Burton Mayers Books is now online at www.BurtonMayersBooks.com

We have enjoyed sharing all of our books and upcoming projects on Blogger; you can see all of our past posts by using the blog archive on the right hand side of this page, like so:

 So please visit https://www.burtonmayersbooks.com/ for all the latest updates and to see what services we can offer you.

Best wishes
Burton Mayers Bookswww.burtonmayersbooks.com

Publications Update - New Books for 2020

Since our last post we have been busy planning the release of our new website (April 2020) and working on upcoming fiction titles.

Two new book releases are set for 2020.  The first was our fantastic anthology, a selection of dark short stories completed by students of The Priory School in Hitchin.

Not only was this a student-led education project, the book was also an experiment in fast fiction; the project started in November 2019 and was completed by February 2020, bypassing many of the extended waiting times that books usually go through in the publishing world.

This project was a great calling card for us as a publishing house and our hybrid-publishing business model.

Here is the link to the book and a copy of the excellent cover design, created by a 16 year old A-level art student.  The book was released on World Book Day 2020, March 5th, and is just £6.99 - check it out!

The first anthology release from Burton Mayers Books

In other news, another exciting adult title has been added to our growing list.  Owen W Knight's novel, Another Life, is due to hit the shelves at the start of May.  This excellently written novel explores one man's obsession to find a woman he met during a chance encounter 30 years prior, taking him on a mystical journey where folklore and reality collide.

Here is the link to the novel which is released 1st May 2020 for £8.99 

Imagine if we could create a world where dreams and reality collide.

Check back mid April where you will see our new look website and all content from our blog will be transferred across.

The Evolution of Spikez

On the 1st October 2012, Spikez was published on hardback and paperback.  The first title from Burton Mayers Books, Spikez was packed full of ideas and technology, including QR codes that linked to interactive content, bonus chapters, and secret files linked to the book.

The Evolution of the Iconic British Hedgehog

Spikez taught us so much about the world of publishing and we are very much still developing and growing our portfolio of books and authors using our knowledge gained from the production of the title.  In October 2019, seven years later, we finally got round to releasing the second edition.  We took out about 20 pages, reformatted, and adjusted much of the online content - which will not just be hosted on one platform: www.animalcyborgs.com from 29th November 2019; this will coincide with the re-release of Spikez: Titanium Edition, a sleeker, faster version of the book.

Spikez: Titanium Edition is in a sleeker, silver look format and released on 29th November 2019. 

In seven years, printing costs have changed and expectations of booksellers and the wholesale discounts available to them have also forced many independent publishers to only sell their books privately.  To counter this, we've had to adjust our pricing to remain competitive.  Both books are available to buy worldwide, with Spikez (390 pages) now at £9.99 whilst Spikez: Titanium Edition (318 pages) is available to purchase for £8.99.

The look and design of each book have changed over the years with the images below showing the noticeable comparison between both books.  We're delighted with the outcomes and are sure that you will agree that they are even better than before.

Spikez: Titanium Edition comes out on the 29th November and the 2nd Edition of Spikez is back in stock on 4th December 2019 - just in time for Christmas. 

Complete Darkness is Nearly Upon Us

Burton Mayers Books are proud to announce that on 25th October, Matt Adcock's debut novel, Complete Darkness, finally goes live.

Complete Darkness - going live across the world on October 25th

It's been a busy year, preparing for the coming darkness, but author Matt has been relentless in his drive to tell as many people, and organisations, about his book, even commissioning a national survey about Christians' belief in hell.  

You can read some of the articles by organisations who reported on his research at the end of this blog post, no doubt there will be many more after the book's release.  Not only that, Matt has been a guest at comic conventions across the UK, including TitanCon, Belfast 2019, and Scotland's Comic Con 2019.  Matt also picked up some interesting fans:

Just a regular weekend for Matt and his cosplay pals (Matt's the one on the right).

The book launch event, on 25th October at The Parcel Yard Pub, Kings Cross, promises to be a blast.  Matt will be introducing his book and has invited a priest, a satanist and a theologian to talk about people's questions about the afterlife.  A perfect start to any weekend!

