Lost Dogs #1 - Last Fight of the Old Hound

[Svrtnsse]

The first part of the Lost Dogs series, Last Fight of the Old Hound is now available for pre-order on Amazon (here).

Roy van Waldenberger, once known as The Honest Man, faces the most difficult decision of his life: truth or loyalty. On the one hand are the values he believes in, the moral code he built his life upon, and the promise he made to the woman he loves. On the other hand is the future of his best friend, her children, and her grandson.
Roy van Waldenberger – The Wolf of the North, superstar werewolf wrestler – has never thrown a fight in his life, and now that the last match of his career is upon him, he's not sure he can.​

There is also a free preview including the first four chapters, here.

Please note, this is a temporary cover image. The final cover will be revealed in about two weeks when the paperback version becomes available.

 

[Svrtnsse]

I got the cover art for the book yesterday, and I've spent most of my free time since then tinkering with the cover design. I posted about it on my blog, here: Cover Reveal – Lost Dogs #1

But in case you just want to have a quick look, here it is:

I had my doubts at first, but as I've been working on it, the idea has grown on me. I know for sure it's nowhere near what I had first imagined, but even then I feel like it still works.

 

[Devor]

Layout 101. Images should line up on the sides, like the lefthand margin in your text. The edge of "Part I" is just a touch too far to the right. But it would also look better if you adjust the font for cover illustration by.... to line up with the same edges as the Lost Dog text. ALSO, you have two other lines with the icon, and your name would look sharper if it was lined up with the edges of that image. You should also think about justifying the text on the back cover - the inside may or may not have more wiggle room, but the back, I feel, should be justified.

 

[Devor]

I knew there was something off about it. The picture is lined up weird. The center at the top (the circle) isn't the same center as at the bottom (the swirly thing). You should try rotating it a little clockwise and it'll look more balanced.

 

[Svrtnsse]

The edge of "Part I" is just a touch too far to the right.

Noted. I already hit the Publish button on the paperback, so it's off for review and I can't change this one anymore (until the review's done). There's no problem updating the ebook version of the cover though, and that's the one that matters more.

But it would also look better if you adjust the font for cover illustration by.... to line up with the same edges as the Lost Dog text.

I'm toying around with this now. Not sure how I feel about it, but you're probably on to something.

ALSO, you have two other lines with the icon, and your name would look sharper if it was lined up with the edges of that image.

The names ate the bottom are grayed out a little bit, and not pure black like the text on the top. That probably has an impact here too.

You should also think about justifying the text on the back cover

If I'd used a normal font I'd probably have done that, but since the type is a bit wiggly and wonky I'll stick with the unjustified text.

I knew there was something off about it. The picture is lined up weird. The center at the top (the circle) isn't the same center as at the bottom (the swirly thing). You should try rotating it a little clockwise and it'll look more balanced.

Definitely.
I should have thought about that myself. I registered it was wonky, but the idea that I could just fix it didn't actually register.

Thanks for the comments and feedback. I'll get this fixed, but not tonight.

 

[Svrtnsse]

I went over the design and made some of the changes suggested by Devor and I think it turned out for the better.

What threw me off is the rotation. Under the skull there's a large drop, and that's also not aligned with the moon. I rotated the image until the skull was straight and the drop hung directly under the center of the skull. It's sort of falling out of it, so it shouldn't be tilting off to the side. The moon will have remain a bit off.

 

[Ban]

Beautiful image, I have nothing to critique besides saying I dislike the blue #1. It looks like a hyperlink and I want to click it.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Beautiful image, I have nothing to critique besides saying I dislike the blue #1. It looks like a hyperlink and I want to click it.

I couldn't resist adding a little bit of colour to th image. The number will be on the spine though, and not the front. The idea is that the colour will change depending on the main character of the story. There's a red and a green character in the series as well, but they won't show up until later.

 

[Devor]

I went over the design and made some of the changes suggested by Devor and I think it turned out for the better.
View attachment 1953
What threw me off is the rotation. Under the skull there's a large drop, and that's also not aligned with the moon. I rotated the image until the skull was straight and the drop hung directly under the center of the skull. It's sort of falling out of it, so it shouldn't be tilting off to the side. The moon will have remain a bit off.

I think it looks a lot better with the fonts lined up, but I've been taught to look for that.

It looks good the way it is. Thinking about the moon, though, it's just a circle and wouldn't take much to delete it and redraw it bigger or smaller to see if it could line up better. I won't quite go so far as to tell you to do it, though, because it could also be a bit of a rabbit hole.

 

[Svrtnsse]

It looks good the way it is. Thinking about the moon, though, it's just a circle and wouldn't take much to delete it and redraw it bigger or smaller to see if it could line up better. I won't quite go so far as to tell you to do it, though, because it could also be a bit of a rabbit hole.

I thought about trying to do that, but decided to hold off on it for two reason.
First, it was half past six in the morning and I wasn't quite awake.
Second, it would require editing the art itself, and I'd rather not do that without talking to the artist first.
Third, It was really early...

 

[Svrtnsse]

The paperback version of Lost Dogs #1 is now available for purchase on Amazon, here

• US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1983191329
• UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1983191329

Edit: I'm launching at a somewhat lower than normal price and will push it up a little in a few weeks.

 

[Svrtnsse]

It's alive! The ebook version of Lost Dogs #1: Last Fight of the Old Hound is now available for purchase on Amazon, here.

For those of you who followed my struggle with writing a blurb, here's what I finally went with for the time being:

Roy van Waldenberger faces the most difficult decision of his life: truth or loyalty?
On the one hand are the values he believes in, the moral code he built his life upon, and the promise he made to the woman he loves. On the other hand is the future of his best friend, and that of her children and her grandson.

Known to fans and admirers as The Wolf of the North, Roy has fought at the highest level of werewolf bloodsports for over a decade. He's won more matches and titles than anyone alive, and he's never thrown a fight. With the last match of his career just around the corner, a polite request is made for Roy to let the other fighter win, or else...

It's not the decision that's difficult - it's accepting the consequences.​

And for those of you who still wonder what it's about, here's what I told a friend on facebook:

"Werewolf wrestler gets told he has to lose the last fight of his career or he won't get any retirement money. There are complications."

The book is a novella and is available at 0.99 for the first week, and will then go up to 2.99. However, it will also be available for free for one day towards the end of the month (just before the release of Part 2), and then again at the end of August (just before the release of Part 3).

 

[Svrtnsse]

Ahoy all. Just a quick update to let you know that Last Fight of the Old Hound will be available for free on Amazon for the next 23 hours or so. If you've thought of having a look, now's a great time to do so.

EDIT: Perhaps I should include the link - here.

 

[FifthView]

Yay, got it!

I remember the discussions we had re: your story; they were like teasers for me, so this is great.

Thanks!

 

[Svrtnsse]

I remember the discussions we had re: your story; they were like teasers for me, so this is great.

Clearly this was all part of a very clever and highly target marketing effort.

Just kidding. I hope you like it and that the story lives up to expectations.

 

[TWErvin2]

Clicked and got a copy. Now added to my (long) TBR list.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Clicked and got a copy. Now added to my (long) TBR list.

Thank you.

Edit: It's a novella, so it should be a fairly quick read once you get to it.

 

[Svrtnsse]

I just got my first ever book blog review: Book Review: Lost Dogs Part 1 – Last Fight of the Old Hound

 

[Svrtnsse]

It's that time again. Lost Dogs #3 is now live, which means Part #1 is available as a free download on Amazon for the weekend.

 

[Svrtnsse]

I'm absolutely useless at this Marketing & Promotion thing. The actual link to download the book is here.