I love the visual material that makes Worldshaker look so special! And I can say that, because it was nothing to do with me. I was just plain lucky.
First and foremost, the visual genius who created the cover illustration - film director Anthony Lucas. The director of The Mysterious Geographical Adventures of Jasper Morello, no less - a movie that was nominated for both an Oscar and a BAFTA. How amazing is that! And even more amazing if you've seen Jasper Morello, whcih is so beautiful and gothic and steampunky. I feel honoured to have artwork by anthony on the cover of my book.
Secondly, Eiko Ojala, who created the brilliant b & w side image of the juggernaut for the inside front cover, plus the unbelievably fine detail of the interior cutaway diagrams of upper decks and lower decks. And all done at long distance - because Eiko is Estonia, and lives about as far away from Australia as it's possible to live (much coldeer too!)
Finally, Bruno Herfst, who's a resident designer at Allen & Unwin. He created the overall layout of the book, with all those special features that make it stand out from the norm - I mean, the massive 'World War I' type lettering on the cover, the inside red of front and back covers, the highly distinctive super-size chapter numbers in the same kind of lettering.
You need to meet these people! I'll be doing my best to make sure their talents get the praise they deserve. Because, let's face it,only professionals in the book industry remember the names of illustrators and designers - yet what attracts you to a book in the first place? Hopefully, the text has its magic, but the visual material has to win your attention first!
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