The book has already been favorably reviewed by authors, but also across social media networks, blogs and websites who have been attracted to Adcock's genre-defying novel. Some have even posted trigger warnings due to the content of extreme violence, speculative demonology, worrying possible future scenarios, strong language, and lots of things Christians might thoroughly disapprove of.

However, all critics are in agreement that COMPLETE DARKNESS is an 'action-packed literary shock to the senses that mixes flights of comic fantasy with bouts of brutal violence, offering readers a spiritually-charged, cyber-noir thrill ride into a bleak and dystopian, patriarchal future, ruled by Satan himself.'

The book is available from all leading bookshops, including Amazon, Waterstones and Blackwell's. There is also a Kindle version of the book which has been fighting for number 1 in the spiritual and religious fiction chart since pre-orders became available in August.
Links where you can see more of darkness linked to the book:

https://horrortree.com/can-some-of-us-sense-hell/

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47575586-complete-darkness?from_search=true

https://christiantoday.com/article/complete-darkness-an-honest-review/133266.htm

https://www.premierchristianity.com/Blog/Most-churches-aren-t-preaching-about-hell.-But-loving-people-means-telling-them-the-truth

https://www.premier.org.uk/News/UK/Only-three-quarters-of-Christians-believe-in-hell-data-reveals?_ga=2.63461103.1115826492.1571651882-1578501195.1571651882

Adcock says there is a mystery around the concept of hell which makes it more difficult to understand and suggested more teaching on the subject was needed.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Darkness-Darkmatters-Matt-Adcock/dp/0957338775/ 

Watch out, Osmond's about!

Burton Mayers Books are proud to announce the release of Osmond the Toad.

Liz Noble' debut children's novel is released on 27th September 2019

Liz Noble's quirky and fun debut follows the eponymous hero of the story, Osmond the toad, as he attempts to master the art of pond skating.  The book is packed full of energetic and vibrant illustrations and is a suitable length for readers between the ages of six and nine.

There are deeper messages in here rather than just following the frivolity of a creative amphibian.  Young readers will appreciate the messages about resilience and never giving up and learning not to judge a lumpy, farty, warty toad as a creature who can not bring happiness and joy to the pond inhabitants around him.

The book is available to order on Amazon, Waterstones, Barnes and Noble and all other leading bookstores.  A #Kindle version is also available.

To follow and interact with the author, you can tweet her directly @author_noble
We hope you enjoy reading the book and welcome your feedback. 
Burton Mayers Books are always on the lookout for new talent. 

A Summer of Darkness

When we took on John Michaelson's memoirs about London Vampires in 2014, we didn't anticipate attracting anything darker, but our latest author, Matt Adcock, has brought a new type of darkness to our catalogue of titles.

The debut novel blends sci-fi and theological debate together

Complete Darkness, published by Burton Mayers Books, is due for release on Friday 25th October 2019, nicely in time for Halloween.  But rather than exploring ghouls and monsters and vampires, Adcock's cyber-punk adrenaline shot of sci-fi explores the concept of dark matter and hell (set in a dystopian London future). 

Skilfully blending conventions of the genre with comic fantasy and lashings of bloody violence, Adcock's debut sets up his DarkMatters Universe in style with a good degree of humour and intertextual nods. With a background as a film and game reviewer, blog editor, head of comms at Church Urban Fund - not to mention a network of artists and theologians who share his interest in dark sci-fi - we can expect a lot more from Matt in the future (if Armageddon hasn't already arrived).

Pre-order your copy now 

also available from all other leading bookshops, including Waterstones and Foyles 

Growing into 2019 - titles update and publishing news

We ended 2018 by publishing our first children's picture book, The Hedgehog's Full Moon Party.

The five star reviews have been coming in, we recently completed an official launch in Feb 2019, and off the back of this title we now we have a jam-packed year ahead of us.

A popular addition to our children's titles.

Firstly, with channel sales up by 24% and an increase of 44% in sales compared to 2018, Burton Mayers Books are setting out plans to expand their operations.  The blog will migrate to a website as we develop our relationship with Ingram and look to release digital titles (ePUB) versions of all our existing titles and rekindle our relationship with Nielsen's enhanced services.  So you may see Spikez, October's Son, Making Trakz and Nuptial Flight coming to an ereader very soon.

