Now that my debut Young Adult Sci-fi novel Founder’s Mercy is available for pre-order for Amazon Kindle, I thought I’d share some of the fantastic book art, including a portrait of Adan and Bo and a map of the book’s setting.
Map of Neska, the setting for Founder’s Mercy by Owen Lach
This is Neska, categorized by the Colony Bureau as CST86318-B, the second planet orbiting CST86318, or Pamu. Neska is mostly ocean, with a single large continent, Ateri, and two groups of islands. The primary setting for Founder’s Mercy is the Bolvar Union, located in and named for the Bolvar Valley. It’s snuggled in the middle of the Osbak Mountains on the continent’s eastern edge. Port Abarra is located on the mouth of a large bay on the western edge of the continent, separated by the Tepani Plains and the Adak Desert. The Dellan Islands, off the northwest coast of Ateri, are also home to some smaller settlements. Ateri is roughly the size of Greenland, meaning Neska’s primary landmass isn’t very big.
Illustration of Bo Shen and Adan Testa standing in a rainy, dark alley
Sketch illustration of Bo Shen and Adan Testa standing in a rainy, dark alley.
Here’s some excellent character art courtesy of the fine artists at Jetspace Studio. In the book, I describe Adan as a skinny sixteen-year-old with shaggy black hair, warm, olive-brown skin, and dark brown eyes. I described Bo as a sixteen-year-old with chunky black hair that had a spring to it that refused to let it lay down no matter how much he sweated, golden-brown skin, and deep brown eyes. Plus, Bo is taller and more muscular than Adan. Both characters owe their complexions to a blending of the planet’s original settlers, who represented many of the Earth’s variety of skin tones.
Key background art for the cover of Founder’s Mercy by Owen Lach
I love the book’s cover art. It depicts what Adan might look like in his winter gear while standing on a rock outcropping in the Osbak Mountains. I love the comic-book art/graphic novel style for this. And I love how it represents the barriers Adan has to face and the choices he makes throughout the book.
I hope seeing all this Founder’s Mercy art makes you just as excited for the book as I am! Be one of the first to get it by pre-ordering it now.