Cover Reveal: The Fourth Black Beacon Book of Mystery

The puzzle has been solved! We've uncovered the mysterious art by Malgorzata Mika for The Fourth Black Beacon Book of Mystery. This art is inspired by the Oscar Tremont story "The Case of the Ghost Slipper", which the editor will be contributing to the anthology. For the fifth volume, one of our contributors will have the opportunity to have his or her puzzle-solving protagonist appear on the cover. Preference will be given to a protagonist who has appeared in at least two previous volumes.

Without further ado, the cover for The Fourth Black Beacon Book of Mystery...

A NOTE TO AUTHORS: The submissions window is open until the end of February. Simply visit our submissions page and follow the guidelines carefully.

Buy the previous volumes HERE.

Cover Reveal: The Black Beacon Book of Horror 2

When Greg Chapman posted his latest cover art, we just knew we had to snap it up for The Black Beacon Book of Horror 2. Check it out! Samhain Screams (co-edited by Greg Chapman and featuring his cover art) is going to make Halloween 2025 the spookiest ever, and the diabolical plan is to give you the creeps one year later with the second volume of The Black Beacon Books of Horror.

We'll be taking submissions in November and December. More details coming soon!

 

Heart and Soul: Greg Chapman on the difference between Photomanipulation and Artificial Intelligence

As a trained graphic designer (I have a Diploma in Graphic Design and have 25+ years’ experience) and visual artist, I put in a considerable amount of thought – and heart – into my book cover designs and illustrations.

So, how are book covers made? Each artist or designer has their own way of doing it, I primarily work in the area of photomanipulation. One might ask, how is this different to using generative A.I.?

For me it comes down to how a cover is composed. I use royalty free, CC0 or public domain imagery to create my covers. I take existing images and compose them into an eerie, evocative image. I try and use the adage of “’less is more” focusing on a central point of reference.

My inspiration comes from other covers and artists, or just the images themselves, but my goal is always to take a static image or images and expand them into a montage that might tell a story or give a sense of what the book might contain.

I make a lot of pre-mades, because, well, I just love making them. I enjoy forcing images together. I also do covers on request, so I thought I’d share a cover I’ve done for Cameron at Black Beacon Books.

Take the cover for Steampunk Sleuths (out August the 30th) for example:

When designing, the art and typography always go hand in hand. You shouldn’t really consider one without the other.

This design is made up of the following images that I sourced from CC0 websites… including Pixabay, Pexels and Unsplash.

Figure 1: An existing piece of steampunk aircraft

Figure 2: I liked the tunnel glimpse of the London skyline for the background

Figure 3: This guy's coat just screamed "detective"

Figure 4: The perfect steampunk hat

Figure 5: I stole the head off this image and painted on a moustache and monocle

By using all these images and cutting them up and compositing various the pieces into a whole, I’ve created a whole new image. Something that didn’t exist before. I’ve thought carefully about how they all fit together and also considered colour, mood, texturing, lighting and most importantly matched the image to the themes of the anthology: steampunk and mystery.

It probably from memory took me 1-2 days to create. Of course some might prefer to let a gen-AI do all this work. Sure it might do it in seconds but it will simply spit out an amalgamation of hundreds, potentially thousands of pieces of stolen art. There won’t be any thought put into it, no skill, no dedication to what makes a cover interesting and inviting.

Ultimately book cover designers are real people. People who read books, appreciate story and art and what makes a book special.

Please consider using a real person for your next book.

Thank you.

Greg Chapman – Dark Designs | The website of horror artist Greg Chapman

New and Mysterious Covers by Malgorzata Mika

We're proud to present the new covers by Malgorzata Mika for the first three volumes of "The Black Beacon Books of Mystery". The covers have been updated for the Kindle versions and will be updated for the print versions in the next few days. The first two volumes are available now and the submissions window is currently open for the third volume.

Cover Reveal: The Black Beacon Book of Ghosts

Time to reveal the spooky cover for The Black Beacon Book of Ghosts! The cover for this anthology is provided by Meg Wright of Red Wallflower. We're thrilled to have this original and eye-catching cover for what will be a ghost story anthology unlike any other. 

This title will be released in the lead-up to Halloween, and as always, the Kindle pre-order deal will be available beforehand. 

