Cover Art

My previous post focused on my former students, Sam Tsui and Kurt Schneider, and their musical talents. I also mentioned that Sam did the painting of Hadde of Landomere you see on the blog. I first learned of Sam's artistic talent when he was a sophomore in high school. Toward the end of the school year I went to our school's art show and saw this piece of art:



I was so impressed that I asked Sam to paint Hadde for me. I wanted a sketch of her as well as a cover for my novel. I gave Sam the first three chapters of the manuscript and a description of what I was looking for. In short order he produced this:



I love what he did. The scene is from a fight that takes place in chapter one. It is a brutal fight that sets the dark, serious tone for the book. Tension is critical for a fantasy novel, and in chapter one we discover that Hadde lives in a world full of peril. In fact, it is a world in peril.

Will this be the actual cover of the novel? I'm sure it won't. The publisher will have their artists create the real thing. Sam's cover serves another purpose. I had him blow it up to poster size, and it now hangs on the wall in my office. It is wonderful inspiration for what I hope to accomplish.