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. 

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.

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.

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

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.  

October's Son - Amendment to Publication

In light of recent feedback, author John Michaelson was keen to stress that he does not condone the act of carrying knives or weapons in London.  He was also keen to give the details of organisations and charities who support the victims of knife crime and human trafficking.  John has come across several knife attack victims and regularly helps survivors of human trafficking because of the nature of his undercover work.

Details are below:

www.knifecrimes.org A support website for UK victims of knife crime; full of online resources and links to several charities, useful information and commentary from victims, relatives and experts.  Supported by the Home Office.

www.unseenuk.org set up in 2008 as a direct response to the exploitation of vulnerable children and young adults who become enslaved, both in the UK and abroad, and trafficked into gangs, usually for the purposes of prostitution. Unseen raises awareness about the issue and has made positive steps to rehabilitate those whose lives have been ruined through mistreatment by Ants.

www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk The NCA (formally SOCA) responds on a 24/7 basis, targeting the criminals and groups posing the biggest risks to the UK. They build a single comprehensive picture of serious and organised crime affecting the UK, drawing on information and intelligence from a wide range of sources.

www.stopthetraffik.org A global movement of activists around the world who passionately give their time and energy to build resilient communities and prevent human trafficking.

Formatting issues

During the formatting of October's Son, there were some American and English spelling conflicts and auto-correct functions and omissions that should not have occurred.  Burton Mayers Books would like to apologise to those who may have noted this during their reading experience, but would like to assure customers that this has since been rectified.  The Kindle version should auto-update and the print version has been amended with Lighting Source. On the plus side, this means that there are several first edition copies that will no longer be available anywhere else.

The alternatively titled Nook version 'The London Vampire Diaries' is set for release in 2015 and will feature photographic content so as not to clash with the Kindle version. The book will also be available on iBooks and other eReader devices at the end of 2015. 

October's Son - Cover Design

Having secured some great pictures with John Michaelson, we were faced with the challenge of trying to capture the theme and content of his book in just one image.

We shared the images with John and expressed our desire to use one of him wearing his mask on the front cover.  He was not keen on this idea and stressed that the mask was for public appearances only and that he does not want to be seen as a pantomime villain.  It made sense, since the book is very much about quashing the vampire myths.  We then considered something similar to what he tried originally from his website.

However, John did not have the original and disclosed that it was a found image he happened to come across during his research.  We traced the image down using the web to someone called Paul Cook, so credit due there for capturing such a creepy image.  We then realised that we didn't have many pictures of London without John in them, and with the October publication deadline looming, we began to panic.
We trawled through some of John's own images on the London Vampire Flikr account and suggested those below to him below:

This image had the right darkness and colours but had nothing distinguishable about London. John said it was taken between the Strand and Covent Garden, but didn't say much more other than that there is no longer any scaffolding there.

This image is taken from Highgate Cemetery, but John was keen to stress that he was not trying to create a spin-off of the Highgate Vampire phenomenon. We both agreed that it was a great image.

This image is a bit of a mystery.  The angles and light create interesting tones and it's quite creepy and significant in some way.  We're not sure where it was taken, but the problem was that if we cropped it to a book cover it would look too bright and lose the impact we wanted it to have.


   
John used this image on his Facebook and we thought it was quite morbid and perhaps significant.  The problem, however, was that we would have to significantly edit and manipulate to add the right level of gloom to match the novel.  

 

We know that this image is significanat and linked to Camden, which features in the latter part of the book.  Again, John wouldn't say much more than what we figured, but it lacked the level of fright needed to match the tone of his story. 

The image above is not far from the type used in generic thrillers and crime novels.  However, we felt we were straying away from the fact that the novel is in London, something we were really eager to convey to international audiences. 

The perspective is there but the the threat was not.  Apparently this was the type of alleyway Jack the Ripper would stalk in Victorian London. 

Overall, nothing quite did it for us.  We went back to the drawing board and were planning to reshoot pictures of the capital, when we decided to review the images taken of John near Trafalgar Square and, by chance, found the image that sent shivers down our spine.  It meant significantly cropping to remove John from the image, which meant a drop in definition, but somehow it just worked. 

Front

We hope you agree that malice and threat is clearly represented in the cover.  The red fountain, which is not perfectly reflected, is - in our opinion - such a powerful visual metaphor which exemplified John's fight against a murky underworld beneath the sparkling city of London.  Even John was complimentary, which for us was saying something. 

Back

And as for the back cover, we persuaded John to let us use one of him sat on St-Martin-in-the-Field.  Not only is the image subtle, but it summed up the experience of the photo-shoot, that he remained unseen, not even attracting attention from the majority of night-crawlers.  In fact, only when we finished editing the cover did we realise that we had managed to include a London bus, a black cab, an art gallery, a church and a significant monument - not to mention The London Vampire himself.  Not bad, we thought.  We hope that you agree.

October's Son: The London Vampire Diaries is available from 27th October 2014 from all good book stores and online.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Octobers-Son-London-Vampire-Diaries/dp/0957338732 

Welcome to Burton Mayers Books

Burton Mayers Books is an independent publishing house founded by Richard Mayers and John Burton in 2008.

Richard Mayers is a secondary school teacher and children's author and comes from a background working within the TV and Film industry.  He formed Burton Mayers Books with his colleague, John Burton, to publish and promote a range of groundbreaking titles for the Juvenile market.  Richard worked as a freelance creative for a number of years before becoming a teacher in 2006, but he continues to foster interests in interactive media and has attracted a varied client base over these years.

John Burton also currently works as a secondary school teacher but has a wide and varied background as a designer, illustrator and web developer.  John worked as an independent creative designer at studios across London for a number of years, including working for national newspapers (The Mirror), worldwide charities, projects (Bloodhound SSC) and small businesses looking for a design edge above their competitors.  Because of his contacts and track record of innovation, John continues to offer highly creative ideas to future publishing projects.

The first in-house title was a project that began in 2008 with a concept for a robotic, animal superhero.  Since that time, John and Richard developed the idea and published Spikez internationally in 2012.  During that time, opportunities to collaborate with authors and artists from across the UK continue to come in.

Many of the online design projects Richard and John contributed to since 2009 onwards have also come to fruition, with the first adult title, October's Son, set for release in 2014.  The project, a biographical horror by John Michaelson, attracted John and Richard because of its revelatory content, global appeal, potential to redefine genres and challenge the conventions of non-fiction.  The title is currently being edited for content.

In 2015 there will be an increase in the number and range of titles published by Burton Mayers Books, including an anthology of short stories, poems and photography about London.

List of Titles:

Spikez (Ingram) - 2012: Children's Novel 9-12+, number 1 in the series.
Spikez: Red Dragon - 2019: number 2 in the series.
Spikez: Viral - 2020: number 3 in the series.

Making Trakz - 2014/15:  Children's Novel 9-12+, a prequel to the popular Spikez series.

October's Son: Diary of the London Vampire - 2014 - An adult biographical horror by John
Michaelson.

Nuptial Flight: The London Vampire Conspiracy - 2015 - an extended memoir of John Michaelson's gruesome exploration of vampire culture in Europe.

The Hedgehog's Full Moon Party - 2018 - picture book collaboration between Richard Mayers and Abigail de Montfort.

Complete Darkness: A Darkmatters Novel - 2019 - Matt Adcock (debut novel)

Osmond the Toad - 2019 - Liz Noble - Children's picture book

London: An Anthology (2021) - a selection of short stories, poems and photography from some of London's up and coming creatives.

All works will be printed by Lightning Source (Ingram) and available through all leading bookstores.  Electronic versions will also be available on Kindle through Amazon.