I just revealed the cover of The Headlock of Destiny (now available for ebook preorder over on Amazon) over at Fantasy Book Critic. I won’t make you go there to see it – but it is a fantastic site for keeping up on great fantasy reads and I highly recommend spending some time over there.

The cover is below, and I’m really excited about it.

Description: Some say titans are descended from giants. Others say they are risen from men. But there’s never any debate about where to find them. They will be in the center of a roaring crowd, beating the hell out of each other. From contenders like the Savage and Scott Flawless to pretenders like Richard the Living Portrait and Troll-Blooded Thom, a titan’s lot in life is the same: To wrestle for dominion and glory in the squared circle.

Van, a quiet titan from the brewery town of Headwaters, wants no part in this. He’d prefer to be left alone with a beer. But destiny has him in a headlock, and it is prepared to drag him into battles that will shake the land and change his world forever.

Step into the ring with this one-of-a-kind novel, brewed special for fans of epic fantasy, fans of professional wrestling from the Golden Era and beyond, or simply fans of a good tale.

I think one of the things that keeps me coming back to fantasy as my favorite genre again and again is the visual art that accompanies the medium. And one of my favorite parts of being a indie author is the opportunity to work with killer artists myself. To paint them a picture of what I want, realize I have no idea what I’m talking about, and then watch them deliver something totally unexpected yet still exactly what I wanted.

The Headlock of Destiny has a theme of being alone in the midst of a crowd, lost in the lights, runs throughout the book. I had no idea how to capture that sentiment while taking care of the core business of the illustration – showing that this is about giant monsters/men beating the hell out of each other. I’ve worked with Dominik Mayer before, though, and I knew if any artist could nail it he could. I’m thrilled with what he’s done in his illustration. Note the flags hanging over the titan’s shoulder, a nod to the weight of nations watching the struggle. The way the yellow streaks crossing the titans hint at spotlights and elevate the sense of danger.

And I need to give a final thanks to Humble Nations for the custom typology. This book is an epic fantasy/pro wrestling mash-up (I know, yet another one of those) and I really liked the idea of locking that down with a championship belt theme for the title. Very happy with the results.

Hope you are intrigued enough to sign up for a preorder. Or if you’re waiting for a paperback those will drop March 5, 2020.