Today we’re excited to reveal the cover for David Niall Wilson‘s When You Leave I Disappear, a new novella coming this August from Shortwave.
Cover designer, Alan Lastufka, originally mocked up the cover using a typewriter font and said…
It looked like… well, like it was made with a terrible typewriter font. I knew I needed to use a real typewriter, but I didn’t own one.
I posted asking if anyone could help me out. Originally, I thought I’d just borrow a typewriter, but Mae Murray had a few and offered to sell me one for this and future projects. A week later, I had the typewriter, changed out the ink ribbon, and was able to get to work!
I then scanned in the typed page and incorporated my new real typewriter into the original mocked up design. You can see the incredible improvement. The typewriter feels so much more organic and interesting!
The subtle variance in ink on each letter, caused by how hard I pressed each key. The unique slanting, one way or the other, based on the angle of the typebars coming from the left or the right, etc…
Taking the time and money to “do it right” really elevated a decent mockup to the perfect cover for this story. I’m thrilled with the results.
Thanks to David for letting me run with it, and thanks to Mae for parting with this 50 year old manual typewriter.
Pre-orders are now available for paperback and eBook. When You Leave I Disappear will be released worldwide on August 20, 2024.