Meet the Artists!

I've updated the website to showcase the art of Sildehna and provide biographies of the talented artists who created it.  Please visit the Meet the Artists link for information about Art Thibert and Geoff Trebs, who created the gorgeous cover for The Northern Queen, and Ginger Prewitt, who transformed my map of Sildehna from a bored teenager's sketch into a masterpiece replete with tiny ships.  I couldn't be more pleased with their work; if you enjoy it as well, be sure to visit their websites and see what else their portfolios have to offer!

We Interrupt this Series with an Important Announcement

I solemnly promise to continue my cover art series discussing the process that Art Thibert and Geoff Trebs undertook to create this marvelous cover, as I found the process incredibly fascinating.  However, I just can't keep this under wraps any longer!

Behold, the final cover art for The Northern Queen:

I cannot express how thrilled I am to have such an amazing cover!  Art, Geoff, and Ginger Prewitt (who created the original map that the guys enhanced for the background) have done some beautiful work.  Thank you all!

Anatomy of a Cover, Part 2

Crowning a New Queen

Once The Song and the Sorceress was out in the world, I began working on the sequel, The Northern Queen.  I knew pretty early into the writing process that this was going to be a different kind of book, so I wanted a different feel for the cover.  I really love the cover of Song, but I was also interested in painting more of the scenery and characters to portray the more epic sweep of this novel-- a task difficult to accomplish with stock art and photo shop.  We needed an artist.  

Lucky for me, I had met, through my daughters' girl scout troop, comic artist Art Thibert.  Not only were he and his wife Pamela great fun to talk to, I also admired his work.  One picture in his online portfolio really stood out to me ("Fathom", left) not just because this is one sexy lady, but because of the quality of the art-- especially the expressiveness of the eyes.  I also admired a couple of sketches Art had done of his daughter, as well as his humorous sci-fi indie comic Chrono Mechanics.  I knew he could do a great cover. After some discussion, and with Eric's approval, Art agreed to do the cover for my next three books.  Win!

As I finished the first draft of Northern Queen, Art and I got together and started talking about cover art.  Our first meeting was long and way more fun than it should have been.  In addition to discussing important topics like Lord of the Rings and ninjas, we talked about different scenes in the book, what I wanted the characters to look like, what the main themes of the book were.  He asked me some hard questions!  We went online so Art could show me different covers and design concepts.  At the end of the day, I left with a sketch (right) and the confidence that this was going to be one AWESOME book cover!  

Coming Soon: Cover Series, Part 3!

Anatomy of a Cover

Part One: How to Cover a Song

As my publisher makes the final touches on The Northern Queen in preparation for its end-of-summer release, I thought it would be fun (and informational) to blog a bit about the cover art process.  

I first need to point out that my level of involvement in the cover art design is highly unusual; however, one of the perks of being published by a smaller press, as well as an editor who cares very much that the author be completely happy with the final product, is that I have had the opportunity to give a lot of input into the cover design.  Not only has this been pretty exciting from an author's point of view, I also have learned a great deal.

The story--and thus, my first post of the Cover Art series--really starts with the cover design for The Song and the Sorceress.  Last Spring, while I was still riding the wave of excitement that my book was going to be published at all, Eric T. Reynolds started sending me emails asking what I wanted on the cover.  What did I want on the cover?  Me?  I can honestly say that I had never given it much thought.  I know Steve Gould, at Viable Paradise XI, had given a lengthy talk on what happened after your novel was accepted; however, I was fairly certain at that point that I really didn't need to worry about that, so I'm afraid I didn't listen as well as I should have (Sorry Steve!).  However, I was pretty sure that a lot of authors didn't ever really get a say.  In fact, at other writer's conferences, I had heard authors bemoan horrible cover art and bad marketing choices, and how those affected their novel sales.  Yet here was a real live publisher asking me what I thought!  How cool was that?  And, when I really thought about it, how intimidating!  Oh, the pressure!

More Sales!

So I checked today and it appears that you can no longer purchase the hardcover of Song and the Sorceress for less than $6.00, and the kindle price is back up to its normal $9.99.  However, you can purchase the paperback for $8.77 at Borders.com, which is also a great deal.

Or, if you're local to Corona, California, there are still a few copies of both the hardcover and the paperback, signed, on the front shelf of the info desk at the Corona Crossings Barnes & Noble.  If you would like them personalized, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it me and we can make arrangements. :)