Oh, Oh, Oh, Ladies day number four and she is here – Fan Girl scream ….. Anne Cain is here with us today to answer the shouts that we send out.

I am a huge fan of her work and I am so chuffed to have her here. The artwork in the interview are Miss Cain’s work and a link will be provided to view the rest of Ms. Cain’s work at the end of the Q&A.

 

 

Cecile

Do you read the books you make the covers for?

I wish I could read them all! But I might not have enough time on certain projects, or the manuscript isn’t available for me to take a peek at. Every once in a while I do get a chance to read the book in advance and that’s a HUGE treat. There’s a series coming out next spring from Dorchester that is just unbelievably awesome, and I got a chance to read the first two stories while working on the covers—“The Battle Sylph” and “The  Shattered Sylph”. Readers are going to have so much fun with those books! I love them.

Leontine

q 1: What are your most used tools while crafting a cover, the essentials you can’t work without?

I can’t exist without Adobe Creative Suites—seriously. As a designer, that’s my most important tool along with the knowledge I have from my background in art and journalism/magazine production. Another must have tool: CHOCOLATE. And tea! J

q 2: How much time does it take for you to create a cover? 

It really depends on the project. Covers where I mix a lot of traditional media and drawings tend to take longer than projects where I’m given the source material or photos. But if I need to set up a photo shoot or a lot of revisions are necessary to get the art just right for a cover, then those projects can take a pretty good amount of time too.

q 3: What is your favorite medium, pencils, crayons, paint etc/ computer program/ photography?

My favorite fun medium and the one I still turn to first for personal  projects is good ol’ graphite and paper. I love to draw! For work, I’ll use anything and everything to make the art as purrrrfect as possible for the authors and publishers.

q 4: Which cover was you first sell and what did you do upon hearing the news. Did you read the book and did you like it?

I did read the book and I did like it—it was my own story co-written with Barbara Sheridan, Blood Brothers! Samhain Publishing picked up the novella in late 2005 and allowed me to provide the art. Shortly after that, I was hired for other covers and I believe my very first cover for a book not written by moi was for “Lords of Ch’i”. (A very excellent book too, I might add. J)

Lea

q 1: Do you work specifically from a graphic on the computer or design from scratch? 

Again, it all depends. Sometimes I’ll create a digital painting entirely on the computer, other times I’ll make a drawing on a paper and scan it in. The project ends up being what really dictates the process: whatever’s going to work best for the book is what I’ll do.

Amanda

q 1: How do you decide what kind of style that the book or piece requires be it modern traditional etc?

I usually get author or publisher feedback/suggestions on what direction to take with the art. In the case where everyone leaves it up to me (and those are a lot of fun!), I’ll take a good look at excerpts from the book or read through the synopsis to get a feel for the tone and mood of the book.

Carolyn Crane (AKA CJ)

q 1: Do publishers give you parameters for the covers? (like has to have a woman standing with a gun, need a bare man-chest, etc), or do they leave it up to you? 

I’m really lucky—most of my art directors will give me a general idea of what they’d like to see, but give me plenty of creative freedom.

q 2: Do you read the books, and if so, do you take your ideas from specific scenes, or just the whole thing? 

I think the idea of depicting a specific scene works best for some genres more than others. Like hardcore sci-fi and fantasy novels. In romance, we can be more figurative with the artwork as long as it captures the book’s tone and overall flavor. Although, I think it would be pretty cool to see a revival of those quasi-kitschy covers with a pulp flair like on the old Harlequins!

q 3: Do you have any advice to give to authors working with cover artists? Like, if an author were to have ideas or hopes for a cover, what’s the most productive way to work with a cover artist?

Authors, be kind to your artists! (Though most are already, to be honest.J) Artists always try their best, so even if the cover isn’t quite what you had in mind, find a gentle way to break the news. Or better yet, go to the art director and let him or her know what’s going on so they can act as an intermediary. I know it’s jarring to see a cover you might not really like, but if you panic and send emails to the artist with lines like, “I hate this!” or “It’s a disaster!”, chances are good you won’t be making a friend. My personal request? Don’t poo-poo an artist’s model choice by saying the hero looks ‘too gay’ or the heroine looks ‘too butch’. Just…don’t. :P

Fantasy Dreamer (Donna)

q 1: Some of the covers, the people look very real. Do you use real people for models? If so, how does one the photo art sessions work? If not, where do you get your "real life inspiration" for the covers?

I have a variety of styles that I’ll use on a cover depending on what works best for the book. Some might be completely manga/comic-book style (like the art for my Pawprints series), and others are photo-realistic—in which case, I’ll use a mix of different mediums for the artwork including photography. I do have a set of lovely, great-to-work-with models that I’ll use for certain projects, otherwise I’ll look to stock photo agencies for that perfect shot I need.

Anonymous

q 1: Have you always drawn? Is this your dream job?

