SENTIENCE is indie publisher, Band of Bards' newest project and their first foray into the American light novel format. We have more to share later from Band of Bards and Sentience's writer, Elyse Russell (and maybe even Sentience's artist, Dany Rivera, and editors, Damon Barret Roe AKA "Rho" and Nicole D'Andria – stay tuned!) about the format and the book itself.
For now, we'll tease you with this exclusive first look at Dany Russell's cover art for Sentience, plus a bonus process video of how it came to life and a peek at some sketches of the finalists for the book's cover.
And for those of you who want a little taste of the story itself, we have a second exclusive: a teaser for Sentience's Prologue, available for your perusal right here! We'll host that after the images below so you don't miss Dany's lovely art!
Here's a peek into Dany's process on how she brought the cover to life.
And as a special view behind the curtain just for you, my loyal cryptid readers, here's a peek at the process of how the cover went from ideation and planning to the real thing.
Can you spot the one which was later chosen to be Sentience's cover?
And, as promised, here are the first 3 pages of the Prologue. We'll show you the next 5 at a later date. Though, I have to say I've read the entire Prologue, and it sets up the story wonderfully.
Imagine if you will, my yetis, a world filled with clockwork and witchcraft where an evil Sorceress is hellbent on an impossible task and willing to destroy anyone who gets in her way.
Or worse.
It's a woman-centric Pinocchio, elevated through nuance and a Geppetto so traumatized by loss that he (now she) has become as cold and methodical as the automatons she experiments on.
And that is the character we are introduced to here, before we meet our protagonist. For it is only after we understand the past's machinations that we can understand and appreciate the future story.
So strap in, my little 'squatches. Because the Band of Bards, Elyse Russell and Dany Rivera have one hell of a story for you.
And we'll have more goodies to share with you soon.
Thanks, as always, for reading. And a very special thank you to Elyse and the Band of Bards team for the exclusive! I hope everyone who read this far is as excited for this book as I am.