DC - looks like your story is turning into a documentary...

I check this once a day in hopes there will be an announcement that it has been published.

DCBOURONE I'm still interested in this story. I have not forgotten about you.

All the lights seem to be on, but nobody is home.

DFarm, heron, Trapshooter, KOW, I see you, and thanks.  Documentary...oh yes.  An algorithm.  Ages old.

Enough said at this time.



Radiohack, more later.





GENERAL NOTE: Present, pissed, lifting from 'the other' forum, quote:
Hectic, writing time/posting time smashed, if everyone here knew 'how
close' to finished, but not finished, would be general mood of




incinerating fury, around January, 'almost done' and things went hurricane.




Many very small but critical elements, cover, copy-edit, history/timing/fact




justification still to be done. 100-200 hours work, if done consecutively.
So I have blown momentum, and deeply grateful so many still here.  Continuing:
--and a brief digression on 'Time' and Its Measure: last six months have
'flashed' boom bang flare, a mental sneeze of effort--but writing time,
second by second, like pushing tractor tires up a muddy hill. This was
originally thought to take oh....a year? Now over two. At some point,
one major commitment/time sink will lapse. Should go faster then, but I
am in




no position to make/imply any more promises.  200 hundred more hours writing/editing etc left, max. We shall see.
GENERAL NOTE:  the kind of thing working on now--the blurb.  Context: this forum is a closed world.  Have



posted several time on the hurdles of self-selection here. So for those who have read this far, Soldier's Son



is a hybrid of the 'mind' of Injured Reserves, and the 'genre' of Post-Apocalyptic, because absent identifiable



genre tropes, a story does not exist, and cannot be found, or understood, by a sufficient number of people



for me to able to do this.  Do you like your peek behind the curtain?  Probably not. But there are so many curtains,



and so few opportunities to lift them...  
So.  The blurb.  The first thing people will see on Amazon. Always less than a thousand words, better less than five



hundred, or even two fifty, or one hundred...the point being, the blurb is the first thing 'those who are not us'



will see...They will read the blurb, and buy...and I can write...or not.
I say yes.
What say you?
THE BLURB:
I know who you are.


And I know what you've have been
thinking.


You’ve known for a long time,
that your old world has already ended.


You’ve known for years, that
your Apocalypse has already happened.



Your Apocalypse happened when we lost our values.  Lost our history.  Lost our common language.  Lost our courage.


So this isn’t the
Apocalypse.  


This is the Aftermath.


And you’re living it now.



Or vapor.















 

Captivating.

Designated, captivating thank/you, also preachy, a little precious, sing-song--hurt your brain by lifting

deleting intro phrases/sentences, starting further down the page/statement.  "Your/The Apocalypse has

already happened"--



Or flip end to beginning: in three hours a nuclear device will detonate in the middle east....



Compare/Contrast--Bill Preper is 300 miles from home when the lights go out and people start behaving badly...



EMP/Zombie/Plague are now established genres, same as old school dime novel westerns, contemporary

romance.



Soldier's Son not so much.



This is what happens when I have a couple of sequential hours at this computer--

Once this is for sale, $$ will be concussively decapitated from my bank account...

Still hanging on.

DFarm, heron, Trapshooter, KOW, Designated, Lt/Beaker, zoe17--



THANKS.



On fiction meeting reality...yeah, creepy.  Very creepy: if something pops in the Middle East,

it will be on a trend line that is very very old.  Pops.  As in "POPS"  An outlier, but real.

And not the obvious, which is obvious.  Something more like this one.  A kind of....

"Demonstration"



If anyone has any favorite book cover, or blurbs, please refer to them here.



DCB

G'Mornin' DCB,

Still here and still waiting on the story that is increasingly becoming a likely documentary as others have mentioned.  IF they are still accepted, I will gladly several FRNs for a copy of TSS,  if not, will trade precious metals (brass, copper, lead, et al) for a copy!



Keep On Keepin' On DCB we are here for you!



Thanks

GreenGiant, much thanks, you have no idea.  Clearly unwise to let posts lapse, even absent regular

updates, trying to modify behavior at this time.  Understood that six months my time-line can be

an eye-blink, on these forums it is decades.



GENERAL NOTE: .re GreenGiant and other posts, on order of battle, not timing, where I clearly have

no credibility--



--as I have pretty much blown 'timing' credibility, I will just say


this--





1. The story, about 570 pages now, is about 99 percent done. It was about


98 percent 'done' way back in January.





2. To the point: concerning publication, as in available on Amazon,


and how and when you and everyone else should check for publication--





A. I will be posting at least one, and possibly as many as three or four more


updates prior to release.





B. I will be posting a likely cover, for comments and so on, before publication.



Ba.  I will be posting at the very least pics of Piddler's hard copy ingredients, leather cover, some

metal items, brass screws, other hardware I have assembled---





C. I recommend checking in perhaps once a week, beginning in ONE MONTH,
for progress and updates, other than the discussion here.





D. Given my perpetual non-schedule, I will publish on Amazon, check
formatting, etc., BEFORE I INFORM EVERYONE HERE. In other words, it


would be very uncool to say, check this date, and then screw up the date, no book available, of release. NO PROMISES, but if you check in once a week, beginning in one month, you should be OK.

Good to hear from you DC...

I think that the blurb is a good hook. I recognize it but it still caught my attention.


Thanks for keeping this thing going for all of us and don't worry about the deadlines, they are made to be broken...

Are you asking for cover ideas?

So much is overdone on covers.

I could see a spear shaft with the dragon's claw on it.  Just the shaft and claw in frame.

Or the very tip of the claw from the image, with the Texas map just visible.

Or the can with "In case of no legal authority" on it.

Spear and claw with Texas map sounds really good,also maybe add a blurred or indistinguishable image of Billy and/or Billy with Maria in background with weapons??  I fail at artistic!

Or maybe an image of the St George and the Dragon coin?

BTW - I'm still here and captivated.

I'm shocked that no one has suggested Maria and Bi for the cover...





In all seriousness though I really like the idea of the St George coin from earlier in the thread.  Maybe a weathered old deputy's badge could be included too?
Or you could just go with this:  (I think stimpsonjcat would be alright with it...)

I know I'm still chompin' at the bit to read/own the finished product, DCB.

I've been so crazy-busy with work and life I anticipate the time spent reading/"reliving" the story with great enthusiasm (even if the subject matter is a dark reflection of our current reality). Knowing the author is an arfcommer and that I've been along for the ride (from nearly the beginning to the end of the process) will be satisfying in and of itself.

Can't wait - and thanks for updating us as you can, bro.

GENERAL NOTE: should be able to bear down a bit end of July.  "Deadlines made to be broken"---eh...yes.


And thank you.  But a pattern would like to break at some point.





--greyguy, good to see you, and yes blurb text is lifted from main text.  Normal blurbs EMP/Zombie/plague


are 'self-identifying'--that won't work here.  This story also has a number of 'reveals'--that would be


poorly served with a factual blurb.





--StimpsonJ!  Good to see you.  Watch your FAL run and gun for personal eventually get the FFF out of


Dodge motivation on a regular basis.  GENERAL NOTE/REMINDER off your post, and others, and a reminder


on concept scale--will nag everyone on regular basis to look in metaphorical mirror and consider 'how they


got here'--this forum, this sub-category within forum, THIS STORY...because there are many, THEN POST


in a manner suited to story/concepts/other posters--To The Point--this is almost certainly


a tiny tiny group of very dedicated


patient readers.  I will infer from this that they/you are also extremely deliberate, insightful readers--





To The Point--once I step out of this forum, I will need to be seen/understood by much less dedicated


readers.  The key would be seen/UNDERSTOOD--and my main 'hooks' are cover and blurb.  Generally astonishing


when reading 'writer's forums' how important covers seem to be.  Believe it or not, vastly more important


than blurbs.





My instinct is the symbolic cover, as you point out--the claw, a glowing bead of Texas, St. George and the


Dragon, and so on.  I will try to split the difference, same as text--more below--but "IN CASE OF NO CONTROLLING


LEGAL AUTHORITY"--oh shit would love to use that....thinking....





--Piddler very relieved to see you, not fail at artistic, just an infinite number of choices, infinite as in INFINITE,


SAME AS TEXT, reducing the infinite to a single story with interwoven individual characters, the INFINITE to


JUST ONE one one one cover when there could be so many....quel drag.





--mniv good to see you, and yes the St. George is compelling, appeals to us, am afraid would be to abstract


and outside the genre for future readers--I propose a solution below--





--greyguy, yes the appeal St. George pretty overwhelming--but the 'first glance' reader skipping through dozens


of titles might likely see Fantasy/Tolkien/Game of Thrones, and not us.  I believe some overlap RadioHack and


StimpsonJ on St. George, Radio had a coin, time flies....More below--





--Former11B much thanks, and all, for this reservoir of Patience.





LIKELY COVER:





The Gehr family is very fond of masks.  There is a second mask, referred by Maria, made by Maria, I quote:






"The
second mask was something else entirely, a series of smeared gashes and holes
and a drooping slit where the mouth should have been, painted on a filthy
off-white t-shirt, bound with a knot like a woman’s bun at the crown of the
head.  The second mask was a ghastly look
into madness...


"





I have this exact mask, already made ( not hard, have made many, so much fun) so a first attempt cover would be this mask, worn


by 'Billy' a framing hammer over his shoulder, walking "off screen/out of view" with a bleached American Flag in the background--


(perhaps a Gehr loadout FAL/plate carrier/helmet NVG's propped against/foreground flag, all those items present here, will take


pic myself, not hard) and words/title The Soldier's Son a Post-Apocalyptic Story of Survival...and Revenge...title requires "keywords"


for Amazon search visibility and so on..." the flag is a key identifier/trope of the genre, also a cliche obv., can't be helped....





Cover pic up....up...visible...well before publication!!!





Ok very very grateful to see how many are still here.





Back to work.





DCB
 

--grywlf52 I see you now!!!  Did I miss a post of yours?????

Not sure about the bleached flag. A lot of America is very Patriotic right now unless the great Satan is elected.
If she does get elected the Patriots will be hunted down like the Dogs that raid the Chicken coop.

DCB -  

Please remember that free advice is worth exactly what it costs:  nothing.  In my opinion, The Blurb as written will be somewhat self limiting.  In this environment, with this self selected audience, it works well….but out in the world that particular phrasing may chase away some potential readers.  Quite possibly, the readers who would be chased away are those who would gain the most benefit from reading.

My unsolicited advice would be to leave out the “parts and vapor” portion and go with the introductory paragraph and then a more normal description.  Allow those who are not as intimately familiar with the topic to read about “parts and vapor” in context, as part of the story.  Allow the characters and the situations to explain.

My suggested blurb:


<begin BLURB (mark 2/mod 1)>:

I know you.
I know who you are.
And I know what you've have been thinking.
You’ve known for a long time, that your old world has already ended.
You’ve known for years, that your Apocalypse has already happened.
Your Apocalypse happened when we lost our values. Lost our history. Lost our common language. Lost our courage.
So this isn’t the Apocalypse.
This is the Aftermath.
And you’re living it now.
And you know that someday, you’re going to have to fight.

<paragraph break with visual indication, such as ~~~~~~~~~~~~>

DC Bourone has created a thought provoking, prescient, fast paced tale of revenge and political drama set in modern day Texas.  The reader is taken on a roller coaster journey through the minds of an insane cartel boss, a self serving government bureaucrat, real people coping with a world torn by terrorism….and a young boy orphaned by the murder of his father.  How much is fiction and how much is simply tomorrow’s headlines?  Read the story, look at the world around you, and then decide if you are merely an observer or if you are The Soldier's Son.  


<end Blurb>

The thought here is to give the reader a sample of your writing style, but also to provide a plain text “back cover” synopsis that would attract a more casual audience.  Trying to find a way to move beyond the obvious audience and bring in those who wouldn't normally dive into something like Injured Reserves, while at the same time not giving away too much of the story AND providing an indication that there is actual thought required.  



Still eagerly looking forward to crossing your palm with silver…..no matter how the blurb is phrased.

--Trapshooter very good to see you.  Very much understood on flag.



--Kermit see further down---



GENERAL NOTE OFF TRAPSHOOTER'S COMMENT: Pretty important.  Everyone here has been

very very careful not to use "Proper" names of individuals, Parties, Belief Systems, Cliques,

"Brands"--VERY MUCH THANKS.



The reason could not be more important.  By eschewing "Brands" we allow the very very small

opportunity that a stranger here will not assume "they already know" who we are--because

as everyone here knows, we have already been well, and falsely "BRANDED" by those who are

not us.



So there is a Proper Name very much in the news now.  The first non-professional politician to

have a chance since a Texan who properly ridiculed NAFTA and globalism a generation ago.

The cliche "this is the most important election EVER!--" actually might be true at this time.

The key is the Supreme Court.  While we are probably mostly like minds on this issue, for

those who might have residual doubts, please consider the issue of the Supreme Court.



Trapshooter12 recognizes a resurgence of patriotism.  He is entirely correct.  Watching myself

closely, I hope our new Proper Name, and his anti-globalist patriotism succeeds.  If he does,

it will cost me a lot of money.  My market will diminish.  Fewer warnings will be needed, or read...

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



--Kermit good to see you.  And guess what: E-books as you probably now allow for constant

meddling/fiddling/changing with both The Book, and The Blurb.  



To The Point: I would say a better than 90 percent chance, that your blurb, word for word,

will make the rotation.  Very much agree on abbreviating/managing blurb for those who are

not on this forum.  Big big issue.  Minor Point: for those who wonder about perpetual time

sinks--this blurb issue is just one.



Ok, back to work.



DCB

No my friend.  Just a wave keeping up with the thread.

DCB - thank you, I'm happy to assist in any way I can.

To that end, DC Bourone has my express permission to use my revised marketing paragraph(s), in any way, in whole or in part, to assist in the marketing, advertising, or promotion of the written work currently known as The Soldier's Son or any future derivative of said written work.  No expectation of compensation is expressed or implied.  

If you would like to have the above statement formalized with my real name, just send me an IM.


To all  -   DCB's idea of a "blurb rotation" is a way that we can all help here.  There are many well read, well educated, and well spoken "librarians" present in this thread.  Let's step up and give DBC a pile of blurbs that he can choose from.  Self promotion is one of the most difficult tasks facing anyone who produces a work of art.  I have some ideas floating around for another blurb using the "Combat is the control of your adversary...." quote and a third using the description of the gate to the Gehr ranch that I'll post later this evening.  

--grywlf very much thanks.  Trying to recapture some momentum here and your and all waves

help tremendously.



--kermit much thanks.  Excellent stuff.  I have about fifty partial/modded/fiddled blurb versions.

None are perfect--always must be be mindful perfect enemy of good perfect enemy of good--

can see a strong argument for constant updating/mods.  Your last paragraph is as fine a 'compression'

as I might come up with. Also would be a hoot to credit 'reviewer/reader Kermit Arfcom'--amazon

forbids direct links but I see people posting 'references' in reviews/etc. all the time.  This could be

another way to credit posters here.



--also will have blog/website at some point, with links to this forum thread as footnotes.  The combined

text here must be some multiple of the story by now.  Excellent.

Just throwing this out there for if you decide to have a Flag in the background.  How about it being upside-down. Most everyone will agree the Nation is in great distress right now.

This book is like the old Catchup commercial.  Anticipation is making me wait.

<begin BLURB (mark 2/mod 2)>:

“The gate was twelve feet high and twenty feet long and as black as the ashes of hell. The top of the gate was cut along the entire surface with a long series of Crusader’s crosses, versions of the original cross of Jesus Christ with a circle to highlight the center. The gate rode on a track like a railroad track, on railroad wheels which were painted a deep sea green, and each wheel stood well over a foot high.”


In the next hour of your life a nuclear device will detonate in the Middle East. An already fragile world will be broken, forever.

And just three days ago, a Deputy Sheriff was tortured and killed in rural Texas.

The two events are connected…

“They should have killed me first.”    - The Soldier’s Son


<end blurb>


A bit of misdirection in this one.  It's up to the reader to decide what is on the other side of the gate....most will assume the worst and be surprised to find out who actually owns the gate and the property it protects.  

<The Blurb mark 2/mod 3>


"Combat is the control of your adversary in the three dimensions of space, across the fourth dimension of time,” his father had said, quoting one of his favorite books. A book which should never have been written, his father said. His father studied that book like other men study the Bible. "Control the rhythm, control the tempo, control the pace of movement through time, that is where you win or lose in the fight. Lose it? Lose the rhythm, lose the mission, lose your life.”


Three days ago, a Deputy Sheriff was tortured and killed in rural Texas.   The Cartel thinks that the last remaining obstacle in their path has been removed.  Local law enforcement has either been bought or frightened into hiding.  Nothing can stop them now.  

Except for The Soldier’s Son.  

“They should have killed me first.”

<end blurb>

Intentionally not laying out the "big picture" elements in the blurb so as to not frighten away people who aren't used to looking at the world around them.  

