It’s done. Here’s my final cover illustration for the forthcoming Pyr edition of Mark Chadbourn‘s AGE OF MISRULE: BOOK 1 / WORLD’S END, the first of a spectacular epic fantasy series that debuts in the US this May. Blogs and websites all over the net have displayed a preliminary version of my cover illo that was provided for solicitation purposes. The version you see here is a first look at the final, finished illo you’ll see on the books when they release.

One of the big improvements for this final version is that I did a much better underdrawing of the god Cernunnos and you can really see the difference when compared to the prelim. Also the little figures at the bottom of the final are more active than they were in the prelim. The drawing of Cernunnos is just plain old pencil on 17″x22″ Crescent board, and I’ll likely display it at a convention or two later this year, as well as having prints of the final art for sale.

Here’s the final front cover design layout with everything in place. Pyr’s editorial director Lou Anders and I bantered back and forth a lot about layout decisions. Together, I think we finally got it right. (Special thanks to Diana and Lee for last-second insights.) Can’t wait for these books to hit the stores…..they’re amazing.

Wow, Subterranean Press has announced that the limited edition of Dan Simmons’ DROOD will be sold out upon publication. Amazing! What a testament to Dan’s writing and popularity that an $80 limited edition of his latest novel will be a complete sell-out despite the wretched economic times we live in. Congrats to Dan and to Subterranean Press on yet another big success. I’m really thrilled to see the trade edition of Dan’s book in stores (published by Little, Brown) and it’s not only selling well, but the reviews are ravingly fabulous (deservedly so)!! Way to go, Dan. And if you need a copy of the DROOD limited edition, and haven’t ordered one yet — there’s still hope. Subterranean says the best way to get one is to order directly from them, but apparently retailers and distributors’ orders were overwhelming, so they had to cut those down in order to have a few left to sell directly. If you want one, you might want to do it very soon.

The photo you see here isn’t my work or my studio. This is the studio of Barnet “Barney” Edelman, and his last painting. Today’s my mother’s birthday, and while I certainly don’t need prompting to appreciate her greatness, I’ve had a couple of recent reminders of the value of appreciating what I have while I have it. Today, I received an email from author and SCI FI editor Scott Edelman. He reported the passing of Barney who was a veteran art director at McGraw Hill and Scott’s dad. He asked that his father be remembered and while I normally wouldn’t mention friends’ private matters here, it’s the least I can do since Scott requested it. This image of Barney’s last painting really hit home and gave me pause this morning. The picture speaks for itself, doesn’t it? I’ll leave the tributes to Scott who wrote a beautiful memorial to his dad.

My pal Bob Eggleton lost his mom last week and I still think about him days after it happened. He posted a photo of he and his mom from his wedding day, and knowing him, I bet her memory will fuel his paintings in ways the rest of us can’t imagine.

Continued best thoughts and sincere condolences go out to Scott, Bob, and their families. Today’s a work day like any other here, but tonight when I see my mother, I’ll hug her a little longer and stay a little later.

Good stuff to share, while I continue cranking away on lots of new work:

* Congrats to FAST FORWARD 2 which was just selected as one of 2008’s best anthologies by LOCUS‘ latest Recommended Reading List. Several FF2 stories were also cited amongst the year’s best including Nancy Kress’ “The Kindness of Strangers”; Paul Cornell’s “Catherine Drewe”; Ian McDonald’s “An Eligible Boy”; Paolo Bacigalupi’s “The Gambler”; and Benjamin Rosenbaum & Cory Doctorow’s “True Names”.

One very important clarification: to anyone considering Paul Cornell’s story “Catherine Drewe” for Hugo Award consideration, LOCUS has the story listed as a novelette but by Hugo Award word-count standards, Cornell’s story (6,674 words) is best considered a SHORT STORY. So if you’re nominating “Catherine Drewe” for a Hugo, please slot it as a short story (thanks to Mr. Cornell himself for the clarification). However, when LOCUS conducts its online Locus Award Poll, they’ll likely slot the story as a novelette because their word-count standards may have suddenly changed from what they used to be. Whew — ‘make sense? Hope so. 🙂

* Subterranean Press recently unveiled the finished front cover layout for their limited edition of Dan Simmons’ DROOD. I did the cover illustration, but I’m not sure who did the typography. Probably Desert Isle Design, but I won’t know until I receive comp copies and see the credits. At any rate, this book is getting rave reviews including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. Congrats to Dan and to Sub Press! 🙂

* I just registered as a member of the ConceptArt.org community. It’s looking like I’m going to attend their March workshop. More on this soon.

