A look into the cover-painting process....

I'm working on a possible cover for the final book of my In the Shadow of the Black Sun trilogy. Using several photos as reference and painting it digitally with Photoshop. This is Windenn in one of the final scenes of the story.


William

Tower of Torment book cover

I finished this cover over the weekend. Painted for Gary Vanucci's book Tower of Torment. This book starts Gary's Embers of War series which, like his other books, takes place within the Realm of Ashenclaw setting. Fans of Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms should check out this series for it flows in the same vein as those stories.

Download Tower of Torment for the Kindle.

Owl always love you.....

 

Sketched in Photoshop

The State of the Black Sun....

Man....I have a hard time killing characters in my stories. I plan it out way ahead of time, but when the time comes it's not easy. It doesn't matter if the character is a good guy or a villain. I just wrote the death of a character that has been present in the In the Shadow of the Black Sun series since Book 1. I found myself becoming emotional during the scene. Hopefully readers will have the same response upon reading it.
I started this series in the year 2000, so these characters have been with me for 13 years. I know them. I know how they feel, what their goals are, what shaped them in their past. To send one into the garden of the Wind, well it's a sad, sad day. And there are others that will join this dearly departed figure before the story concludes.
I'm sure George R. R. Martin doesn't have this issue. He seems to kill someone every other page, no? He's used to it by now.

I've been reading the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. I had read the original trilogy when I was a teenager, but got sidetracked and didn't continue. Now I'm into the second series of books and enjoying them quite a bit. His descriptions of the Four Lands just makes me wish I could explore the place. I've got many more books until I complete that series. What to read after that? Doctor Sleep by Stephen King? The Recluce Saga by Modessit? The Elric books? Philip K. Dick books? So many choices....

I also need to decide what to write next. I have several stories brewing in the cauldron....A new fantasy novel. A horror novel. A cyberpunk/urban fantasy-type story. And so on and so on.....

Thank you to all of the readers that contact me. I appreciate your support and feedback.


William

Vasparian in Elfwhere

Vasparian Grael within the forest of Elfwhere. Painted in Photoshop. Comments are appreciated.

He first appears in A Dream of Storms, available through Amazon.com. Vasparian served with Hagan twelve years ago in the Battle of the Black Sun and joins him on his quest to the city of Harquinn as the story unfolds.

D'Pharin from A Dream of Storms. Work in Progress.

This is a piece of a bigger picture and some of you may be familiar with the scene that I am painting. It takes place in the ruins of Treetowers as D'Pharin runs off to secretly explore them on his own. What he finds leaves him shocked and saddened.

William

Sketching a Dwarf in Photoshop