There is a fan base for SHTF fiction, a fan base for pure revenge novels, a fan base for small town Sheriff novels........all of them have money, and quite a few of them could probably benefit from the wake up call in the back story.

I was going to comment on the blurb, but Kermit's suggestions are far better.


The idea of LE being assassinated by terrorists...

Unfortunately your words have proven prophetic; sadly so.

I've attended too many funerals lately. The reality of the ideas you're preserving are hitting close to home; which in my mind, makes your duty as a librarian even more essential.

Keep on.

Edit: your/ you're

GENERAL NOTE: much appreciate comments continuing.  Check in here first now

that I have a few clear days.  Encouraging.  Must.  Finish.  Story.  Then Another....

and Another...



--Trapshooter, understood on flag.  If used, will be 1. Meaningful 2. Also a cliche 3. A very

simple prompt of recognition to the larger and untapped world of post-apocalyptic readers.

The key is to distinguish, before people read the blurb, from zombie/plague/EMP fiction,

particularly EMP, which is at least 50 percent of post apoca market.  The straight up EMP

folks need some kind of warning, I think.  The other genres are notable for their lack of

"cause and effect"--they are generally somewhat or entirely "a-historical" or non-historical.

This is not, obv.



--kermit I warn you!!!  Cease and desist!!! Or you too, will be staring, gaunt and bearded,

into a dingy mirror and muttering, over and over and over...."Do not let the perfect be the

enemy of the good...do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good...just choose...choose...

one, anyone...Just....Choose...and of course I see the elements you are juggling.  The case

for many iterations of blurb is strong....getting stronger.  And you see clearly the many audiences

which might be variously interested, and disinterested, in this story.



--PFunkk, we are full squared.  And yes on predictive.  All science fiction is about the present,

extrapolated, if it is to have any meaning at all.  See you when I see you.





GENERAL NOTE: much thanks to those of you who find search phrase:

Thank you for the warning DCB, but I am in the lucky position of being able to relax while I write.  My day job is corporate senior management, so I end up juggling a metric shit ton of problems all day, every day.  Being able to focus on one task is relaxing in itself.....I spent all day today replacing the seals around the end caps and windows in my camping trailer.  Quite a few people would say I was insane for tackling that project in Phoenix in July, but to me the simple act of being able to perform ONE TASK and actually SEE PROGRESS was both relaxing and invigorating.  Writing works the same way.  I sit down in front of the keyboard, open a vein, and the words just pour out.  

Granted, I have never attempted any writing on the scale or scope of your work.  So far I've stuck to poetry and the occasional short story.  Someday I would love to have the time to write a novel but I just don't see it happening any time soon.  I'm happy and honored to be able to contribute in a small way to this one.  

DCB  -   I've been rereading the story and noticed a mistake that may or may not have already been corrected in the original.  When Brian and Sylvia are exploring the Gehr compound and they enter the warehouse full of trucks, the following reference is made:

Brian recognized a Chevrolet C-10, four wheel drive, perfectly reconditioned.

The Chevrolet C-series trucks were all two wheel drive.  The proper nomenclature for an early 4 wheel drive Chevrolet 1/2 ton truck would be a K-10.  If you want the Gehr family to display the same type of appreciation for vehicles that they have for firearms, make it into a K-30.  That is the one ton variant and although it looks the same as a 1/2 ton, it is quite the different beast underneath.

Ok my cut for a blurb:

"You have been warned...

In a story that echoes today's headlines, author DC Bourone has crafted a sweeping tale of a young mans quest for vengeance for his fathers death at the hands of the cartel set against a background story that spans the globe - a story of a crumbling world order, the sinister forces seeking to impose their will on all of humanity, and those who would resist. At times prophetic and always thought provoking, this story should be considered a cautionary tale for all Americans concerned with this countries future."

DC you have written nothing less than the "Finegans Wake" of techno thrillers. I wish you success with the launch. Only time will tell how prophetic a tale this is but I don't think there is that much time to wait...

Reported death. There has not been any confirmation of said death.

I would delete this but don't know how.

Edit - delete

GENERAL NOTE: work at snail's pace, late late late...but progress.



--kermit "one task, and SEE PROGRESS"--pretty much my favored domain, was very lucky for many years.

