Here you will find any artwork that has been connected to the books or series in an official way. That may mean that I’d commissioned them, either for covers, flavor, or merchandise. It could also mean that it was a gift that became officially associated in some way, though in that case you’ll find it in fan art as well.

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Commissioned Covers

Unless otherwise noted, all commissioned covers are the work of Nick Deligaris.

The Book of Deacon

This masterpiece is the first piece of art ever commissioned for the series. It is the definitive image of Myranda, and in most ways it is the piece of art most inextricably linked to the stories. I cannot describe to you the feeling I had when I first saw the sketch that would become this cover. It was truly like meeting a friend for the first time. This cover more than any other is the result of Nick’s sage advice. Bit by bit he suggested changes here and there, ending with the character making eye contact with the reader, which I think made all the difference. Magnificent.

The Great Convergence

This time Myranda and Deacon are the stars. Deacon is the only character I’ve had to ask Nick to adjust even slightly, as I’d initially failed to describe him adequately, and he came out a bit more chiseled and tough than boyish and academic. This is also the image most directly representative of an actual scene in the book.

The Battle of Verril

Though I’ve come to trust Nick’s skill to make a masterpiece out of the most ridiculous descriptions, I was genuinely concerned about how this cover would come out. Ether being a shape shifter, I wasn’t sure how to describe how she should look on the cover, and Lain is a character that if drawn incorrectly has a tremendous capacity to look goofy. He did better than I could have imagined, even going so far as to carry Lain’s tendency to stick to the shadows into the cover.

Jade

Honestly, I cannot believe it took me this long to get a dragon onto the cover. Halfax is suitably intimidating here, and Jade’s confident smile says all that needs to be said about the character. Do yourself a favor and take a long hard look at the details in this picture. They are easy to appreciate even if you don’t know the tale. Once you’ve read it, the white eye, the jagged scar, the ruined wing, the coin around his neck, they all mean something. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This one is worth about forty thousand.

Bypass Gemini

Look, he does sci-fi, too! I honestly didn’t even give him an idea for this cover. I just threw a pile of character and plot descriptions at Nick and asked what he thought would be best. We went with a movie poster inspired montage that does the job brilliantly, as always. Trevor “Lex” Alexander has sort of a Tom Cruise thing going, doesn’t he?

Unstable Prototypes

In this cover, I learn from past mistakes and make darn sure I put the cutest creature in the book on the cover. I speak of course of the half-skunk/half-fox hybrid, not the scarred sociopath known as Karter. The on-page descriptions of Karter in the previous book list him as a bit chubbier than this, but the events of the book account for a slimmer version on the cover if you pay attention.

Original Covers

The Book of Deacon

Probably the best cover I’ve ever made, this remains the definitive depiction of “The Mark of the Chosen” (an early contender for title of the book, by the way).

The Great Convergence

What can I say. I followed the same theme, but this time drew the symbol five times and linked them. See? Five chosen, linked? Symbolism!

The Battle of Verril

This was a Plan B cover. Initially there was supposed to be a spatter of blood in place of a symbol, but no amount of trying was able to produce one that looked realistic. I went instead with the hour glass to represent time running out, and also because there actually is an hour glass displayed at one point.

Jade

This cover was created against the advice of a friend of mine. I thought, “Hey, the story features a six year old, surely I should be able to include an image that looks like it was drawn by a six year old.” No. Shouldn’t have done that. The gold writing looks pretty sharp, though!

Bypass Gemini

Look! Actual photos on the cover! Photos I had to credit inside the book! This was a decent placeholder, but by the time Bypass Gemini had been released I was well on my way to having official covers by someone with, you know, talent.

Other Covers

Marked

The Book of Deacon’s Bulgarian language edition (I still can’t believe such a thing exists) is being marketed under the name Marked to differentiate it from the trilogy as a whole. I’m told that the top line of text is my name, then “Marked”, then something along the lines of “the first book in the series ‘The Book of Deacon'”. How cool is that?

Paperback Covers

These are the covers for the CreateSpace Edition of the trilogy. They were tweaked by Nick, and each feature quotes from two bloggers who gave me a tremendous amount of help just when the books needed it most.

Commissioned Character Art

Myn

This is Myn, as drawn by PakajunaTufty. She is also the designer of the forthcoming Myn plush. Can’t wait. CAN’T WAIT.

Calypso

My first commissioned piece from CatseaTheDevil, this is Calypso, the Water Master from Entwell.

Ayna

Ayna, the infuriating little fairy from Entwell. She’s notable in that everyone who has spoken about her in email or comments disliked her. I’ve had more positive responses to villains! Fortunately she was supposed to be an annoying little tyrant, so mission accomplished. This is another fabulous piece of art from CatseaTheDevil.

Azriel

Another CatseaTheDevil commission, here is the Archmage of Entwell, the woman so powerful and dedicated to her task of running the final mystic exams that she is almost universally feared by the other residents. She’s several hundred years old, but magic has a way of keeping the years from showing, doesn’t it?

Caya

Here’s yet another fine piece of work from CatseaTheDevil, this time showing off Caya, leader of the Undermine, among other things. If you pay attention to the book, Caya seems to have an almost limitless amount of strong wine, and frequently offers it up to others in excess. The rightmost image of her is highly representative of this particular quirk.

The Ivy Sketches

In The Battle of Verril there are a few scenes where Ivy, a gifted artist, is showing off her skills to her friends. She draws a series of sketches, showing off most of the principle cast members. I realized once the books started to gain momentum that it was a cool idea to have those sketches drawn. I tapped the brilliant artist responsible for my covers, Nick Deligaris, to sketch them up. What you see below is the result.

Here is a picture of Myranda and Deacon, a pair who found each other as a result of the events of the story. I’m often asked by people just beginning the series if they end up together. I think one look at this picture is more than enough to answer that question.

The second sketch drawn by Ivy, this time depicting Lain and Ether. I’m always nervous when the times comes to draw Lain, because as I’ve said to many, he has the tremendous capacity to look goofy if not drawn with care. I think Nick did a great job. Ether looks fantastic, too. I described her to him as “Unnaturally flawless and attractive”, and I think he hit the nail on the head, even capturing a touch of the elemental quality with her wind-blown hair curling into flame-like shapes. Wonderful.