Cover Reveal! The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants by Orlando Ortega-Medina
We here at Spine are thrilled to reveal the cover of Orlando Ortega-Medina's new novel The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants, an extraordinary tale about the value of family and friendship, loyalty, and love, in the face of adversity.
Amble Press (an imprint of Bywater Books) is delighted to have Spine Magazine exclusively reveal the cover for The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants, the latest offering by award-winning author and attorney Orlando Ortega-Medina. The brilliantly arresting cover is courtesy of nationally recognized graphic designer Ann McMan of Treehouse Studio.
Set in 1990s San Francisco, The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants tells the story of Attorney Marc Mendes, the estranged son of a prominent Rabbi and a burned-out lawyer with addiction issues, who plots his exit from the big city to a more peaceful life in idyllic Napa Valley. But before he can realize his dream, the US government summons his Salvadoran life-partner Isaac Perez to immigration court, threatening him with deportation. As Marc battles to save Isaac, his world is further upended by a dark and alluring client, who aims to tempt him away from his messy life. Torn between his commitment to Isaac and the pain-numbing escapism offered by his client, Marc is forced to choose between the lesser of two evils while confronting his twin demons of past addiction and guilt over the death of his first lover.
Photo courtesy of the author
According to author Orlando Ortega-Medina, a US immigration lawyer, the novel is partly inspired by events that forced him and his partner to emigrate from the United States to Canada, and thereafter to the United Kingdom: “This novel has been 20 years in the making. It started life as a memoir, setting out the challenges my partner and I experienced leaving behind family, friends, and our careers in the days before marriage-equality. Over time, it slowly evolved into the edgy novel it is today about the value of family and friendship, loyalty and love, in the face of adversity. Given that equal marriage rights may once again be challenged in the United States, the novel feels particularly timely.”
When commissioning the cover, Amble Press turned once again to Ann McMan of Treehouse Studio, who has designed all of the the press’s book covers since its inception in 2020.
I asked Ann to tell us about the creation of the cover:
“Orlando’s novel is immediate—oddly intimate in its depiction of the hope and sadness that pervades the struggles of his protagonist, Marc Mendes. As I thought about his cover, I knew I needed to find a way to hint at the almost ethereal aspects of Marc’s story—and the pervasive poignancy of his relationships, past and present. I also wanted to suggest something about the nagging sense of impermanence that hovers over Marc’s family history like a shroud.
This passage from the book really spoke to me and informed my thinking about the cover:
“We were a family of emigrants, on the move from generation to generation. Forced to flee our homes because of intolerable situations imposed on us by those in power. The United States was meant to be the last stop on that journey. A just society with equal opportunity and equal protection for all, regardless of creed, race, gender, or sexual orientation.
I have a dream . . .
I took a bite of my sandwich. It’s still a dream, I mused.”
Dreams. Sleep. Fitful sleep. The place we go when we flee one kind of reality and imagine another. That’s what motivated me as I thought about imagery. I knew I wanted to find a painting—one that spoke to both the beauty and tension of the relationship between Marc and Isaac. I was fortunate when I came across this work by the artist Luigi Cristiano (Getty Images). It took only modest alteration on my part to adapt the image to Orlando’s cover. And I knew, too, that creating a hand-lettered title was appropriate for the personal and timeless qualities of the story. Again, I wanted to do all I could to evoke a feeling of intimacy and immediacy. I wanted the cover to feel personal—almost voyeuristic—as if the viewer is allowed to witness a moment of supreme connection that is as vulnerable as it is constant.”
When asked to comment about his impressions of the cover, author Ortega-Medina stated:
“I first became familiar with Ann McMan’s work by way of her work on Amble Press’s earlier books. I was particularly impressed by the outstanding covers she designed for Michael Nava’s Lies with Man and Matthew Clark Davison’s Doubting Thomas, and I was beyond excited to know she would be designing the cover for The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants as well. When I finally saw what she’d come up with, I was so very pleased with how well it summed up the feeling of the novel – that mix of tenderness and sadness of a gay couple as they embrace, perhaps for the last time – in a swirl of flesh tones, mottled linen, and a patchwork of reddish-brown evoking dried blood. Layered onto the artwork is the striking handwritten typography that I feel will give readers a personal investment. I really love it.”
Amble Press believes that this evocative cover will captivate lovers of fine book cover art, as well as the target audience of those who fancy edgy LGBTQ+ literature.
Amble Press will release the paperback version of The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants worldwide on April 18, 2023, and can be pre-ordered now. The book will also be made available in ebook format.