Cover Reveal and more: FROM CAÏNA TO JEDECCA

"Cover Reveal" sounds tantalizing and/or dangerous. I feel naughty typing it. Nevertheless, that's what this is. Here is the cover for my soon-to-be-e-released novel, From Caina to Jedecca. More on the novel itself after the pic:

A little history behind this novel. Originally, this was a companion piece to Swans Over the Moon. The two tales were interwoven, one plot moving forward in Victorian England, the other in the kingdom of Procellarium on, yes, you guessed it, the moon. But Agent Kris (if memory serves correctly) pointed out that both story lines needed breathing room. So I split the one into two and expanded each half into two short novels. I'm not sure if I could interweave the two now, since they expanded at different rates, but who knows? Maybe one day . . .

Caina is the story of a love quadrangle, sort of. It's only a romance in that it's a historical tragedy wherein some people do, in fact, fall in love. This is the primary difficulty with placing the novel with any big house publishers. It doesn't fit neatly into genre categories. In fact, at least one publisher said it was "too well written". Probably alluding to the admittedly prosaic and archaic (ie Victorian) language.

The novel came as a result of a class on Victorian Art and Culture that I took while attending BYU. One of the best classes I took there. We spent a good deal of time focusing on the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, a group of artists known for the meticulous detail of their paintings and for their focus on medieval and classical themes. I learned much about the art and artists of the era (as well as music, drama, literature, and history - it was a thorough survey of Victorian England). One of the things that stuck with me the most, however, was the fascinating and often tragic way in which artists, artist's families, and their models all became interwoven in a mess worthy of any soap opera.

The story follows Matthew Oyd, a brilliant artist and dandy whose talent is only exceeded by his precociousness. Oyd's best friend, Gussie Carlisle, takes Matthew to a portraiture sitting at their old art school where the model, Tristine, sits naked in the midst of the class. Matthew decides to "rescue" her, and things move along from that point in directions you'll have to follow by reading the rest of the book.

Do note that this book is decidedly different for me. It is not fantastical in nature (though some scenes are surreal, but in a more restrained manner than your used to reading from me). It most neatly fits into the "historical fiction" category, I suppose, or "drama" or somesuch. I'm going to have a heck of a time figuring out how to categorize it, but that's one of the consequences of the advent of e-publishing, isn't it? Genre boundaries are breaking down all over the place and un-categorizable work is flourishing and being read en masse by readers who don't want to be pigeon-holed and beleaguered by marketing walls.

I hope you'll like it. It should be published on Amazon within the next few weeks, time permitting.