal and GIVE AWAY: The Gate To Futures Past by Julie Czerneda"
I am in so much trouble. I’m supposed to be doing something else today (a monthly report, due on the first of each month), not hanging around here breathlessly, waiting for each new post… And yet, how could I NOT???
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Then our nefarious plan to distract you worked!!! (high fives Andrea) Great to see you here, Karen.
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It sounds interesting — black widow/praying mantis lover. I
have not heard of this series, but it won’t be the first time I’ve started a series from its end.
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I did include a quick/dirty synopsis of what’s happened before, so you should be fine. Thanks for giving it a try! (And who doesn’t love those beautiful creatures?)
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What a great cover, great colors, wonderful image. I really need to catch up with these (and all of Mrs. Czerneda’s books) especially since I loved Species Imperative!
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Matt’s done amazing work on my last four books. We’re lucky he came on board!
Ah Mac…another fav of mine too. Hope you enjoy Sira and Co. Oh, and Esen, who is all my biology set free in space.
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I’m excited for the new book to come out. 🙂 My birthday is in September, and this would be wonderful to have just in time!
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Oh, Happy advance birthday! I’ll be doing signed bookplates and bookmarks. Let me know closer to the date and I’ll inscribe appropriately. Though good luck winning your copy even sooner.
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As a painter and avid SF reader, I’m always agog at the cover art of each book [and getting annoyed when the artist didn’t read the book and gets it wrong]. So I’ve been truly entranced by Royo’s – and now, Stawicky’s – imagery for the worlds & characters Julie creates. Then I start daydreaming how would I portray this or that other scene…
Can’t wait to read the sequels!
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Wonderful to hear, Ioana. We do a fair bit of back and forth, which really helps get both the art and the words to mesh.
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Hey Julie, just saw the cover and it is glorious! Kudos to you and Matt. As for the final title, I get chills throughout my body and expect to be peeking around dark and eerie corridors with trepidation. Can’t Wait!!!!! Have Lots of Fun this Summer!! Cheryl
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Cheryl!!!! Lovely to see you in here. And yup yup, chills are appropriate. May our paths cross again sooner than later. Have fun too.
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Sad to see this series reach its conclusion, but this is an awesome cover and I can’t wait to read it! I love that the cover art on Julie’s books reflects incredible skill level of her storytelling. 🙂
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blushingblushing. You are very kind, Jaime. Good luck with the draw. This is a special one, for sure. I hope you enjoy as much as the others.
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I’m so looking forward to this book – sounds really exciting and like a fantastic read. Thanks for the opportunity.
windsongbreeze2001@yahoo.com
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I owe it to my talented and amazing host, Andrea, as well as DAW for leaping forward to make this happen. I’m delighted to be able to share this with you. Good luck!
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Wow that cover is stunning Matt, great job! I can’t wait to read this one Julie, I’ve added the cover to Goodreads as well as the title of the third book to the Reunification series/Clan Chronicles. I can’t wait to read this one!
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Thank you for that, Serena. Where I am right now, the connectivity is a bit–interesting. Yes. That’s it. I appreciate you helping spread the word. And glad you’re looking forward to reading. Whee!
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You’re welcome! I’m glad I could be of help & whoops, I forgot to include my Twitter handle. I hope the internet connectivity gets better/is something that can be fixed. Do you think you’ll be sharing the book’s blurb soon? Really looking forward to that too!
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Would love to win a copy. Hope I figured out how to post a comment properly. Seriously love your work!
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Goodness, you should have seen me the first time trying to figure that out. At least now I’ve learned not to reply too quickly. There’s a scolding message that comes out.
Thank you for the reader-love! Always inspiring to hear. And good luck!
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Great cover. But I’m holding my breath for *To guard against the dark*, hoping that you will succeed in getting all these loose ends firmly knotted together at last.
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Thanks! And you should hold your breath, and not for that reason. There’s very little “loose” after GATE, believe me.
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Interesting. A very classic scifi premise. Filling in the email address line when commenting is enough for a giveaway entry, correct, we don’t have to put our address in the comment itself?
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I’d be interested in a copy. To be clear, my buffalo university email address is close to my son’s, but we’re two different people. I’m a professor and he’s a student. He told me about this.
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I hope I can finish the first book before the next one comes out. With my schedule, it’s hard to read books without an audible version so I can listen on my commute 😦
I just got to a “difficult” part of the book…
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Forgive me if this makes me very happy. Usually people get in touch because they’ve finished the book the day it’s out and are impatient to get the next. ::grins;: As for difficult part? Oooh.
That all said, Mary, all the Clan books are out in Audible, including GULF. If that helps.
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Gorgeous cover as usual. You have been so lucky to get such great artists to work on your books!
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Thanks, Kimm, though there’s not much luck when DAW’s involved. They spend much of their time and energy with artists and looking for art. It’s a passion. I will say I was the one who brought up Matt Stawicki as a possibility for TURN. Sheila already knew his work and thought he’d be a great fit. The rest–we’re on our fifth cover together–is history! Whoo!!
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Sooooo excited for your new book!! If I win, any chance you could sign it for me?
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Good luck, Carissa! I’d be delighted, though we’ll have to work out where/how. Keep an eye on http://www.czerneda.com for my events.
I do plan to make special Clan bookplates so would be happy to mail you one or more of those if all else fails.
I’m leery of mailing books, simply because of the risk of damage. Okay, and it can get pricey 😉
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I can’t wait! Julie is one of my favorite authors and favorite people. The Clan Chronicles was the first of her universes that I started reading, so I have a special connection with it, and I look forward to the completion of this story arc.
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Back at you, Alan. Such a joy, the people one meets through writing and reading!
Hope you enjoy what I do with the story.
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The Assemblers are fascinating — ALMOST as thought-provoking as Esen and Brymn…too bad there’s not a “good” Assembler to balance the bad…or is THAT a surprise you have tucked away somewhere! I look forward to the next! My email is gstewart75@hotmail.com
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Hi Guy! Thanks. And heh heh heh…I’ve a feeling Assemblers view themselves differently..
Good luck!
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I can’t believe I only saw this chance to enter to win a copy today!! Coming in just under the deadline!! As always I’m so looking forward to the new book!! Hoping for a book signing in Toronto again 🙂 Then I can bring all my #2 in a given series books to be signed.
Can’t wait for this coming new book, and then another whole year to the last one in the trilogy (love the name of the book).
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Hi! I do plan to get to T.O. for something, so hang onto those books 😉 Glad you like the title. Took quite a bit to come up with, believe me. See you and good luck!
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Thank you so much for this opportunity, Julie. And I am so looking forward to reading this 😊
Windsongbreeze2001@yahoo.com
Bonnie
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Hi Bonnie! Hey, credit goes to Andrea and DAW. I’m just enjoying the ride in here. Lovely to see you and good luck!
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1 | Cathy Dassler
June 1, 2016 at 12:13 pm
Thank you so much for the look at the new cover art, as well as the “behind the scenes” of how all this wonder and magic come to be … SO look forward to more delightful reading to come!!!
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Julie Czerneda
June 2, 2016 at 8:14 am
Happy author bouncing. Thanks, Cathy!
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