Book IV Cover Almost Complete
February 26, 2011
"The Machine" by Carol Phillips
This cover is quite different from the previous three covers for a number of reasons. The previous covers all have a distinct fantasy flavor to them, from the gothic city-scape of Metatron to the wooded Hazards of the Old Ones, Carol’s roots as a fantasy artist shine through, however, The League of Elder, is a space-opera after all, so I wanted book IV to highlight that. This cover also displays all four of the main characters, which hasn’t happened before (notice Sarah is not “turned on” in this still), as well as two Black Hat temples. Weird Bondarunga vessels and buildings are scattered all over the place.
The setting is in the Xaphan city of Waam. Our heroes in the foreground are being hunted by two separate groups: the Spectres are after our hero Kay, and the lovely Thomasina the 19th and her ladies are after Phillip. If Carol’s lined it up correctly, Thomasina should land right down the center of the spine.
Some old characters have made their way onto the cover. The gigantic vending machine the good guys are crouching behind is our old friend Princess Marilith of Xandarr, who is a popular folk hero in Waam. Also, as he’s appeared on all the previous covers, the elemental spirit Carahil is here as well–can you find him??
copyright 2011, Ren Garcia and Carol Phillips
Sarah’s Hair
February 23, 2011
I’VE GOT A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM!! I need to pick a hair-style for Lady Sarah of Blanchefort, and I can’t decide. Cover artist Carol Phillips has given me lots of options and I’m at a loss. Here’s your chance to throw your two-cents in and have a say in how the cover for Book IV, The Machine will look.
Sarah is a rather brusque tom-boy, a hot-head and a bit of a loud-mouth. She loves the thrill of adventure and is an eager companion of her cousin, Lord Kabyl of Blanchefort. She’s basically a big kid. I describe her in the story as having a long head of straight blue hair, like her grandmother had. She doesn’t spend a lot of time fussing with it. She pulls it back into a bouncy ponytail and a rolled-up set of bangs, quick and easy and that’s it.
Here are the choices:
Choices A and D are most like how I describe Sarah in the story. However, given her rather girl-like nature, pigtails aren’t out of the question.
Go ahead, take a look and give me your thoughts.
Copyright 2011, Ren Garcia and Carol Phillips
Book 3 Cover Finished
February 18, 2011
"The Dead Held Hands", cover by Carol Phillips
I think this one is my Carol Phillips favorite so far. Full of color, I love the composition and feeling of movement. Carol always adds a little “surprise” to the spine of each cover so that it jumps out and catches the eye while sitting on the shelf. In this case, she added an image of Castle Blanchefort in the background.
In addition to the amazing cover, there are over twenty maps and illustrations waiting inside the book, drawn and painted by Carol Phillips, Fantasio, Eve Ventrue and Chantal Boudreau.
The Dead Held Hands will be out March, 2011 from Loconeal Publishing.
Copyright 2011, Ren Garcia and Carol Phillips
The Temple of the Exploding Head 