This post falls under the category of authorial chit-chat. Which means it’s story-related, but doesn’t really fit in the glossary. We’ll call it … anecdotal. Or in plain-speak, a funny story about an author, an artist, and a pair of swimming trunks.

For starters, I should introduce Hannah Christenson, my cover illustrator extraordinaire. She and I have been working together on odds and ends commissions for a couple of years. Character sketches. Painted portraits. Concept art. Things took a turn for the long-term when she agreed to do the Galleries of Stone book covers … and the spot illustrations I use for scene breaks throughout the story.

Well, during the process of dropping those scene breaks into the manuscript, I came across an item I couldn’t remember from the list I gave to Hannah.

Pants? There are a couple of scenes in which britches (or a lack thereof) do play their part. And that shade would look fabulous on certain bronzed merchants I could mention. But … I was stumped. And then it hit me. Trunks. I laughed and emailed Hannah, explaining that when I said trunks, I’d meant a pile of luggage, not swim gear. And she laughed and admitted that she’d drawn another little illustration as back-up.

Clearly, she was as stumped as I was (ba-dum-bum-ching). And since laughter is good for the soul, and mistakes are often worth celebrating, Hannah playfully included this in her last batch of scene break illustrations.

Needless to say, my lists for Hannah have become a touch more descriptive. And when Aurelius Harrow returns to Morven in the spring when Tupper turns thirteen, he’ll arrive with the usual abundance of trunks. As in luggage.

Speaking of Harrow, the manuscript is indeed complete. (And backed up like whoa.) Spot illustrations are in place. Front and back matter are good to go. I’m just letting the book rest for another week before doing a final read-through with any notes accumulated from my trusty proofers.

I’m so excited to share Galleries of Stone, Book 2: Harrow.
COMING TO VIRTUAL VENDORS IN TWO MORE WEEKS!
The release is set for Tuesday, April 8, 2014.

  Meadowsweet is available:  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo