Hi everyone! Happy New Year! I’m so excited to embark on a new journey with you again this year and I can think of no better or more special way to celebrate the beginning of 2017 than with a cover reveal. Not just any cover reveal, either! Regular readers of the blog will know I’m a bit of a magpie when it comes to beautiful, thoughtful, intricate book cover design, especially when said covers are illustrated, and today’s might be one of my favourites yet. Today, I have the honour of hosting the exclusive cover reveal for Patrick Moody’s forthcoming middle grade debut, The Gravedigger’s Son. Coming to a bookstore and library near you August 1st, 2017 from Sky Pony Press, The Gravedigger’s Son tells the story of Ian Fossor, a boy who’s the last in a long line of Gravediggers, whose responsibility it is to bury the dead and help them achieve peace in the Beyond, but who desires to do anything but. I was absolutely enchanted by the cover and concept of Patrick Moody’s debut when I first learned of it and I’m honoured to be able to share this post with you today. The cover of The Gravedigger’s Son was illustrated by the phenomenally talented Graham Carter (@Carterworks).
About Patrick Moody
Patrick Moody is a middle school custodian who draws inspiration from spooky night-time halls. He lives in Connecticut with his girlfriend and their trio of mischievous cats. The Gravedigger’s Son is his first novel.
Title The Gravedigger’s Son
Author Patrick Moody
Pages 304 Pages
Intended Target Audience Middle Grade
To Be Published August 1st, 2017 by Sky Pony Press
Find It On Goodreads ● Amazon.com ● Chapters ● The Book Depository
“A Digger must not refuse a request from the Dead.” — Rule Five of the Gravedigger’s Code
Ian Fossor is last in a long line of Gravediggers. It’s his family’s job to bury the dead and then, when Called by the dearly departed, to help settle the worries that linger beyond the grave so spirits can find peace in the Beyond.
But Ian doesn’t want to help the dead — he wants to be a Healer and help the living. Such a wish is, of course, selfish and impossible. Fossors are Gravediggers. So he reluctantly continues his training under the careful watch of his undead mentor, hoping every day that he’s never Called and carefully avoiding the path that leads into the forbidden woods bordering the cemetery.
Just as Ian’s friend, Fiona, convinces him to talk to his father, they’re lured into the woods by a risen corpse that doesn’t want to play by the rules. There, the two are captured by a coven of Weavers, dark magic witches who want only two thing — to escape the murky woods where they’ve been banished, and to raise the dead and shift the balance of power back to themselves.
Only Ian can stop them. With a little help from his friends. And his long-dead ancestors.
Equal parts spooky and melancholy, funny and heartfelt, The Gravedigger’s Son is a gorgeous debut that will long sit beside Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book and Jonathan Auxier’s The Night Gardener.
5 Responses
Wow, this cover is absolutely gorgeous! There’s something about an illustrated cover on a MG novel that makes my heart happy.
Danya @ Fine Print recently posted…Review: The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
Was already looking forward to reading this one, but that gorgeous cover has doubled my excitement!
Wow!! This is incredible! What a gorgeous cover!
~Sara
Sara recently posted…Books For Circus Lovers
very proud of my son!
Also very proud of my son with his wonderful illustrations.