Despite vanishing, John Michaelson's legacy will continue online.

Secondly, there are already two new authors about to debut with Burton Mayers Books this year.  Matt Adcock will be releasing his cyber-punk, sci-fi slice of darkness across the literary world, adding to our already dark and murky adult titles; Liz Noble joins our children's portfolio with her eponymous series of books: Osmond the Toad.  We're really excited to tell you more, so watch this space - or rather, check out the website when it's up and running.


Spikez, nearly seven years after being published, is getting a second edition revision which includes updating links, adding to the online content and also setting the way for two new welcome additions: Spikez - Titanium Version, a slicker, shortened version of the prickly cyborg superhero novel; Spikez: Red Dragon, a dark vision of what the world could be like if animal cyborgs were turned into mercenaries in a global playing field.  Again, more details to follow.

Spikez will get a facelift in 2019

We're all really excited about these upcoming developments and want to thank those who have supported us by buying our titles, sharing our books across social media, and those who take time to read our updates and share our journey with us.  Again, thank you.

The Hedgehog's Full Moon Party

It's been nearly a year since our last post, but that doesn't mean we've not been busy.  Oh no, quite the opposite, we've been working hard behind the scenes to line up a series of new books that are going to hit the children's and adults' market.  

After much shuffling and snuffling about, we're very proud to announce the arrival of our latest star, Lavender the hedgehog, who appears in her first adventure on the 26th November 2018.

Available from 26th November 2018 at all good bookstores and online retailers. 

The process of writing a children's book is never an easy one.  It's taken nearly three years to get the project completed, this included finding an illustrator to take the job on and several redrafts to get the design and feel of the book looking just right.  There was also a great deal of care to preserve the artistry of Abigail de Montfort's beautiful artwork so that each picture kept its vibrancy.

The book is 34 pages long and includes an array of colourful, layered images which are accompanied by a fun and engaging narrative.  Each night, Lavender the hedgehog goes out for her dinner and meets different types of friends on her nocturnal adventures, old and new.

Fully Road Tested 

The book has, like all other titles from Burton Mayers Books, been fully road-tested (not something positively associated with hedgehogs, I might add); receiving the full treatment from librarians, teachers and, most importantly, readers from primary schools, you'll be wanting to hear about more of Lavender's adventures.  

The book also has a nod of approval from the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) and the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), with the narrative featuring the highway sign from the recent Hedgehog Street campaign to open up the UK's gardens to be more hedgehog friendly.

A Kindle version is also available for the book with Amazon offering a special matchbook deal when you purchase the paperback version.  RRP is just £8.99, so support small, independent publishers and order your copy today - it's perfect for any nature lover, night-crawler (in a non-creepy way), and wildlife enthusiast. 

Kids absolutely love it - you won't be disappointed.  It's the perfect bedtime story.

Guess who's having a party?

As Christmas approaches, all this talk of partying can send us into sensory overload: the food, the smells, the sights, and all those thoughts about hanging decorations in the right places and creating playlists ... the list goes on.  However, we're looking way past Christmas and into May 2018 when we hope to invite you all to a very special party being held for a very adorable hedgehog.

The Hedgehog's Full Moon Party

The Hedgehog's Full Moon Party will be the next offering from Burton Mayers Books, a charming tale about a hedgehog who makes some wonderful new friends on her nightly walks.  The story is by children's author Richard Mayers and showcases the wonderful talents of upcoming illustrator, Abigail De Montfort.  Abigail's artistic style incorporates real photos interwoven with beautiful watercolours to create mesmerising imagery that literally leap off the page.

The book is currently in development and being tested by young readers, school librarians and hedgehog enthusiasts across several counties, so you can expect a very polished and refined product when the book hits the shelves in May 2018.  We can't wait and hope you feel the same way, too.

Nuptial Flight 2017 - what you need to know about 'Flying Ant Day' in the UK

At least once a year, one of the most amazing natural phenomenon occurs across the UK (and the world): nuptial flight, also more affectionately known as 'flying ant day'.

