Good news from SPECTRUM 17

SPECTRUM 17: THE BEST IN CONTEMPORARY FANTASTIC ART last month announced its list of artists selected for inclusion in the forthcoming annual. SPECTRUM is a much-anticipated, juried volume compiling the finest works from the worlds of books, comics, advertising, editorial, 3D and concept art in the previous year. This weekend, I was notified that two of my 2009 works were selected. They are my cover illustration for Mark Chadbourn's AGE OF MISRULE: BOOK 1 -- WORLD'S END (pictured here), and my cover illustration for James Dashner's THE 13TH REALITY: THE JOURNAL OF CURIOUS LETTERS.

Lou Anders was the art director for the MISRULE illustration and I thank him for once again being a superlative collaborator, allowing the room to roam and find this image. Lisa Vega was the designer that commissioned THE 13TH REALITY illustration. I'm especially gratified the SPECTRUM jury selected this one. THE 13TH REALITY: THE JOURNAL OF CURIOUS LETTERS released last year in paperback, and the publisher rejected this image in favor of a much less potent, color version of the artwork for publication. I'll be pleased when my preferred version debuts in SPECTRUM's pages this November.

THE QUEEN OF SINISTER

Here's my final cover illustration for the forthcoming Pyr edition of Mark Chadbourn's THE DARK AGE: BOOK 2 / THE QUEEN OF SINISTER. It's the second book of the trilogy that follows Chadbourn's AGE OF MISRULE. Folks with long memories will likely notice that this cover is radically improved and modified from the catalog version.

I believe the book releases in June. Pyr unveiled the cover yesterday via their blog, and I was encouraged to see so many instant comments across Twitter and social media. The world really is a smaller place these days. :) And below, you can see how the finished cover will look when it hits US shelves later this summer.