Sally's in the Well - Sam Dawson
Effigy in Flagrante - Matthew R. Davis
The Spreading Rot - Leanbh Pearson
The Widow of Wood Forge - C. M. Saunders
The Ice Tigs - Rose Biggin
The Gospel of Abbott Wulfbald - Lawrence Harding
Red Dirt - Em Starr
The Yūrei of Old Stonybrook Lane - Michael Picco
Through a Looking Glass Darkly - Karen Keeley
Dead Angel Trail - Robert Allen Lupton
Where the Heart Is - Mike Adamson
Fiachra Conneally's Bargain - L. P. Ring
The Creeper - David Turnbull
Open Book - Cameron Trost
A Passage in Time - E. Michael Lewis

Cover Reveal: The Black Beacon Book of Horror

Our Patreon patrons have already seen it as part of their exclusive benefits, and now it's your turn. Behold Greg Chapman's cover for our very first anthology dedicated solely to horror stories, The Black Beacon Book of Horror! Submissions close tomorrow (the 28th of February) but we already know that this book will be teeming with eerie folk horror, mind-bending cosmic terror, and creepy psychological dread. Expect more news, including the announcement of the table of contents and the anticipated publication date, to be revealed by the end of March.

Is that a shiver of excitement running down your spine...or one of terror foretold? 

An Interview with Małgorzata Mika

You've seen the cover for The Second Black Beacon Book of Mystery, now meet the artist.

1. Hi Małgorzata, Thanks for agreeing to answer a few questions for our readers. First of all, we'd like to know a little about you. Who are you and how did you end up moving from Poland to Sydney?

I have been living in Sydney for five years now as an international student. I come from a small town in Poland called Czechowice-Dziedzice and since I felt stagnant in my country, I decided to take a leap of faith and recreate myself on the other side of the world. Currently, I am studying IT and I hope to merge the technological part of knowledge with my creative side. I have dabbled into art since childhood and for a couple of years now, I have been gravitating towards using my artistic part for generating income and engaging myself in more and more projects.

2. Can you tell us three interesting facts about yourself?

I am a science fiction aficionado, but oddly enough my artworks gravitate towards horror, fantasy and its derivatives.  Although the realm of the fantastic has been captivating me since childhood, that has hardly been the case with the genre of fantasy which I continue to distance myself from in terms of my reading choices or other forms of entertainment.
I love creating concept art for games I would love to watch someone play, but most likely I would  never play them myself. While working on an illustration, I like listening to epic music (E.S. Posthumus, Two Steps from Hell, Tomme Profit) as it helps me to picture a scene more vividly and create artworks more efficiently.

3. How do you go about preparing a cover for a book? Do you have a particular process you follow?

My process of designing a book cover frequently follows a particular modus operandi: while illustrating short stories and novellas, the author usually sends me an unpublished text and after reading it, I am allowed to pick the scene that will illustrate that piece of writing in the best compelling manner. In the case of novels or anthologies, I am either presented with an excerpt of a scene that is to be transformed into a cover, or I receive a short instruction on what the cover needs to present. Once the content and style of the cover are delineated, I create a few sketches so that the client could choose the version of the cover they approve of the most. When the design is picked, I work on a fully rendered version of the book cover. Upon its compilation, I consult my work with the client to see if any corrections need to be introduced. When both sides are happy with the result, the cover is used in the publication process and I receive my remuneration.

4. What inspires you? Do you have a routine or special place you go to get the ideas flowing?

I would characterise my inspiration as very fluid and adaptable. When I create a personal work, a character from a favourite I develop an emotional response to may become my muse. On a daily basis, I find Pinterest very helpful in finding captivating photographs of people who will become my study project or the basis of my character design. Sometimes, it is the way a person looks at you, a unique coiffure, or attire attract my attention to such an extent that I feel the need to incorporate them into my artworks; at times, I attempt to paint my muses as they are with little interpretation of my own, just to capture their souls in painting. 

5. Who are your favourite artists?

There are a few artists that are close to my heart as I cherish them for their style and their professional approach to concept art. These are Adam Duff, Daniel Bolling Walsh and also mentors from the college I studied at, CG Spectrum: Bernie Kang and Brandon Reimchen.  

6. Where can we find you online?

You can find me in a few places. If you are looking for digital art I create, please check my Artstation: malgorzatamika.artstation.com or Instagram: @malgorzata_mikart. If you wish to delve into the written realm, head off to Medium (@malgorzata.mika87) where I post articles revolving around creative self-development and the issues affecting the world of digital art.

Thanks you, Małgorzata.