Before we talk about our latest book, Nuptial Flight: The London Vampire Conspiracy, it is important to explore more about this process in detail, examine why it's important and consider how this possibly links to John Michaelson's allegory about ants and vampires.

The following is adapted from Wikipedia:

"Flying ant day" is an informal term for the day on which queen ants emerge from the nest to begin their nuptial flight.  In most species, smaller male ants fly alongside them and are less noticeable. During their flight, the queens cover varying distances before mating and dropping to the ground.  They then shed their wings and attempt to found a new colony. 

The flight typically requires clear weather since rain is disruptive for flying insects. Different colonies of the same species often use environmental cues to synchronise the release of males and queens so that they can mate with individuals from other nests, thus avoiding inbreeding.  The actual "take off" from the parent colony is also often synchronised to overwhelm their predators.

During flight, the queens release pheromones to attract males. However, the queens often try to escape the males, allowing only the fastest and the fittest to mate with them. Mating takes place during flight and one queen usually mates with several males. The sperm is stored in a special organ, known as a spermatheca, in the queen's abdomen, and lasts throughout her lifetime. This can be as long as 20 years, during which time the sperm can be used to fertilise tens of millions of eggs!

Once they have landed they attempt to start a new colony. The details of this vary from species to species, but typically involve the excavation of the colony's first chamber and the subsequent laying of eggs. From this point the queen continuously lays eggs which hatch into larvae, exclusively destined to develop into worker ants. The queen usually nurses the first brood alone. After the first workers appear, the queen's role in the colony typically becomes one of exclusive (and generally continuous) egg-laying. 

Queen ants have an extremely high failure rate. During its lifetime a very large ant colony can send out millions of virgin queens. Assuming that the total number of ant colonies in the area remains constant, on average only one of these queens succeeds. The rest are destroyed by predators (most notably other ants), environmental hazards or failures in raising the first brood at various stages of the process. This strict selection ensures that the queen has to be both extremely fit and extremely lucky to pass on her genes to the next generation.

In the UK, nuptial flight occurs typically during the summer months and on one day, although recent research by the Royal Society of Biology has concluded that variations occur in different regions.  More can be found below this post.

Nuptial Flight: The London Vampire Conspiracy (12th June 2017 - Burton Mayers Books)

John Michaelson's cryptic new book

John Michaelson has always had a fascination with ants.  At first we thought he was just trying to be poetic, but in fact - having edited both books - we can see now what he was trying to suggest much more.  The vampires he hunts are defined by him as ants because they exhibit similar characteristics; there are a group who exist within London who are exclusively trying to found new colonies of vampires.  Furthermore, we believe he defines these modern day vampires as ants because it allows him to dehumanise them and thus make extermination of them that little bit more guilt-free.  

Indeed, having read Nuptial Flight you might reach your own conclusions about whether Michaelson himself is a virgin queen or not, trying his best to ensure his own colony survives the competition that exists in the UK's dangerous capital.  The conspiracy, of course, runs much deeper and darker than we are prepared to let on.  

Nuptial Flight is available from all good bookstores and a Kindle version is also available. Michaelson's first book, October's Son, introduced us all to a world where our perceptions of vampires were radically challenged. 

Below is a snapshot of the Royal Society of Biology's Nuptial Flight investigation -  Visit the full page here

Flying Ant Survey - Royal Society of Biology

Flying ants often seem to appear on the same day in different locations in the UK – flying ant day.

Ants aerate soil, help to cycle nutrients, improve garden fertility and control pests. Most ant colonies start with a flying ant - when young queens leave the nest to found their own colony.

However, after five years of our flying ant survey, we have found that flying ant day isn’t as predictable as we had at first thought.

If you see flying ants during the summer months, send us a picture of the ants and another of you holding an 'I just saw flying ants' sign, via Twitter or Facebook using #flyingantsurvey or via email.

Publications Update - New Books - May 2017

The team at Burton Mayers Books have been working hard to bring you more exciting, innovative content. We have several exciting projects in the pipeline, but let's start with our first release of 2017:

June 12th - Nuptial Flight: The London Vampire Conspiracy

Nuptial Flight - John Michaelson

Determined to set the record straight, John Michaelson (aka The London Vampire) returns with the follow up to October's Son.  John materialized on the surface web in 2009 and attracted global interest.  His claim?  That vampires were alive, operating deep within London, and very different to how you might imagine them to be. 

