I recently posted the Complex Chinese cover for The Clockwork Three. It’s been a lot of fun seeing how the foreign publishers handle the cover – different approaches work for different audiences. I recently came across the German cover, which is entirely different from the U.S. cover. Here it is:
The elements of the book are all there. Giuseppe on his violin, Frederick working on a clock (placed inexplicably in a wall near the ground) and Hannah offering help. I believe the title translates to “The Movement of the Night,” which is quite lovely.
While we’re on the subject of The Clockwork Three, my friend and fellow writer, Elena Jube, is giving away a copy. Hop on over to her blog and give it a look, if you’re interested in winning one.
Oh, and Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! To celebrate, here are a couple of photos from a trip my wife and I took to Ireland a few years ago (my wife is the photographer).
And here’s a link to a post I wrote a while ago about a Road Bowling game we encountered on the same trip.
24 responses to “The Clockwork Three in German, and also a contest”
Are you going to write a sequel of The Clockwork Three? I enjoyed it very much…
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Kailing. I do hope to write a sequel one day, but for the time being I have other stories I’m working on. I hope you like them, too!
What a great cover for the German edition–and what fun to see new ones revealed. I particularly like the artist’s rendering of Guiseppe, which fits my vision of him well. And surely that clock has been lowered to the ground because it’s broken and needs fixing by Frederick!
I liked the rendering of Giuseppe as well.
We went to Ireland on our honeymoon. To that very castle in the bottom picture. I loved it there!
And that German cover is awesome. Maybe it’s the Berlin Wall. Or maybe my sense of geography is skewed.
I actually get homesick for Ireland, even though I was only there for 2 weeks. I loved it, too.
Hi Matthew!
I love the Clockwork three. Could you post when your next book is coming out?
After I read the Clockwork three I started looking for other books written by you but I couldn’t find any!
I look forward to your next book!
???R-menka???
Thanks! My next book is called Icefall and it will be released October 1st later this year. You can read more about it here if you’re interested.
I like the German cover, and I can’t deny it’s well-drawn. But…it looks darker and more sinister, in a way, in a cool way, mind. You know what I mean? Maybe it’s just me. Oh, well.
And I love the castle picture; the reflection is amazing. Please tell your wife that Roonil complimented her talent.:)
Thanks, I will tell her. And Ireland was even more amazing in person than it appears in the pictures.
Das Uhrwerk Der Nacht is a very nice title. But, I speak enough German and the word Uhrwerk really means Clockwork 🙂 Sorry to correct you, but I think you would appreciate the title a bit more if you learned that the it actually connects to your book 🙂
Em
P.S. I ordered the German version so I could learn to speak German. I am going this summer to see my family and I cannot speak it fully. My father was the one who told me that Uhrwerk means clockwork. He can speak German. I love your books so much and I cannot wait to keep reading them!
Thanks for the correction. I don’t speak German, so I was relying on Google Translate. Perhaps the confusion is due to the fact that the central mechanism of a clockwork is called the “movement.” So perhaps the German “uhrwerk” can be translated either way?
Anyway, let me know what you think of the German translation – I’d love to know.
Hi,
It’s Roxy from your emails. When are you going to be doing a book signing in Phoenix? I really want to meet you!!!!! Who was your favorite character in The Clockwork Three? Mine was Hannah.
Roxy ROX
Hi Roxy! I don’t know when I’ll be doing a signing in Phoenix, but I’d love to. When that happens, I’ll be sure to post about it here on my blog, okay?
My favorite character from The Clockwork Three? Hmm. This is a tough question. I don’t think I can pick just one character – I like different things about all of them. But I’m glad you like Hannah.
hello mathew I am one of your best fans i really like your book the interest you put in them.Yhank you for writing the clockwork three on of your best master pices. By the way I whant to tell you when are you coming to tyler,tx for book sining here is the home of the rose.
Hi Samuel! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. Not sure when/if I’ll be coming to Tyler, TX, but if I do I’ll be sure to announce it here on this site.
What a great cover! I might even like it better than the American version!
Glad you liked it, Sherrie. It’s been a lot of fun seeing the way the book is marketed overseas.
I just finished reading The Clockwork Three (in English, not German) and had to contact you because it is one of the most outstanding books I’ve read in a long time. I’m a school librarian and I read far more books written for kids than ones intended for an adult audience, and yours is one I’ll recommend without hesitation to many, many library patrons (not that I hesitate when I recommend books, mind you!) beginning with both my daughters – one who is 8 and the other who is 24. Then the three of us will gang up on the boys in our family and thoroughly enjoy it when they admit, about a year from now, they should have picked the book up when we first mentioned it because they’ve each had to buy their own copies and copies for their girlfriends (well, hopefully my husband won’t say that – he can borrow my copy, if he plays his cards right).
Just as the characters struggle with goodbyes, I had a terrible time saying goodbye to them – the lump’s still in my throat. I think my little one and I will begin reading tonight.
By the way, your school psych background shines through in your story and, as a former special Ed teacher, privileged to have worked with three dynamic, caring and effective school psychs (and, sadly, one really, really crummy one), I enjoyed how those personalities roughed my perspective of your story.
Thank you, Mr. Kirby.
Sincerely,
Becky Reed
Thank you very much for your comment, Becky. I truly appreciate you recommending the book, and it makes me happy that you became attached to the characters. I did, too.
It’s always nice to connect with other special education professionals.
Ugh! No way to proofread! I meant to say, I enjoyed how those personalities effected my perception of your story. Curse you, auto correct!
😉
As Ursula K. Le Guin would say, “Stay out of my syntax, Bill Gates!”
Dear Matthew,
Please, kind sir — will there be a sequel? IS THERE a sequel? I just read The Clockwork Three, and now I am going into withdrawal. I miss my friends from the book and want to see what happened next. . . the book seemed to hint at a longer story. However, I have searched and searched and can find no sequel.
However, I can say with assurance, you have a new fan!
Sincerely,
Stacey, an Elementary school teacher in San Diego, CA
Hello! And thank you for you comment! There is no sequel to The Clockwork Three. To be honest, I get this question a lot, for almost all of my books. I think that’s because in my mind, the characters feel real, and the end of the story I’m writing is not the end for them. They go on without me. 🙂