Mark Charan Newton

This is the cover for the UK paperback of City of Ruin. And here’s Brynd: Artwork by Richard Jones. Pretty, no? When I first saw this, I think I issued a technical and artistic musing that went along the lines of “F*ck me, that’s good.” I really like how Brynd looks – this was much [...]

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I am the man of many covers. Firstly, the full wrap-around goodness. This is the new, final, ultimate hardcover dustjacket for Nights of Villjamur in the States. I love it – especially some of the design details. Why was it changed? Well, basically, not everyone at Bantam Spectra was happy with the previous version, and [...]

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The local literary scene has been destroyed. I walked to a site which the supermarket Tesco is about to redevelop. They’re going to landscape and rebuild, and generally make one of the poorest parts of the city look artificially handsome. However, some of the best graffiti in the city could be found plastering those old [...]

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Well then, I see that there has been quite the reaction to the new mass market paperback artwork of Nights of Villjamur. Some people like it, some not so much. Some want to frame it above their bed and kiss it before they go to sleep each night, others wouldn’t deign to use it as [...]

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Here’s the UK paperback cover for Nights of Villjamur. As you can see, it’s quite different from the original, and the yellow font will be gold-embossed on the physical copy. The photo work was by Richard Jones. This will be published in June 2010, alongside City of Ruin in hardcover. Share:

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Bringing back the weird… Art by Benjamin Carre. That’s Brynd, for any of you wondering. There’s a little more work to be done to the face apparently, but this is pretty much it. City of Ruin, the second book in the Legends of the Red Sun series. My draft attempt at a blurb: Villiren: a [...]

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I want to direct any readers to my friend Christa’s online gallery. She’s a damn fine artist and illustrator, and she lives a lifestyle of which I’m very envious. If you’re in the area, buy one of her paintings and sustain her Bohemian ways. Share:

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A while ago I came across this scrapbook on Edward Hopper. I’ve been a fan of Hopper’s paintings for some time now, and there’s something about his work that really appeals. There’s such a wonderful quality rendered to his scenes—that which is unsaid, things which aren’t painted, the missing artifact or person. So much is [...]

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As reported here, a 10-year-old schoolgirl called Solveig has earned herself a reputation as the “female Banksy” after creating a series of impressive graffiti artworks. There’s something rather heartwarming about this. Take a look at the gallery. Share:

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Here it is, the cover to Nights of Villjamur. Thanks to Chloe at Pan Macmillan for sending this on. The artwork is by Benjamin Carre, a rather talented man. Somehow I was incredibly fortunate to have the artist I suggested be used, since some of his other work really captured the mood of Villjamur. There’s [...]

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This weekend I’m hoping to visit Jack Kerouac’s scroll, from his Beat-slick generation-defining novel, On The Road. He wrote it in just three weeks, furiously and loudly tap-tap-tapping away on his typewriter on 12ft long reels of paper so that he did not have to stop, just writing writing writing fuelled only, he said, by [...]

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Pretty much what it says in the header. I’m a big fan of Hopper’s paintings. They share a similar quality to a Hemingway short story in their laconic style, and the narrative between the line (or brushstroke, I guess). There’s such energy in the restraint used by each of them, a desperation for the stories [...]

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