Posts Tagged ‘Fortune’s Pawn’

Why Fun Matters – FORTUNE’S PAWN is out now!

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If you look at the early reviews of my new novel, FORTUNE’S PAWN (out now, by the way! [US | UK | AUS]), you’ll find one word repeated over and over again: fun. This word also appeared in reviews of my fantasy series, THE LEGEND OF ELI MONPRESS (written as Rachel Aaron [US | UK | ANZ]), so much so that I was actually joking to my husband that I should call myself “Rachel Aaron, the fun author!”

And you know, I’m okay with that.

Fun is a seriously underrated novel component. There are plenty of serious books that make you cry or think in a different way or show you something beautiful and deep. I strive for all that in my works as well, but never at the cost of a good time. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a cathartic cry as much as the next person, but the books I come back to over and over again are the ones that left me smiling and exhilarated and hungry to read more.

Too often, we say “escapist reading” like it’s something lesser. Like we should be ashamed that we’re enjoying something just because it’s fun. I think that’s absurd. It’s like saying ice cream is lesser because all it does is taste delicious. We need delicious, because life is hard. Bad things happen even to the luckiest of us, and the world can too often be a stressful, dark, unfriendly, unkind place. A good, fun book is like an escape hatch from all that grim reality. It’s a safe space where we can run away and have a good, dramatic, thrilling time, and sometimes, when you really need to a respite, that can feel like a miracle.

Hearing someone had a blast reading my books is the greatest complement I can receive as a writer. I’m proud to be a trusted provider of quality life escape hatches. And while I can’t guarantee my story will change your world forever, I can promise that it’ll be one hell of a ride. So come have fun in my imagination. Let me entertain you. At the very least, you’ll never be bored.

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FORTUNE’S PAWN is available now! Check out the first chapter here, and get ready for even more fun this Thursday. Rachel Bach will be joining authors Daniel Abraham (1/2 of the James S. A. Corey writing duo) and Ann Leckie tomorrow for an evening of science fiction, technology, and space opera. RSVP to the Google event today. 

Cover Story: FORTUNE’S PAWN by RACHEL BACH

œF�� $¿�Ƒ$�8Ò�ò¤»�däå¸R8BIFORTUNE’S PAWN (US | UK) and the Paradox Series by Rachel Bach is coming out this Fall in November 2013.

I’ve had a particular attachment to this project. As a father of a three year old girl, I love that the covers for this series are showcasing a strong female character. My kid already has to listen to me quote Ripley to her on a daily basis, now she gets to listen to Devi quips too.

Putting this book together was a challenge beyond figuring out how the series was going to look. It was really executing that vision that was the biggest obstacle. I wanted Devi’s face to be front and center. I wanted a snapshot moment of a badass female with an unamused expression to set the tone of the series, then have the cover of each volume expand on that moment. As if each cover was a visual interstitial for the series.

I had to create the initial illustration of Devi herself which I was going to use in the following two volumes. This was a combination of finding the right face, illustrating the armor and tech Devi uses in the books in a cool way, and bring that together in a badass way.

Once her portrait was done, the next phase as putting the face in the a couple contexts to give more depth to her character. I love idea or her floating I space with that jaded look on her face. As if the reason she’s there is just one more thing she has to deal with before getting done what she needs to get done.

Here is a small gallery showing the various stages of the FORTUNE’S PAWN.

Here are the final covers for all three book in the Paradox Series!