Been away from here a while. Too long. Sorry ’bout that. Been unbelievably swamped lately, and working hard on several assignments. Coming soon here, new covers that I’ve been working on the last couple of weeks. Stay tuned. 🙂 Been working on new Elric drawings as well. It’s been long days and sleepless nights. Meantime, I thought this was pretty cool. The latest issue of INTERZONE (#220) has a terrific interview with Jeffrey Ford as well as insightful reviews of his recent Well-Built City trilogy trade paperbacks. I like the way they used my cover art in the spread. Both features are written by Rick Kleffel of the amazing Agony Column. And check out the issue’s cover art by Adam Tredowski, with design by Andy Cox. Love it.

Good day today — author Dan Simmons officially approved this artwork so now it can be revealed in its final form. This is my cover illustration for Subterranean Press’ limited edition of Dan’s forthcoming major novel, DROOD. They’re taking pre-orders right now, and if you’re considering owning of these, you might act quickly. Every Sub Press limited edition of a Simmons book has been a sell-out. I’m just sayin’…..

What’s the book about? Here you go (courtesy of Subterranean Press): “On June 9th, 1865, Charles Dickens, ‘the most popular novelist in England, perhaps the world,’ boards a train bound from Folkstone to London, accompanied by his youthful mistress, the actress Ellen Ternan. Shortly afterward, the train derails near the village of Staplehurst, toppling into an abyss. Dickens emerges from the carnage physically, if not mentally, unscathed. And he has a story to tell.

He tells it, with typical Dickensian brio, to his friend and occasional collaborator, Wilkie Collins, the narrator of this magisterial novel. The story concerns an otherworldly figure who calls himself ‘Drood,’ and who moves through the wreckage like a pale, unholy apparition. The mysteries surrounding Drood form the heart of an epic narrative encompassing ancient religious practices, subterranean cities, hallucinatory visions, madness, murder, and the limitless power of the creative imagination. The result is a fever dream of a book that vividly recreates the sights, sounds, and smells of 19th century London, while illuminating the final years of a great writer’s life. Absorbing, moving, and constantly surprising, Drood shows us Dan Simmons at his inimitable — and mesmerizing — best.”

One last Subterranean Press-related note — I just received my copy of Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s THE SHADOW OF THE WIND — and my gosh — this thing looks absolutely spectacular. Vincent Chong did the cover and interiors for this book, and the whole package is as gorgeous as it gets. Congrats to Subterranean Press on another knockout.

Hooray! Just heard that FAST FORWARD 2 is one of this year’s Philip K. Dick Award finalists. I’m ecstatic for editor Lou Anders and all of the authors. Pyr’s blog has the complete press release. Congrats to HarperCollins/Eos for having three books on the final list. That’s editors Diana Gill and Jennifer Brehl, if you’re keeping score at home. Wow!

Been super-busy here, but wanted to note that last week Subterranean Press sent me my copies of Dan Simmons’ MUSE OF FIRE. When Traci and I popped the box open and held the finished books in our hands, we were both blown away. Completely beautiful printing job all around. The interior design by Desert Isle Design is gorgeous. The whole book turned out perfect, which happens all too rarely, unfortunately. The only bad news — Subterranean’s already completely sold out of their print run. Wow! So if you see a copy of this book out on the retail market, you might want to snap it up. 🙂

Here’s a one-stop visual list of my 2008 published works. As noted elsewhere (thanks, Chris, Cheryl, and John), the awards nomination season is upon us again (Hugos and otherwise). If you wish to reference the list below for future consideration this year, please bookmark this post. FYI: in addition, my blog sidebar displays my 2008 work in abbreviated form. The big list below doesn’t include all of my interior illustrations for ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS, but it includes my favorite one from that set, along with the eighteen cover illos published in ’08. Onward…