Michaelson remains secretive about most of his research which involves active investigation and deception across the dark web in pursuit of this terrifying sect.  In 2014, a stylized retelling of his experiences were published in October’s Son: The London Vampire Diaries, gaining media attention for his alternate view on vampirism.

In Nuptial Flight, Michaelson answers many of the questions raised in October's Son, including how he tracks down modern vampires and where he gets support from now that Michael is gone.  Told through a series of terse journal entries and graphic recollections, Michaelson's writing is chilling, dark-humored and painfully real. 

Released: 12th June 2017 £9.99 available from all book stores.  A kindle version of this title will be released on 8th June 2017 and is available to pre-order now.   

The Adventures of Lavender the Hedgehog

Burton Mayers Books are developing our first venture into children's picture books.  Author Richard Mayers, whose titles include Spikez and Making Trakz, has developed a very different tale about a curious little hedgehog whose nocturnal routine is changed when she stumbles across a full moon party in her favorite garden.  The story is being wonderfully brought to life by illustrator Abi de Montfort through her wonderful layered style of photos and watercolors.  We've included a few sample images below just to whet your appetite, but we think that children, mums and dads alike are going to love The Hedgehog's Full Moon Party when it hits the shelves, hopefully by late 2017.

Sample illustration by Abi de Montfort

Lavender the Hedgehog - Full Moon Party 

Web and Educational Publishing

In 2010 Burton Mayers Books began publishing online content, which included exciting websites such as www.alevelmedia.co.uk This site was set up to support the work of Media Studies students and teachers by offering a bank of resources and study guides for the A-level content that had recently come into effect in 2008,  However, following Ofqual's recent overhaul of all A-level specifications, which includes Media Studies for September 2017, Burton Mayers Books have been redeveloping the website and content to offer students and teachers a rich, multi-media online resource to help them stay up-to date.  When the specification for all exam boards has been approved (hopefully by July 2017) we will be looking to release an accompanying text book for 2017-18.  In the meantime, please check out the website and give us your thoughts.  

Spikez will be making another appearance in Red Dragon very soon.  Keep up to date by following us on Twitter @BurtonMayers or see what author Richard Mayers is up to @Spikez_Novel or if you're feeling brave, see what @TheLondonVamp has to say.

October's Son is also available on paperback here.

World Book Day 2017 - Rise of the Animal Cyborgs

What an amazing week it's going to be. Two days after Shrove Tuesday (pancake day) we have World Book Day! As a teacher, I love seeing how much of an impact good books have on the creativity and imagination of young people.  This year our school is having a day  themed around the wonderful world of Roald Dahl. What will you be doing on World Book Day 2017?

Previously, Burton Mayers Books have made Kindle editions of their titles available at a discounted price during this important event. But because we recognise the impotance of getting children reading books we will be offering our titles: for free.  That's right, we have pitted two of our animal superheroes against each other to see who will become crowned #WorldBookDay king of the animal cyborgs.  Yes, Spikez and Making Trakz will go head to head in the free books chart to see who will be ranked highest under the 'Animal Fiction' category.  Who knows, they may even invade other categories - in 2014 Spikez made it to number 12 in the overall children's fiction category on World Book Day.  Not bad for a robotically enhanced hedgehog.

You can find out more information about each title by clicking the link below and read many of the glowing reviews.   

Meet the most unlikely pair of heroes:

Spikez https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spikez-Richard-Mayers-ebook/dp/B00B2BM8LA 

Making Trakz https://www.amazon.co.uk/Making-Trakz-Richard-Mayers-ebook/dp/B017FJZCHO

Remember to follow us on Twitter @BurtonMayers to track the who is winning and to get your  free copy.

For all hedgehog, rodent, cyborg and pigeon related stories and news, visit www.twitter.com/spikez_novel

Nuptial Flight - The London Vampire's Final Manuscript Received!