Now, not so much.  Level of concentration required here for me vastly exceeds any other task--long subject--

terrain/geography/timing/budget/resources are no longer constraints/determinants--the field is infinite,

the story could ( and properly should be ) as long as The Stand--etc etc.  At least from this vantage

point.  Am quite envious of people who enjoy writing, take some small comfort in that some of my betters

readily admit they find the process...grinding.  Thomas Harris per-eminent



--kermit you are correct/accurate .re C-10.  I believe it was pointed out...many many years ago now...in a previous

age....back when I could write...faster....and will be corrected in final, if not done so



--heron much thanks on blurb and some version of that is in the rotation.  Now....Finnegan's Wake, I see where you

are going but let's hope not entirely--let's hope Soldier's does not register as so....experimental.  Or I will have to write

zombie porn, or romance porn, or just...porn..



--SPECULATION AND SPOILERS: now, Trapshooter and Kermit, cease and desist.  And consider, if you will,

deleting????  There are far too many smart people here, and I have taken far far far too long to finish/publish

this, and among you all every single possible iteration of a spoiler/ending/conclusion could be found.  If this

were read as intended, as opposed to....as read by my dogged pace of exposure....well....it would read differently.

Now hush, you two.



NO SPECULATIVE SPOILERS PLEASE, YOU ALL ARE TOO CLEVER.



DCB

DC - I was more thinking about recursion than some of the more experimental aspects of that work...

No spoilers (although some would say we all know what happened to the titanic - but we still watch the movie) but I do fear that things are moving at a pace now where fiction will be overtaken by events...

GENERAL NOTE GENERAL NOTE: DID SOMEONE UPDATE MY ACCOUNT??????  I THINK IT LAPSED ENDED.

MADE NOTE, NOT FIXED YET.  IF SO THANK YOU.  THANK YOU.  WOULD LIKE TO KNOW AND THANK,

IF THAT IS OK.




GENERAL NOTE: present, would love to have other life to explore...for instance, the relative values of


"time"...time as a 'sensation/feeling'...time as chronology/mechanical...time as 'point of view'--what


is witnessed/seen/felt by different observers...quantum phenomena/language relevant here.





Briefly...I blink...a week has passed.  For others, not so much...





The point being ( yes there always is a point....eventually ) I have a HARD DATE to publish/finish, very


unnerving, based on another person's schedule, my formatter/final copy editor.  That date is "not that


far away"---and I could still fuck it up, just no control my schedule.  Yet.





--TRAPSHOOTER, no harm no foul. Quite a few variations on a theme here, my tardiness notwithstanding


I am quite sure no one will be disappointed in the resolution of various conflicts.  Even if you understand


what The Gehriverse is, and was designed to do ( spoiler there ) the METHOD will still interest most.  I may


have mentioned before: I am doing a couple of set-ups/pay-offs a story teller only gets to do ONCE in a


'career'--( kind of spoiler )---one of the reasons I am concerned about commercial viability is that "this


kind of fiction" really just is not done anymore.  It requires too much attention/memory/insight from the


reader.  Well.  We shall see.





--heron163 understood on all counts....a pretty significant issue right now is how to play/refer to this


upcoming election in first chapters--the long term trend line is unchanged, but a significant personality


could alter the timing in a big way.  I have a few modifications already in the rewrite to 'make room' for


the next year or two, all/most possibilities.  Yes, history is catching up to fiction, hard, fast, and ugly.





--kermit, you regular posts very helpful.  Just reviewed your multiple 'blurb' posts--elements of all should


make the rotation.  I very much like the one referring to Cartel/Sheriff/etc.--very simple and clean.  A huge


issue for this story will be 'teasing' the conventional 'prepper/post-apocalyptic' readers into sticking around


for the back story.  A simple direct blurb could set the pace.





GENERAL NOTE: just a FFFton of detail crap to fiddle in--cover photo/gear/etc more work than I anticipated--


covers very important for 'out there'--blah blah.





GENERAL NOTE: much thanks to those of you who find search phrase:

















 

DC, glad you're still with us.

Hurry up.

--PF, Kermit, all, present and tapping away, late at night.  Deadline approaching.  Some

fog of war here, but deadlines are deadlines, and this one is pressing.



Ok back to work.  The witching hour.



