"The Hidden Dominion of Geordie James" cover reveal
Added 2025-10-20 18:44:52 +0000 UTCI am so excited to finally share the cover to my next book, The Hidden Dominion of Geordie James, arriving on bookshelves on May 19th of next year. I had such a blast putting this image together, it is by far the most ambitious cover image I have ever attempted, and really just scratches the surface of what I have attempted to accomplish on the pages within.
Best described as “Charlotte’s Web meets The Minecraft Movie”, The Hidden Dominion of Geordie James is about kids coming to terms with a world that feels outside of their control, delivering the uplifting message that we humans do not exist apart from nature, but rather as an integral part of it.
Loner Geordie James joins four other struggling fifth graders in a science fair group project that answers the question “what is our place in this world?” When Geordie becomes obsessed with the fate of a pig who escaped from a factory farm, the group project gets put in jeopardy. As Geordie starts to push harder into difficult questions, he finds everything changing–his friendships, his ability to express himself, even how he plays his favorite online role-playing game, DOMINION…
More information on the book, including a look at some interior pages, can be found here.
Thank-you to my amazing editor, Chris Duffy, for his endless enthusiasm helping me tell this very special story, and my talented art director, Marcie Lawrence for working with me to create these fun and vibrant designs. Thank-you also to Aron Nels Steinke (Mr Wolf’s Class, Speechless), Breena Bard (Trespassers, Wildfire), and Ira Marcks (Shark Summer, Spirit Week), three incredible middle-grade authors for your cover blurbs. I am so honored and grateful for your kind words and so appreciate the time you took to write them.
I will be sharing many more images from this book over the coming six months. I couldn’t be more proud of this graphic novel, nor more excited for the opportunity for readers to connect with the story of Geordie James.
Special offer on Author Visits and Workshops in May of next year
I don't know if anyone subscribed to my Patreon here is in the position to be planning programming for any schools or public libraries or similar institution, but if you are, I would highly recommend checking out my Visiting Author website to see some details on a special offer for discounted assemblies or workshops schedule to take place sometime in May, 2026.
Everyone on here has already been so supportive in regards to the Kickstarter I have been running for the past month to produce two custom designed 'Zine Storage Boxes. I learned some things about crowdfunding, and have been so moved by the level of support and encouragement I've received. The good news for all Patrons is that the campaign ends tomorrow, so this will be one of the last updates you'll receive concerning it. If you are interested in backing the crowdfunder, head on over there now. At its most basic level, for just $16 + shipping you can receive a box, a 5.5x8.5 print, and two minicomics. It's a pretty good deal!
Thanks as always for the support!
Mike
Comments
Thanks Jude! I am glad you like the image. That is an interesting question and makes me think maybe it would make an interesting post one day. There's a lot of stuff happening in the woods and out in nature in this book, and I really wanted to make an effort to better represent plants and growth and the messiness we find out in actual forests than perhaps I did back in previous books that took place in similar locations, like Troop 142. I definitely was looking at artists like Wally Wood, as well as keeping a mood board anytime I saw an interesting image come across my various social media feeds, but the thing that I think helped me level up a little bit with this cover image was that I "built" it in InDesign. Instead of drawing it all in one go, I had the basic image of my main character in his little fort, and then I would draw different trees and leaves and branches, and pretty much layer them on top. It helped me generate a feeling of the way actual scenes in nature feel, with stuff all jumbled up and chaotic. My InDesign files became quite monstrous, with a million random layers, but it was a very fun and interesting, and I hope effective, way to try to make an image like this.
Mike Dawson
2025-10-27 15:54:35 +0000 UTCMike tell me about your tree drawing process. I’m really impressed with all the various details you put in this image. Who are some of your foliage influences?
Jude Killory
2025-10-27 15:25:14 +0000 UTCIt is a cropped image from the illustration on the hardcover case of the book. Maybe I should label that in the post…
Mike Dawson
2025-10-20 20:55:47 +0000 UTCP.S. What is the picture just above the "Special offer on Author Visits" subhead? An alternate cover?
Brian Harvey
2025-10-20 20:47:05 +0000 UTC
