Why the Eclipse is part of MUSE

I’ve had a few people ask about the cover of Muse. Aside from “unsettling” and “weird” some people aren’t quite sure what it is. (That is totally okay, btw)

It is an eclipse.

In an early part of Muse, Terra Desmarais is transported to NYC by her overeager patrons, from a trailer part in the sticks. The weird and unsettling art prodigy’s first painting in the city is an eclipse that becomes the centerpiece of her first show, which propels her into fame.

Eclipses are significant in cultures, religions and mythologies around the world. They are omens, good and bad. They symbolize major change, death, rebirth, and the fall of nations. In some mythology they were thought to be the death of the sun, an attack by dark supernatural forces, and the “eclipse” of all things bright.

When I decided to release Muse through Spec Pub, a while back, I plotting out the time I needed for final edits, layouts, proofs, and all the practical aspects of putting out a book. I settled on April 9th with my primary editor, River Eno, because it would give me plenty of time to get all that work done, and it would be between holidays. Practical reasons. I started messing around with a bunch of different cover designs, none of which really fit.

I’m not sure even when the eclipse design showed up. It was almost as if it had always been there, waiting to be discovered. After I had a design almost locked down, I got an image in my head that just came to life in design and there it was.

Even the colors weren’t really intentional, but I loved the sort of burnt paper look to them. The whole thing struck me as…

weird and unsettling. Exactly the kind of vibe I felt for this whole little book of mine.

So an eclipse became the image for Muse. It was featured prominently in early book trailers. It became a strong feature in all the later marketing and it worked. This story is about Terra Desmarais and how she eclipses everyone else when she arrives in New York. It is about her patrons, the associates, and how their greed eclipses their calling to help great artists find their way to fame and fortune. It is the story about the urge to create and how it eclipses everything in the lives of artists, sometimes to their own detriment.

It is the story of bright empires falling and the rise of dark, secret things. Magic and myth and things being very different than they seem. It is a story about how everything that is meant to be finds it’s way there eventually.

And so imagine my surprise when I learned about the solar eclipse on April 8th. I am lucky enough to be in that path. I recall well the one from 2017 that I got to watch from the East Coast Shore.

No, I did not plan my release with that in mind. I had no idea it was happening until last week.

It’s a bit weird.

And unsettling.

But also pretty damned cool.

What should I do with this great power?

Muse is Available for pre-sale now on Amazon and other retailers.

It will be released next Tuesday, after the Eclipse. (April 9th)