Cover Reveal: Galaxy Ascendant 4: A Fiery Reckoning (Part 1)

It’s time once again for one of the most exciting parts of getting a book ready for publication: The cover reveal!

Now, as the title of this post makes clear, the cover reveal today is for book 4 in the Galaxy Ascendant series, A Fiery Reckoning Part 1: Ascendancy’s Rise

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, this is something new for the series (the part 1 thing), and there is in fact something else new and awesome coming. To put it very simply, I originally concepted A Fiery Reckoning as a single book, book 4 of what would then be a 6 book series. However, as I progressed through writing the series, and especially once the story expanded to include the Revittan Empire in book 3, it became quite clear that there was no way to do the war, and all of my characters (there are 8 viewpoints in book 4!) justice. From there, it was a short jump to take a page out of the old Star Wars Expanded Universe’s New Jedi Order series’s playbook, and do a 2 parter. The decision, along with determination that these two books would be released very close together (first drafts are already written, and I plan to launch an indiegogo in a couple months to cover costs for both, after which they’ll be released a month apart from each other), led to me deciding to take further inspiration from the old EU, this time from the awesome Thrawn Trilogy, and do a panoramic cover for the two books. Yes, that means that this cover, and that of book 5, A Fiery Reckoning Part 2: Empire’s Fall, will combine to form a single, larger image, with two fleets going at it in addition to main characters from opposing sides of the conflict. That cover art is already in progress, and I can’t wait for you to see that one once it’s done as well.

This is also the first cover to feature a return of characters already depicted on a previous cover. In addition to Triad, who was introduced in book 3, A Shifting Alliance, we see Ayil once again, returning from the cover of that book. She’s, to me, the series’s “breakout character” in that her role and her journey are far more than I originally anticipated when she was introduced as a side character in book 2, A Looming Shadow. We also have the return of Darkclaw, from way back on book 1, A Greater Duty‘s cover, albeit in a different position.

So all of that finally out of the way, enjoy the cover of Galaxy Ascendant 4: A Fiery Reckoning Part 1: Ascendancy’s Rise! My cover artist, John Zeleznik, knocked it clear out of the park once again.

Keep an eye out for updates here as we gear up for the indiegogo in another month or two, and for the next cover art reveal shortly before that. The simplest way to do so is to sign up for my mailing list (you’ll also get a couple free short stories of of that), and, if you’d like to help support me directly, you can check out my new Subscribestar page. And of course, if you haven’t already, check out the Galaxy Ascendant series so far, so you’re all caught up by the time these next two release!