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.)

Continue reading February 2015 Cover Story →

(Ancillary Justice X 3, painting by John Harris for Orbit Books)

I have been writing about my personal favorite science fiction and fantasy covers on an annual basis for many years now, and in 2014 expanded the art coverage with a monthly Cover Story post, showcasing work being released in that month. In looking back over 2014 there is a massive amount of eye-catching, wallet lightening cover art commissioned for works that came out from January through December. I could have posted many more images, but one must stop somewhere, right?

All works of art featured here are the property of the artists and the publishers who commissioned them and are featured with the sole intention of shining a spotlight on creators of Fantastic Art and on those publishers, large or small, who are doing their part to keep the tradition of illustrated/designed cover art on science fiction, fantasy and horror publications. As I peruse the genre shelves of my local bookstore I see too many photo stock covers. Some of them are quite creative and garner my interest. But I am old school in that I want to see the work of painters, sketchers, designers (traditional and digital) on genre covers.

I don’t claim to be an art critic, I just know what I like, and want to share these with you in hopes of introducing you to artists, authors, and publishers of whom you may not have been aware.

Title, publisher, artist, author information for each featured image is followed by the cover image and some text, in brief, related to the illustration. I usually say more about these images in the monthly Cover Story posts, but I have been merciful to you here.

For those images that accompany Tor.com short stories, you can click on the story title to be taken directly to the story online. Magazines featured will take you directly to that online issue with a simple click on the title.

Thank you to all the Art/Creative Directors who commissioned these works, to the artists for creating them, and to the publishing houses that continue to get great work like this on their publications. I salute you, keep fighting the good fight.

Continue reading My Favorites of 2014: A MASSIVE issue of Cover Story →