Covers and creepers

Skate the Seeker
As announced recently, I can finally share the cover art for Skate the Seeker! Keep an eye out for further updates and previews; September 12 cannot get here soon enough. Special thanks to Nada Orlić for her work on the cover. I was excited to get the same designer for book 1 working on book 2, and am very happy with the results.

Media
I picked up a middle-grade graphic novel called Estranged from my local book resale shop, Once Upon a Time Books. It was a quick read, and very fun. Fans of the Amulet series will find a lot to like here.
I’ve continued into season 2 of His Dark Materials, and I’m loving that. Tense and emotional, exciting and magical, all at the right moments, with just the lightest touch of humor to ease you forward through the story, I look forward to carving time out each week to watch on the couch. With House of the Dragon still months (years? I don’t remember) away from more episodes, it’s a strong contender for best new fantasy show on a streaming service right now.

Image copyright belongs to Joy Pictures, Inc.

I also watched the animated The Legend of Hei from Joy Pictures. This was easily my favorite random find as far as shows go from the last few years. Fans of Wuxia, magic martial arts, and clean entertainment should definitely give this a watch. Elemental magic à la the Avatar universe plays a part, and I’m a sucker for that sort of thing.

Miscellany
Work on side project Rainbow continues; I took a break from it for almost two months waiting on Skate news, but now I’m a couple chapters away from a finished first – and VERY rough – first draft. As soon as I put finishing touches on Seeker, I’ll set Rainbow aside and begin work on Rag & Bone 3. Until then, it’s giving me something to work on without spinning my wheels in frustration.

I introduced my eldest to Minecraft yesterday, and he was engrossed. In creative mode, nothing can hurt you, so he enjoyed meeting zombies and creepers, squids and pigs. It was fun to watch him explore, too. It’s a wonderful world we live in, where these imaginary places can grow for infinite exploration at the click of a button.

That’s all from me for now.

Tell your story!
​-J. E. Ayers