One of those aforementioned finishing touches happens to also be my reliably favourite part of being a writer, namely working with a fantastic artist to come up with the perfect cover. As with the first three Black River Chronicles, that meant absolute superstar Kim Van Deun, and the only reason I can't say that Kim's outdone himself this time around is because he always outdoes himself, if such a thing is possible. Don't believe me? Here's what's going on the front of Graduate or Die...
Actually, from Kim's point of view, I suspect this might have been the toughest brief yet. I've never been a professional artist, but I get the impression that the more elements, the harder things become, and five students facing off against a dragon is a lot to cram in there.
Wait ... five students? We haven't had five students on any of the previous covers! And who the heck is that in the upper left? Yes, the gang have a new member to contend with, and there was no way I wasn't crowbarring Lucenna Fia-Arcwright into this image, because she was my personal highlight of writing this fourth book, for reasons you'll get to share in the not-too-distant future. It's hard to say when exactly, because we still have the copy-edits and proofs to go, but I'd say we should be ready before the summer's over. And in the meantime, here, in all its glory, is the complete wraparound artwork, which has a teaser or two of its own to reveal...
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