I often fantasize about what my book covers would look like. I’ve hand-drawn covers. I’ve Canva’d covers. I’ve looked at my favorite books and dreamed. Now, I have two vastly different WIPs, and it only adds to the dreaming that has been going on since before I'd completed any project. Over the years, I’ve put together a “wishlist” of book covers that I love and artists that I've come to recognize. This list only expanded once I became a Librarian (I suspect the list will continue to grow). John Jude Palencar
Combining the artistic rigor of Leonardo da Vinci with the surreal landscapes and creatures of Hieronymus Bosch, fantasy, and science fiction, painter and illustrator John Jude Palencar creates an imaginative artistic world. Throughout an award-winning career that includes paintings for the covers of books by Stephen King and others, Palencar has developed a rich language of symbols and archetypes, which he leaves open to interpretation by the viewer. -- Artsy Editorial
Do you ever pick a book because of the artist? Either you recognize the art from other books you’ve loved or it stands out way more than anything as a piece you’d love to own? Donato GiancolaAnother highly decorated, highly known, and talented artist, Giancola creates both fantasy and science fiction worlds of wonder. His interests include D&D, Tolkien, Magic the Gathering-- works and games with expansive worlds and descriptive imagery (Giancola devotes an entire gallery to Middle Earth and a book of illustrations). My first introduction to his work was again through Sharon Shinn. Her Twelve Houses fantasy series includes magic and knights, kings, vengeful priestesses, and kingdoms in unrest: Though I am less likely to recognize his work by sight as I am Pelancar, I can still find him whenever a new L.E. Modesitt Jr. book hits our library shelf. "I still spend many afternoons visiting my favorite artists -- Memling, Van Eyck, Velazquez, Caravaggio, Vermeer, Mondrian, Rembrandt. I strive to comprehend their complexities and bring that into my work." -- Donato Giancola, Behind The Canvas (2003) I love how he brings such a classical touch to SFF. Scrolling through his galleries, his inspirations are very evident. The chiaroscuro and diagonals that Caravaggio was famous for (though not as extreme in Giancola's work) is exemplified in LORD OF THE RINGS (compare to Caravaggio's The Entombment of Christ); the portraiture of Diego Velazquez can be found in Gandalf (?) (compare to San Pablo), and the depth and shadow in Rembrandt (Anatomy Lesson) could be seen in Giancola's St. Crispin's Day. I can even see remnants of Millais (see Ophelia vs Mermaid- Search Study). It would be my absolute dream to see his stylistic take on my characters and worlds (which are less Euro-inspired)! John HarrisAnother Science Fiction staple, British painter, John Harris started illustration book covers in the 80s. He’s since illustrated for Asimov, Ben Bova, Ann Leckie, John Scalzi and more. His works explore the theme of space, space travel, expansive worlds and realms of realistic and faraway places. I noticed his work, but fell in love with such landscapes on the reprinting of Ben Bova’s Grand Tour books. His sense of scale and detail is breath takingly immersive. To get a better sense of his work and the scale of it, check out Beyond the Horizon-- The Art of John Harris. "Whatever marks I make, I have to hold in my mind the essence of the feeling that arises with the image that's being called upon to be created. That immediate juncture when I make the very first mark, it has to be saturated with the feeling. after that, it almost doesn't matter. I can do almost anything as long as I can remember the action and look at the mark that came from that action inspired by the feeling that was first generated." -- John Harris (Beyond the Horizon) Adekunle Adeleke and Slava Fokk
Adeleke is a Nigerian artist and illustrator that specializes in blending black portraits and African Ankara patterns into a surrealist creations. Check out his Wax Series. His use of color combine with the varied complexions of his black models is striking. He's illustrated a number of novels across genres and ages. When the detail of the print takes over (like the Wax Series), that's when his work is the strongest and most Beautiful to me.
Photographer Mattheiu GBI don't know much about this artist; I came across his work as it was featured on AfroStyle Magazine's social media pages, which I follow. But in my vary recent research, I found that he is a French photographer and art director. It's hard to view a more comprehensive portfolio of his work since he doesn't seem to have an artists page other than Instagram. But what I've seen is inspiring. The contrasts of colors, the setting and styling. I don't know much about photography (my undergrad minor was in Art with a focus on fine arts rather than photography), so I don't know how involved he was with the concept. But these images would look absolutely stunning if adapted to Cave Stars.