(above)
Cover illustration for
FAST FORWARD 2
edited by Lou Anders
Pyr
October 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
MUSE OF FIRE
by Dan Simmons
Subterranean Press
December 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
VIEWPOINTS CRITICAL
by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Tor Books
March 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS
by Michael Moorcock
Ballantine/Del Rey
February 2008

(above)
“Elric The Damned”
One of many interior illustrations for
ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS
(Note: here’s a gallery of more interiors from this book)

(above)
Cover illustration for
ELRIC: THE SLEEPING SORCERESS
by Michael Moorcock
Ballantine/Del Rey
December 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
THE PHYSIOGNOMY
by Jeffrey Ford
Golden Gryphon Press
October 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
MEMORANDA
by Jeffrey Ford
Golden Gryphon Press
November 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
THE BEYOND
by Jeffrey Ford
Golden Gryphon Press
December 2008

(above)
The three Jeff Ford covers above are a trilogy, so I created their covers as a triptych. This is what the original art looks like. It’s one of the most labor-intensive pieces I’ve ever done, but definitely a labor of love. This is all traditional media, no digital…. oil painting, found objects, collage, and shadowbox assemblage.

(above)
Wraparound cover illustration for
SON OF MAN
by Robert Silverberg
Pyr Books
June 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
STARSHIP: REBEL
by Mike Resnick
Pyr
December 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
ASIMOV’S
Inspired by Stephen Baxter’s
featured story, “The Ice War”
September 2008 Issue

(above)
Cover illustration for
SHIMMER MAGAZINE
edited by Mary Robinette Kowal & co.
September 2008 Issue

(above)
Cover illustration for
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE 9:
FEARFUL SYMMETRY
by Olivia Woods
Pocket Books
(TM, all rights reserved,
& copyright 2008 CBS Studios)
June 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
STAR TREK: MYRIAD UNIVERSES:
ECHOES AND REFRACTIONS
by Keith R. A. DeCandido,
Chris Roberson,
& Geoff Trowbridge
Pocket Books
(TM, all rights reserved,
& copyright 2008 CBS Studios)
August 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
STAR TREK: MYRIAD UNIVERSES:
INFINITY’S PRISM
by Christopher L. Bennett,
William Leisner,
& James Swallow
Pocket Books
(TM, all rights reserved,
& copyright 2008 CBS Studios)
July 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
STAR TREK: TEROK NOR:
DAY OF THE VIPERS
by James Swallow
Pocket Books
(TM, all rights reserved,
& copyright 2008 CBS Studios)
March 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
STAR TREK: TEROK NOR:
NIGHT OF THE WOLVES
by S.D. Perry & Britta Dennison
Pocket Books
(TM, all rights reserved,
& copyright 2008 CBS Studios)
April 2008

(above)
Cover illustration for
STAR TREK: TEROK NOR:
DAWN OF THE EAGLES
by S.D. Perry & Britta Dennison
Pocket Books
(TM, all rights reserved,
& copyright 2008 CBS Studios)
May 2008

(above)
Pocket Books really liked the triptych I did for a Kirk/Spock/McCoy trilogy a couple of years ago. So they commissioned me to do another for their 2008 STAR TREK: TEROK NOR trilogy. This is what the three covers above look like when they’re side-by-side.

Onward and best wishes to everyone in 2009!

Wow. Anyone ever read that comic book MISTER X? I always wanted to illustrate a cover or story about that guy. (Cover art at left is by Paul Rivoche.) At any rate, his mantra was, “So much to do, so little time.” That line is the story of my year, really. So it’s pretty appropriate that today would feel the same. 🙂 I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on the other side tomorrow! Wow, 2009….here it comes. I’ll be posting my 2008 body of work very soon, and it’ll be fun to assess the labors of the past twelve months. I’m grateful to all friends who stop by my humble cyber-abode here and who have shared the journey with me so far. Onward into 2009, and best wishes to everyone out there!

Charles Tan has posted a personal essay about Jeffrey Ford and his books. If you haven’t read Ford before (what are you waiting for?), this is a nice overview of his work. And until now, I had missed out on this terrific interview Tan conducted with Ford earlier this year. Good read!