It is the February 2015 edition of Cover Story, the monthly post where I feature a handful of cover images from books and other story formats that will be coming out this month.

I feature the images because I am a fan of SF/F/H genre illustration, believe the artists and designers who create these covers should be lauded for their work, and want to promote the publishers who commissioned the illustrations and the authors whose works they adorn.

I am not an art critic, nor an artist, and my descriptions of why I am attracted to these covers will quickly reveal my nonprofessional, fan status. Nonetheless I do judge books by their covers, at least initially, and am curious about what does, and does not, catch the eye of other book lovers and Fantastic art fans.

This month is a short list, but one that has the potential of damaging my wallet all the same (In fact, it already has!).

I highly encourage you to follow the artist links to check out more creations by each featured artist/designer. Be an encourager, and when you can be, a patron of the incredibly talented women and men who create this work.

(The opening image is the work of artist Cynthia Sheppard. This work and all featured artwork is the property of the artist/designer and the publisher.)

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Title: Covenant’s End
Author: Ari Marmell
Publisher: Pyr Books
Release date: February 3rd, 2015
Artist: Jason Chan

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Each Jason Chan illustration for this series is better than the last, and that is saying something, because Ari Marmell’s series started with an amazing cover.

One of the most arresting things about the Widdershins covers, this one included, is how the character pops against the bright white background. The black on white works so well.

I like the way that Jason Chan has introduced a bit of color with the design in the window.

The protagonist looks so pensive in this picture, making me wonder what she is contemplating, and perhaps who, or what, she is waiting there for.

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Title: The Very Best of Kate Elliot
Author: Kate Elliot
Publisher: Tachyon Publications
Release date: February 11th, 2015
Artist: Julie Dillon

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Julie Dillon is fast becoming the most featured artist in the Cover Story posts, and it is easy to see why. Regardless of the color palette she chooses, whether warm or cool, bold or subdued, her illustrations are so full of light…they almost have a backlit quality to them.

Kate Elliott’s short story collection is graced with this fiery, arresting cover.

The creature in the background is awash in flame and I like the way in which the creature seems to be half ethereal, as if it is a partially a tangible being and partially created of fire itself.

I am very curious about the two characters in the foreground and what they are carrying between them.

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Title: Love in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
Author: Judd Trichtor
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Release date: February 3rd, 2015
Artist: Rob Grom

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You know a book cover has truly caught your attention when, after seeing it online, you are inspired to go out to the store on release day to pick up a copy, especially when it is an author’s debut novel. That is what happened when I saw the cover for Love in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.

The robot/android theme always grabs my attention, particularly when done effectively, and designer Rob Grom does just that with the cover for Trichter’s novel.

I like how the use of the photograph of the women’s face becomes mask-like as it merges with the machine parts that reveal what she is. The color choices are attractive and they make the book stand out amidst other science fiction titles on the bookstore shelf.

Being a fan, rather than a detractor, of J.J. Abrams’ post-production choices, I like how there is a lens flare effect in the design.

Normally I am put off by title copy that completely covers the book’s illustration/image, but in this case I like it, and the lighted hearts on the “as novel” line are a nice touch given the book’s theme.

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Title: Karen Memory
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Publisher: Tor Books
Release date: February 3rd, 2015
Artist: Cynthia Sheppard

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When the cover for Elizabeth Bear’s new novel was revealed several months ago, Cynthia Sheppard’s illustration immediately made me want to know who that character was, and what her story might be.

The steampunk aesthetic is represented well here, in the little details present in the image–like the airship in the background and the designs on the gun and the character’s outfit, as well as the sepia-toned hue of the overall color scheme.

What would have been a great book cover had it just been the character and the background cityscape is made even better by the cutout design that borders the image with its writhing tentacle shapes. It is not only a fun detail, but it frames the character and draws the eye around the image.

And in this case, Tor does a great job of making the title prominent without detracting from Cynthia Sheppard’s great work.

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Title: The Eterna Files
Author: Leanna Renee Hieber
Publisher: Tor Books
Release date: February 10th, 2015
Artist: ?

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The cover for The Eterna Files is more a case of design/photography than art in the illustrative sense, but for all that it catches my eye and makes me curious about the novel.

It does so in part because of its simplicity– a few props set against a moody background– and because those props are part of a gothic theme that I enjoy. Put a crow, raven or blackbird on the cover and you get me to sit up and take notice. It has to be the discovery of Edgar Allen Poe in junior high that has burned this into my brain.

I enjoy the way that the presence of the bird, hat and chair make me curious about the person who is absent, the character whose doffs this hat and whose companion, or pet, this bird might be.

The title font gives the image a sense of depth, with one word behind the chair and the other sitting in front of it. It is a minor touch, but small details like that make all the difference. Covering the dark shapes of the bird or hat would have taken something away from the cover.

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Title: Clarkesworld, Issue 101 February 2015
Editor: Neil Clarke
Publisher: Wyrm Publications
Release date: February 1, 2015
Artist: Atilgan Asikuzun

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I believe it was last month that we discussed the fact that Clarkesworld is very consistent in putting out great covers month after month.

So it should not be surprising that they have done so again.

Asikuzun’s use of one primary hue perfectly sets up the mood of the piece, and the firefly touches give it a twilight feel. I love the way that nature is juxtaposed against technology and engineering with the young lady sitting on the bank and the city and spaceship on the other side of the shore.

It is almost anachronistic to see this lady, in simple dress, fishing off the bank with such a futuristic scene in the background. Her look, the act of fishing, the toadstools, the fireflies…these could be a part of our present or distant past…yet the overall image shows this to not only be in the future, but perhaps on another planet as well.

Aren’t you curious about what she might pull out of the water?

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Title: Apex Magazine, Issue 69, February 2015
Editor: Jason Sizemore, Sigrid Ellis
Publisher: Apex Publications
Release date: February 2015
Artist: Loika

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I love this cover.

It is clean, simple, effective.

It evokes feelings of joy and warmth…feelings that are much needed today when it is deceptively sunny while temps are in the single digits with sub-zero wind chills. Brrrr.

From as far back as I can remember I have been as enamored of clouds as I am of the stars. It must be a sky thing. My imagination is fired when I look up.

Loika’s clouds are rendered beautifully. I am especially drawn to the way they begin to flair around the sun, creating something of a partial Halo effect. That framing actually intensifies the warmth of the illustration.

I like the open, unspoiled vista laid out before the single character. It makes me think of a journey, of discovery.

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That is Cover Story for February 2015. As always I would like to thank John DeNardo for his monthly cover post, which provides a starting point for my perusal of new and upcoming cover art.

Thank you to the artists and designers for their creativity, and for book publishers and Art Directors who continue to make the effort to make the book cover a place for creativity to flourish.

As always, please share your opinions. Tell us what you like, what you don’t, and what I might have missed that should have been included in this month’s post.

And be sure to check out my review of my favorite SFF covers for 2014, and the January 2015 Cover Story if you missed them.