Bravo, Jesse!
Jesse Smolover, Eric T. Reynolds and I have been in conversation for many weeks over this image, working step-by-step from sketches to the final product; backtracking on more than one occasion. I am very happy with the result of all this effort, and mostly with Jesse's incredible gift for capturing the image and the mood we were after.
As some of you may know, Jesse also did the cover art for Terri-Lynne DeFino's fantasy novel FINDER. If you click onto the title, you can see Terri's cover for comparison. I find it interesting because Jesse had to capture two very different environments for each of these novels, given that FINDER is set in a desert and mediterranean environment, whereas EOLYN is embedded in a humid landscape of deep forest. In Terri's words, "Eolyn's cover is so lush and green that I can smell that wind blowing back her hair, and Finder's is so dry and dusty I can feel the heat. Crazy cool." (Hope you don't mind me quoting you, Terri!)
Of course, cover art and cover design are two different things. Melissa J. Lytton will now take this image and integrate it into the cover for EOLYN, including front cover and back cover text. So, not too long from now, I'll be able to post the completed cover for my new novel. Hooray!
Just 49 days to go until EOLYN's release. Remember, the Launch Party will be at the Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City Missouri, on May 7. The event is open to the public and will run from 2pm to 5pm.
Also, fans of EOLYN who live in and around the Portland area, I will be doing a signing for EOLYN at Powell's Books on May 15, in Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Beaverton, Oregon starting at 5pm.
And I will be attending Kansas City's own ConQuest May 27-29, in the Hyatt Regency at Crown Center. I'll post more details on that event as the dates get closer.
Once again: Thank you, Jesse! This is a beautiful work of art, and I can't wait to see it on the cover of EOLYN.
