Here are some snippets of the art that went into the project…
I know, it looks like she's wearing a bra—I actually thought white was compositionally appropriate, but polkadots or stripes might have been a better choice.I got out some of my art supplies, and painted them. Then did the same with an old photo of a piano keyboard that I warped in my graphics software, and came up with these two elements...
You may be wondering, 'Why paint brushes and a keyboard?" My protagonist, Leila, is impossibly talented— that's why.
Next, some interior accents—Chapter Headers and the fist letter of each chapter, sort of like illumination, but not so elaborate.
...and some of those little 'thingies' placed between sections of a book...
I put all that together, printed my signatures, sewed them together, and trimmed them (Okay, my husband did the trimming—he won't let me use sharp implements for reasons that don't require much imagination). Then I put them in the cover, and this is what I came up with...
Notice the neat little jacket sewn into the back, for the soundtrack—and yes, I know I can't distribute it without copyright permissions...
Whether or not I find a publisher for Story for a Shipwright, I plan to do the same with it, but this time I hope the manuscript will be all polished and complete before I bind it…
Ooh, what cool cover art! Now I wish you had done the watercolor portrait of me after Saturday's book signing. The artist who did it didn't quite capture my likeness... though it was a pretty cool experience nonetheless. :-)
ReplyDeleteA portrait in one sitting—that's really challenging. I break out in hives if I try to sketch with any sort of an audience. There’s no way I could do a likeness while sitting in a bookstore with people milling around. Egads! She must be very brave and confident.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I think it's so cool that you did a book signing. You're going to be such a pro by the time you're a published novelist!