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I'm in the middle of editing my manuscript, drafting my query letters, and browsing Querytracker and MSWL for agents that could possibly take on this project. I am living it now as opposed to back then. When did I know I wanted to write a novel?Short answer is: I didn't. had a ton of unfinished stories. I had a fanfiction that I'd written from start to finish (about 30 chapters). I had binders and bonders of poetry. But I never once thought that I could write a novel. Never attempted it, but saved all the snippets and scenes of possibilities. Until college. My first nerve-wracking short story submission resulted in a publication. That singular moment made me believe that I had a voice as writer that people wanted to read. I casually wrote, building upon an idea I had, but never finished. This project grew and grew, and with it, so did I. I researched how to plot chapters, how to craft stories. I took so many things from my Writing Popular Fiction class and Horror and Suspense (where I read Stephen King's On Writing). I wanted to do this writing thing right. But there is no right way to be a writer. I found myself trying to emulate the writers I read about and the writers, like Stephen King, who shared their ways of writing. I found that plotting was not for me. It slowed me down and pulled me out of myself. I finished my first novel manuscript in 2019 after the city closed down because of a Polar Vortex and I'd written it all without an outline. At 135k words, it was dense. I spent a year editing it and then, in my excitement for having finally finished something, spent the next year querying it to 35 agents. In hindsight: it sucked. I've heard many authors say that your first draft is for you. It is for you. It's to show you that you have done it. You've some how managed to push and pull that hard and heavy block of marble up on that pedestal. But its not finished. You still need to chisel and chip away at that block, forming it into the creation that you will eventually feel confident putting out into the world. That querying experience made me shelve that manuscript, but it showed me that I could write a novel. I'd developed my own way to writing, researching, learning, and creating. Stay grounded!This Facebook memory could not have come at a better time.
As I finish up my thousanth round of editing to the same manuscript I shelved back in 2022, its easy to get excited once again and charge on ahead. Its easy to let my mind wander to piggy's (?) over-confidence. It doesn't help much as a librarian, reading about how X has just signed with Y and to expect [insert books] in the coming year. I want that to be me. And so does every other writer out there.
I'm using The Red Lord for my first attempt. Following this structure, the playlist should tell the entire story.
(Implementing a rule from the other challenge: No repeat artists! Though repeating featured artists are fair game!) Though its a Dark Romantasy, I'm finding a lot of pop/R&B songs fit the general vibes of my characters in love... though it does give the since that the story is lighter than it really is. What did you find out duringt his process?
It happens.
The dreaded question: WHAT THE F*** DO I NAME THIS??? This seems to happen to me more so with places rather than people. If you haven't explored the Fantasy Name Generator, I recommend you do! Even if its just for fun and not for your WIPs. My randomly selected "Hellhound" name (category selected while watching my black lab mix gnaw on a bone) is "Ghus Dar Bloodtooth" and he resides in "The Feral Fields." Who knows.... maybe the name will find a place in one of my WIPs. “Hello, my name is Jade and I am a Person Who Stutters.”
My first day, the members began with this— Person First Language. The idea was that the hardest part of all interactions was trying to hide the stutter, but being upfront about it relieves the anxieties and pressures of hiding it. When it was my turn…. I couldn't say the words. Not because of my stutter, but because all the years of negativity associated with my stutter held me back even though I was literally in a room filled with people who stuttered too. I was allowed to cry. I was allowed to sit in silence and just listen. If you’ve ever been bullied as a child, you may know how it feels to be an adult carrying the weight of those negativities that you’ve thought faded with time. How, you might ask, is this reflection relevant to writing and creativity? Once I started introducing myself this way, my relationship with my stuttering changed (don’t get me wrong, I still do have anxieties relating to my stutter and socializing in large crowds). My focus shifted to the ways my stutter has worked in my favor:
![]() It's easy to focus on the negative when the negatives are so visible— it's in the expression of the person you are talking to when you stutter. It's the scrunching of your face as you try to get out a particularly challenging word. It's in the exhaustion and embarrassment that droop your shoulders after you realize that you’ve been ignored (again). After 29 years, I’m starting to refocus myself on the positives. I never lost that childhood love of storytelling, only just shifted gears. Are you or someone you know a person that stutters?
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