In October 2016 we were given a glimpse into the dark, depraved and murky life of the elusive London vampire hunter, John Michaelson, when he disclosed an extract from his forthcoming biography.  It certain whetted our appetites and that of readers, however November, December and January passed without any extra chapters, and editing of the manuscript was unable to take place.  By February, the team at Burton Mayers Books nearly gave up hope that Michaelson would ever deliver his manuscript for Nuptial Flight despite several polite reminders.

Nuptial Flight - Draft Idea 1

That was until recently when Michaelson, in his trademark London vampire style, defied expectations and randomly sent us an encrypted file.  Eventually we were able to download and start unpicking what can only be described as dark material.  Whilst his book is written with a similar degree of humour, honesty and hostility towards those who ruined him in October's Son, there is a noticeable difference in the overall tone - like we are starting to get to know the real John Michaelson, aka The London Vampire.

Little of what is written is being edited down, however the order of  events is less linear and more modular so we are making creative decisions about how best to order the events.  Nuptial Flight dips in and out of key events over a period of nearly eight years rather than a single year and feels more like a biography.  Aside from that, there are very few hurdles limiting us for publishing the title for Spring 2017.  We have ideas for a book cover design which we will be sharing soon and we think you'll love it.  The book is certainly worth the wait.

So keep your eyes peeled and your fingers crossed that we can finally share with people the truth about London's vampires.

Sneak Peak of The London Vampire: Nuptial Flight

Back in June 2016 we mentioned that John Michaelson was keen to set the record straight about vampires, again.  Well, he is not one to disappoint.  Just when we thought the elusive author was going to negate his promise of some content for us ahead of Halloween, something wicked arrived in our inbox.

Back from the shadows, Michaelson returns to haunt and teach us

We read it, then we reflected.  Then we read it again. For someone who claims to be a vampire hunter, his extract read more like a diary from a police investigation that didn't go quite to plan.  John claims to be working tirelessly behind the scenes, trying to infiltrate a gang of 'real' vampires who use organised crime gangs to supply them with fresh produce.  The problem we had was that the horror seemed a bit too real  Before, with October's Son, we had a skeleton story that we had to work with and add flesh to the bones so that we could tell the world about John Michaelson.  Now, two years since the release of his book, we have a more auto-biographical account of how he lives his daily life.

The extract is just too good to keep to ourselves, so whilst we wait for the rest of it to come in from John - which could take some time - why not read some for yourself?  Download the .PDF file for your eReader, either from our author page www.thelondonvampire.com or directly from his twitter feed, if and when he posts.

Publications Update - Summer 2016

New titles are planned for release by the end of this year.

In 2015 we announced that the sequel to Spikez was in production, and then John Michaelson - aka The London Vampire - expressed a desire to share some of his secretive work with us. That left us feeling very excited about what 2016 might bring!

Promotion for Making Trakz is drawing to a close, with author Richard Mayers visiting the final schools and libraries across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire this summer.  The book has proven to be very popular with children and adults alike (see reviews) and the concept remains ahead of its time. 

Spikez: Red Dragon carries on where Spikez left off and sees the animal cyborg branch of MI6 travel halfway across the world to prevent a global apocalypse.  Can Windar's misfit team prevent an army of self-aware animal cyborgs being released across China? 

Back in London, John Michaelson has been busy tracking down the Ants and uncovering their involvement in human trafficking operations. Recently, he took up an invitation to write for a horror magazine (SQ Magazine), sharing his dark experiences and casting light on the modern vampire phenomenon affecting Europe.  We predicted a release of Nuptial Flight on Flying Ant Day but that didn't sit too well with him, so we will have to wait, but anticipate an October 2016 release - although according to his latest article, Michaelson hints that we might see some excepts in the run-up.

Michaelson has written two articles in recent months

Plans for a picture book were put on hold due to artist commitments so we are actively scouting for new talent to join our growing team of authors and illustrators. There are plans to widely expand the title into digital platforms so watch this space.  Lavender the Hedgehog will appear in her own adventure, hopefully some time next spring when she comes out of hibernation.

