Fun Publishing Shit I Get To Do!

In the first 18 months of MorbidbookS existence we ganered 18 awesome books by 15 brilliant and deranged writers. For an admittedly teensy-tiny micro-press with (clearly) no idea what they are doing, that-there is a pretty decent accomplishment. So, in the spirit of “where I may lack in looks, I make up for in flexibility and a willingness to experiment”, acquiitions of new manus will be put on hold for some months to better re-aquaint MorbidbookS readers with these original authors and their books. Why? Simple. They were the first brave enough to go with The Grim Reverend and Steven Nelson, therefore they deserve the extra attention! 🙂

As the blog title indictes, this was one of those chores that I had no idea I would have so much fun with: Cover Design. Now some writers come in with their own cover that they had created themselves. Some have a cover they want done by a specific artist. Some have no idea and could not give 2 hairy shits about. And then there’s the author who KINDA knows what he/she wants….. sort of.

Enter Mr. Chris Kelso! In his novel: “TRANSMATIC”, he originally wanted some engine/computer/somthn-somethn schematics. I went trolling thru istock, public domain, etc. looking for an image that would look good wrapped around by a template…..

etc… But sadly no. Nothing looked right. Then I recaled that the hitman protag in “TRANSMATIC” did said hits mostly to quire a Nova Super-Sport. After searching for literally hours, I finaly stumbled upon some raw public domain gold in the form of a nearly 50 year old advertisement:

Which then, thru many, many a go at it …

Kelso and The Rev fixed on this:

‘click’ image to follow the hit-man to the ‘other’ side of reality.

In the end it is the wonderful small details that give satisfaction to cover design. Such as author’s name in grill, ‘hit-man’ vanity plate, quote from one of the author’s favorite writers and gettn the grill’s red as close to the title color as possible, all the while attempting to hold on to the same level surreal as the story itself.

Do enjoy Chris Kelso’s amazing “TRANSMATIC”!

BLURB:

“…part-time hitman/ exterminator, Ignius Ellis’s dream is to buy a candy-apple red Nova Supreme. In the process of trying to earn enough cash to make his dream come true he gets sucked into the rough world of Visitacion Valley, SF. When the tenants in his apartment complex reveal their various extracurricular activities this take an even more bizarre twist and Ellis soon becomes acquainted with the nightmarish Slave State dimension…”

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