DCB

General Note: EDIT: a wise man here commented on the amateurish composition and content
of this pic, with considerable merit.  So I hasten to add--this pic contains "elements" of a possible cover.  
In other words, hammer/mask/flag/possibly weapon.  The intent here is for a professional cover
designer to extract from these elements several/many possible covers, which will likely/hopefully
1. Be professional/look professional  2. Satisfy the "recognition factor" of the Post-Apocalyptic
genre, etc.  THIS SHOULD NOT BE/WILL NOT BE THE ACTUAL COVER

Outside/off of this forum, in the wild's of the Amazon, this story competes with hundreds, perhaps
thousands, of "Post-Apocalyptic"/Prepper/Zombie/Plague/And One Bazillion EMP novels.  The genre tropes
( flag, suggestion of a weapon )/mask/hammer are general attempts in the direction of "what might
be recognized" by the legions of non-forum members who are just browsing for their next fix.

If I could do many different covers, I would, and virtually certain that the ideal AR15.com cover
would be considerably more abstract, artful, and suggestive, rather than so on the nose.

Several Wise Men have suggested the St. George and Dragon.

Seriously, no harm no foul on ridicule, dismay, and horror at this pic.

If you want to see the covers in the genre with which this MUST be identified, just search

"Kindle Top 100 Post-Apocalyptic"--and you will see as many as you can stand.

For the eyes here, and there are many, see these problems, which are many--

1. The hammer needs to be hooked over the shoulder

2.  The mask, narrower, an easy fix.

3. The tan chest is incongruous, distracting.

4. The exposed wrists are distracting, as is the open cuff.

5. There is no place for text, without confusion...

6. The figure does not fit "Son" as seen, fascinating the way the mind intuitively understands/creates "scale"--

and that would be correct, the pic is me, with stuff lying around, and I am 6 feet, 200 lbs.  The Deputy, perhaps,

but not his son.

7. I like the glove, should do the other--

Comments welcome, as usual--pic follows here by 11:30 PM central, Ok,

maybe not, FF.  Pic needs to be smaller, more evocative at E/paper back book size--

You asked...

I would expect the contents of the book to be a poorly written horror story about a possessed scarecrow.

Simple symbolism can convey a much deeper message.

My opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it. I reserve the right to be entirely incorrect at any and all times.

Keep on.

Hmmm...post-apocalyptic possessed scare crow....thinking...thinking....



PF you might be on to something.  This idea has serious possibilities.



I might have to start on outline.

After you finish and release TSS. Then you start the new outline.

--BigD, no problem--have "Way The FFF Too Many" outlines/stories blocked out already,

in the Gehriverse/domain.  I mean....clearly way more than I could ever write, unless

absolutely full time, and probably with some serious sacrifice in "quality"--whatever

that is.



Ok GENERAL NOTE: anyone who has an EXISTING FAVORITE PREPPER/SURVIVALIST/POST

APOCALYPTIC cover they can point out on Amazon, please point it out if possible.

Of the top 100 on Amazon, I'd have to say that the cover for "Survival:  After It Happened" is my favorite.  It seems that the genre demands a silhouette of a man with a rifle on the cover.  


My first idea for a cover would be The Deputy's gravestone with a grey Stetson and an FAL on it......the FAL should be positioned so that it covers the E and the H in the last name, the Stetson should cover the area of the date and a portion of "Deputy Sheriff", but leave enough showing so that the words are still obvious.  I know that in the story the memorial is a silver plate, but a stone is more recognizable and a bit of artistic license seems to be OK in book covers.  

As I think about it, my preferred variation would be the gravestone with the hat on it in the upper right corner, as a semi-transparent overlay on a background of a close view of the handguard, front sight, and muzzle of an FAL being fired from the prone position.  Only the left hand and forearm of the shooter would be visible.  The hand should be wearing a glove with bones painted on the fingers.  The picture should be taken with the shooter lying in a patch of scrub brush in the early morning....long shadows, dim light coming from the shooters left side to illuminate the bones on the glove but leave the rifle "mostly" in silhouette.  To set up the picture, the shooter would need to be firing south-east and the photographer would be in front and slightly to the right of the shooter taking the picture towards the sunrise.    (Clear that chamber first!!)    The rising sun will wash out the right side of the image and emphasize the shadow relief on the rifle and shooter.  

The title of the book would be in the left lower corner, beginning 3/4 of the way down the page, left justified.  

The
Soldier's
Son

D.C. Bourone would be along the bottom edge.  

In a print version, the back cover would be the giant crystal skull.