All the titles from Burton Mayers Books are available (paperback and Kindle) from major retailers worldwide, including Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmith, and Barnes & Noble.  Please check out the reviews and follow us on Twitter to receive all the latest news, offers and deals linked to our titles.  For all media enquiries related to our authors, please contact them directly through Twitter.

@Spikez_Novel - Richard Mayers (Spikez, Making Trakz, Spikez:Red Dragon)

@TheLondonVamp - John Michaelson (October's Son: The London Vampire Diaries, Nuptial Flight)

The Making of Making Trakz

Finally...the little mouse gets his moment. 

After months of set backs and date changes, the final proof of Making Trakz was approved on 18th November 2015 after several changes to layout and some internal shuffling.

Available from all good bookstores, you can see the final product and reviews here. Released 30th November 2015 at just £7.99.

It took a great deal of planning and involved trialling the cover with an early release of the kindle version to test the market, but after some minor tweaks and adjustments, we think we have delivered another iconic cover.

In 2012 we released Spikez, but not without four years of development and design rethinks. Here are some of the initial design ideas and the final outcome of Spikez, and also some draft layouts of the future Spikez books to give you a flavour of the content and what to expect from us.

Near final cover proof August 2012

The first proof was adjusted slightly to make the green more futuristic looking and the title text to stand out more.   In the final version (below) you would hardly notice on screen but the difference with a hard copy can make all the difference, which is why ordering a proof is so important.

The final cover of Spikez October 2012

If you look closely you can see that the title was resized and given a gradient, and the author text was also adjusted to stand out more.  It really made the final product more striking.

After Spikez went to print we discussed the theme of future Spikez books, including the Making Trakz prequel.  The initial ideas can be seen below.

The idea was to make the covers more obvious when the book was opened and being read.  However, to make people pick up the book we really wanted a striking front cover.  Each subsequent Spikez book will keep the colour schemes shown above, but will look VERY different and much more striking as you will see.

Initially sketched on the back of a hotel notepad, the concept for Making Trakz relied on the idea of the mouse's feet trailing all over the book.  The font also needed to look futuristic and the blue needed a certain neon effect to it.  However, on paper the heavy use of black on blue gradient didn't make things leap out off the page and the mouse was in danger of looking more rat-like. So . . .

We started developing the idea further and added depth to the main title font and used a darker blue to contrast with title (the same way the author text of Spikez developed).  However, cutting the back cover in half created issues regarding placing text, and also the Z on the spine would have difficulty lining up with the Z in Trakz.  So we tried again...

Here we start playing with the fonts and being a bit creative with the back cover.  The book is starting to take shape, but still lacks impact.  The mouse needed some definition and the cover was in danger of being too busy.  So, with a few more attempts, we finally created...

Here you should be able to notice a few things.  Firstly, the continuation of tracks across the spine, and secondly the texture added to the rodent.  The use of binary code links with the AI theme of the book and the key words feature in the book blurb.   Adding the green in Spikez also gives the cover variation and carries on the theme into this book. 

And there it is, a brief history of cover design for Making Trakz, the latest animal-cyborg offering from Burton Mayers Books.  Sorry it took longer than expected.

We hope you enjoy reading our blog and love reading our books!

Make way for Making Trakz - Exciting new children's book

Finally, Making Trakz is hitting the shelves this November.

The Kindle version is currently on sale for just £2.99 at Amazon

The paperback version will have a distinct cover similar to the Kindle holder (above).  Branding stories about animal cyborgs is certainly one of the most enjoyable aspects of publishing a novel. More details will follow once the perfect bound proof is approved.

So, what's the story behind the book?

Making Trakz is a prequel, set approximately six months before the story events of Spikez.

The novel is standalone, which means you don't have to have read any of the Spikez books, and is also more conventional in that children feature quite heavily as some of the main protagonists.  The real stars of the book, however, are Windar and Trakz.  The story explores the origins of Trakz and the moment when Professor Windar made his breakthrough, thanks to some 'out of box' thinking from his inquisitive niece and nephew.

The book is only 55,000 words but adds plenty of back story to the Spikez novel franchise, and also foreshadows some of the events that will occur in Spikez: Red Dragon.  The project took three years to develop and promises to be more successful than Spikez.

