For years I’ve resisted the obvious motto for the Spaceport stories as perhaps being just a little too campy. But who am I fooling? Most of the stories begin with an alien walking into a bar. Except book 2. That begins with a bartender falling out of the sky. But it’s okay. She survives.
I’ve decided to just embrace the campiness. It’s part of my voice.
Along with the motto, I’ve also been wrestling with the first cover. Covers are expensive investments, and they matter. The mood has to be just right. While I love starscapes and will definitely have those on some of the future covers, this first one needed to feature the Spaceport in all of its Earthly glory. While these stories are always full of aliens, they center on some very human characters — whatever planet they may hail from. In the center of this swirl of intergalactic activity is one very human building…that does happen to house a bar among other things.
Here’s the working cover:
