Option one, the original cover: Option two: Thanks to all who voted. This poll is closed. The winner was the second cover (the one with the road). After a few design iterations, we came up with the final cover, which appears below.

Thanks to my artist/designer wife for this lovely cover. We hope to have this one out in 2019. What is your first impression of the cover? What do you think the book will be about? Leave comments below. Note: Comments closed

After two rounds with the editor and many drafts, Gate 76 is just about ready for the proofreader. Below are some cover ideas from my lovely and talented wife . Please let me know which cover you prefer and why. Thanks for taking the time to help out. If you’re curious, you can read the first chapter of Gate 76 here, but don’t look until after you’ve picked a cover!

Last week, I asked readers to vote on a blurb for my next book, Impala. Two thirds of the respondents favored the “Summary” blurb, which described the main character and his predicament in straight expository prose. One third preferred the “Flavor” blurb that gave a good sense of the books' style and tone, and encouraged the reader to piece together what the book was about. The readers who preferred the Summary blurb said they liked knowing what the book was about, and they’d be likely to buy it because it gave them a good sense of what the book was about, and that’s what they want to know before they read.