The cost on Amazon Kindle is just £2.99, with a print list price of only £7.99.

Making Trakz

The London Vampire Strikes Again!



October's Son was John Michaelson's debut book


Today marks the start of October, a month famous for having more US presidents born in than any other, a great month for raising awareness about conditions such as breast cancer and National Cholesterol Month, Black History Month and, if you're American, it's also the month to celebrate popcorn and pork!

October is also the month John Michaelson, aka The London Vampire, was born.  To celebrate this we have run a free kindle promotion for his biographical novel October's Son.  This is, of course, not without an important announcement from Burton Mayers Books on his behalf.

Building on the interest from the debut book, John Michaelson has been busy delving into the darkest depths of London to continue his investigations.  We can now confirm that John is in the process of summarizing his work hunting ants since his transformation, spanning a period of several years.  John has revealed to us that the title of the follow-up to October's Son will be called Nuptial Flight.



Initially, we were a little confused about the title.  Nuptial Flight is an important phase in the reproduction of most ant species.  During the flight, the virgin queens mate with males and then land to start a new colony.^[1]   Of course, once we had researched this we realized that this was classic Michaelson, adding mystery and enigma around the subject of ants, his own synonym for defining real vampires.

John Michaelson has confirmed that the book picks up from where October's Son: The London Vampire Diaries ended, embarking on investigations into the network of ants across London, his hunt for Michael, and his dealings with organized crime gangs who deal in the trafficking of men, women and children for profit and for food.  The book will document key developments across several years and includes a report about his recent visit to the 'jungle' at Calais and his exploration of trafficking routes across Europe; he even hinted that he may have visited Vlad's home town of Transylvania on his travels.

We are yet to see a full manuscript but John instructed us that the novel should not be edited or stylized to fill in the blanks, but he did say that names of vulnerable individuals would be protected.  We are anticipating a release for mid-2016, possibly to coincide with Flying Ant Day? We can't wait, in the meantime be sure to buy the book or download it from Amazon.

 

Publication Update for Burton Mayers Books 2015

Bold, sci-fi colours

E B White's classic

What a busy year it has been so far.  So busy, in fact, that the we are anticipating not one but two children's books releases by the end of 2015.

Making Trakz has been shifted back from its initial early 2015 release to this autumn. The cover for this book hopes to replicate many of the design features typical of the Spikez series of books, whilst also paying homage to classic texts like Stuart Little.

In even more exciting news, Richard Mayers is currently working with illustrator Samantha Goodlet on a children's picture book.  The project, which will be Burton Mayers Books' first venture into picture books, is based around the adventures of Lavender, a very curious hedgehog.  The story is going to be rich in content with wonderful, layered illustrations.  Release date will be late 2015/early 2016.  To learn more about Samantha and get a glimpse of her quirky, classic drawing style, you can see much of this @samdrawsthings

London's very own Vampire Hunter, John Michaelson, also contacted us recently to say that there had been 'developments' in his fight against ants.  The elusive author didn't give any further details, other than that he wanted to put right many wrongs and wrap up the loose ends from his biographical account in October's Son. We have no content as of yet, but we expect the book will be an eye-opening look into London's murky underground - certainly not for Twilight fans!

Making Trakz - Feb 2015

In the rush to get October's Son edited in time for the crucial Halloween deadline, the prequel to Spikez was pushed back to February 2015.

So, what's the story behind Making Trakz?  The video below is one of several used during talks at primary school visits by author, Richard Mayers.

This is one of the publicly released examples highlighting the advances in robotics, and a good example of a real life animal cyborg.  Advancements are probably way ahead by now (this video made in 2007!), but ethically this will not be known to the public for some time.  

In Spikez, the lead scientist, Professor Windar, is working on military grade cyborgs to be used in surveillance, but much of his research stems from his success with his first robotically enhanced mouse.

Making Trakz gives readers the backstory behind the likeable sidekick featured in Spikez, explaining his origin and why he wears such big goggles and has tank track feet.  If you don't know what we're talking about, see the picture below. 

Burton Mayers Books will be releasing more details between now and February, including some chapter excerpts, sketches and cover design concepts.