a post from Juxtaprose. . .

We’re happy to announce the launch of a new website for the forthcoming novel Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward:

To help explain the site, it’s useful to know the premise of the book:

Paul and Lacey Hansen are orphaned siblings who grow marijuana just outside the outskirts of tiny Mercer, California. When they find a headless body on their land one night, their occupation prevents them from calling the sheriff. Instead, they move the corpse to a more public location. Two nights later, the body reappears in their driveway, and Paul and Lacey soon discover some unsettling connections between their persistent visitor and their family’s past.

But the murder mystery might be the tamer side of Heads You Lose. The book is the product of a unique collaboration between author Lisa Lutz and her ex-boyfriend, obscure poet David Hayward. When the coauthors start to disagree about what should happen in the book—and to whom—their own turbulent past spills onto the page. As Paul and Lacey scramble to stay a step ahead of the killer, their toughest challenge might be surviving the crossfire between their two creators.

So we played on this in the site as well. The blog is set up for he-said / she-said type of postings. We have a “poll” going on on who you would rather collaborate with. (I’m excited to see what else Lisa and David come up with.)

We had a lot of fun designing and building the site. The folks at Penguin did a very dynamic cover, and we used that as the basis for the design. The book’s out on April 5, and Lisa and David will be out and about on tour, so be sure to check out if they’ll be in your area. In any case, definitely pick up the book when it’s out (it’s funny and a very good read).

Take a look around and be sure to hang out on the home page for a bit to see the full animation (subtle, but fun—the way we like to do animation). Don’t forget to vote for your choice as a collaborator:

Visit www.headsyoulose.com.