Cover Unveiled for Earth Thirst by Mark Teppo

Mark Teppo--long-time friend of the blog--should be familiar to readers as we've covered his first two novels Lightbreaker and Heartland, interviewed him, and he's even stopped by to share some knowledge. So I couldn't pass up the chance to showoff the awesome cover for his next novel Earth Thirst--his take on Post-Apocalyptic Vampires. The art is by Cody Tilson who did my favorite cover of 2011, Seed. Knowing Teppo's work as I do I'm expecting an original take and I had a chance to get the lowdown on the project and the cover from him directly:

I've had the idea for Earth Thirst rattling around my head for a year or so now, but my schedule really hasn't been open enough to write it. After World Fantasy Convention last year, I realized that I probably wouldn't have a clear opening for another year or two and the idea behind the book did have some timeliness. If I waited and then tried to sell it--and then waited another year before it came out--I might miss the best opportunity.

So I sent Jeremy Lassen the pitch and a couple of chapters, explaining that I wasn't sure when I would have time to write it, but that I was very excited about their new books and their marketing efforts. I thought that they would know how to sell Earth Thirst and would get it in front of the right readers.

Jeremy emailed me back later that afternoon and said, "Yes, please, and how soon can I have it?"

I said, "Well, like I said, I'm super busy and . . . "

He replied, "Bla bla bla, writer's excuses, whining, not really listening. How about you get it to me as soon as you can and we'll put it in the schedule?"

(This is somewhat paraphrased, of course, but he and I had recently come to an understanding that the best way to get something on my schedule was to cram it on there and make me figure out how to solve the resultant time management problem.)

I meekly agree. Oh, who am kidding? I was thrilled.

A couple months later, I get a call that they're very excited about the premise of the book, they have a plan for marketing (which is exactly the sort of three word pitch I had been hoping to hear), and they're going to get Cody Tilson to do the cover.

"The guy who did the cover for Seed?" I ask after doing a quick Google search. "The guy who just won a Spectrum Award for Art Direction?"

"That's the one. You good with that?"

"Yeah, yeah, that'll be fine." All calm on the outside, jumping up and down on the inside.

Last week, they send me the cover. I'm still jumping up and down. Now I'm thrilled people will get a hint of what I'm talking about when I say I'm writing an eco-thriller with vampires.

Earth Thirst will be out January 8th from Night Shade Books. Here's the official blurb:

The Earth is dying. Humanity--over-breeding, over-consuming—is destroying the very planet they call home. Multinational corporations despoil the environment, market genetically modified crops to control the food supply, and use their wealth and influence and private armies to crush anything, and anyone, that gets in the way of their profits. Nothing human can stop them.

Once they did not fear the sun. Once they could breathe the air and sleep where they chose. But now they can rest only within the uncontaminated soil of Mother Earth—and the time has come for them to fight back against the ruthless corporations that threaten their immortal existence.

They are the last guardians of paradise, more than human but less than angels. They call themselves the Arcadians.

We know them as vampires. . . .

A Vampire Eco-Thriller? Count me in!

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