I really have been drawing most of my life, and it totally, 100% is my dream job. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing—I love art, and I love creating book covers for all these wonderful authors, creators, and publishers! Being a comic book artist was my childhood goal, along with illustrating a cover for a Dianna Wynne Jones novel. (She’s still one of my all-time favorite authors, in fact.) I’m living the dream on the comic side of things: I just finished up an eight-page mini-comic for Tommy Roddy and his fabulous “Pride High” series. (But I’m still waiting for the chance to make some Christopher Chant art for Ms. Jones!)

q 2: Do you have a favourite you have done?

Argh! It’s hard to pick a favorite because I try to put my absolute best into every cover I do. The benefit of doing a little writing on the side is that I have an idea of how much work and love goes into crafting a story. So for me, being able to reflect some of the author’s passion in the artwork is an absolute must. But if I had to pick covers that I’ve really enjoyed working on recently, they would be “Dreamlands” for Dreamspinner Press and “Catch of a Lifetime” for Sourcebooks. Oh! And the covers for the Sylph books which I can’t share yet, but I really love working on those too.

Erotic Horizon

q 1: All your work has a distinct quality to them – Do you actively work to develop a style or has this just evolve over time – (calm quiet quality – not even the scary looks scary)?  

Personal taste and style does develop over time, but I don’t think I’ve made a conscious effort to go in one direction or another. Using color to a story’s advantage is something I try to do, and I think that’s one trait that might stand out in my work. Also, I try to look at lots of other different media for inspiration, not just other ebook covers. Classical art, street art, graphic design, comic illustrations—it’s all fair game to me and I think (or at least I hope!) that lends a freshness to my work.

q 2: Where do you see the end of your work to be?

That’s the beauty of being an artist: there is no end to the work. Styles and interests are always evolving, and people change, develop. There’s always something new to learn and a new approach to try—it makes this field such a great, exciting place to be working in. I want to keep making covers and illustrations as long as there are books in the world!

q 3: What is the highest accolade you have every received for your work?

Actually, I don’t enter a lot of contests. Last year, Samhain sponsored the entry for a couple of my covers into EPIC’s Ariana awards, but I don’t personally pursue that kind of recognition. Getting a *huge* hug from a happy author at RWA who loves her cover, or receiving an email from a reader who tells me they took a chance on a book because of my art and then fell in love with the story is the best reward imaginable. Seriously—it’s hard to describe how wonderful it feels to have those experiences.

q 4: I love fantasy art very much and I follow a few consistently, what would you classify your work as and who inspire you? 

My work is, well, kind of all over the place. LOL! But I think that’s a good thing. It reflects who I am as a person—I love all kinds of music, books, cultures, etc. Variety is the spice of life, right? And I like bringing that broad range of interests to the table as an artist. So while I adore fantasy and sci-fi projects, there’s very little that I don’t like. My biggest influences in the art realm include Drew Struzan (a kick-ass fine artist as well as illustrator), Kinuko Y. Craft, Jan Duursema, Brom, guh! Too many to name! J

q 5: Have you every had work rejected?

Tons of times. Sometimes a certain look isn’t really working for a title, or maybe a little further down the line changes need to be made because of feedback the publisher receives from partners. At first, it feels lame when a cover I really personally love needs to get a makeover, but then I realize the decision was made for the good of the book and that makes it totally worthwhile.

 

Thank you Anne for taking the time as I know you were committed to getting this to me despite the excitement of RWA – Thanks again….

Ms. Cain along with her co-author Barbara Sheridan did an extensive interview with Jesse from Review By Jessewave a while ago – Please view the feature HERE…

To view a list of Ms. Cain’s work  see her GALLERY and her books HERE

 

Contest time

Anne has been kind enough to offer up a Ebook from “her” backlist – I have attached two of the covers from each of her series. Check out the list of her work HERE

DRAGON’S DISCIPLE TRILOGY & BLOOD BROTHERS

Enter a world where nights are darker and passions run deeper,
a world where vampires and demons dwell in the shadows..

Mired in centuries-old customs and rigid traditions carried over from their mortal lives, the chaing-shih elders of New York’s Chinatown don’t quite know how to deal with the upstart Russian vampire, Mistress Viktoria. With their existence in danger, the Elders call upon an ancient blood tie and summon the aid of their kinsman, Liu Sakurai.

Though he appears to the world as a sensual young man in his mid-twenties, Sakurai is one of the oldest and most powerful chaing-shih to walk the Earth. He sees humans as not much more than weak playthings and food, and no one is more surprised than Sakurai himself when NYPD Detective Daisuke Matsui manages to capture his attention. Dai is a strong one, full of an inner fire and unusual sexual appetites that Sakurai cannot resist.

In the mysterious and arrogant vampire, Dai finds the type of person he’s been longing for his entire life–someone with a strength of will and determination that matches his own, and a skill to dominate him in ways that make him burn. While trying to unwind the ties his half-brother has to Chinatown’s underworld, Dai is confronted by creatures and events he thought only existed in the legends and stories told by old men. His life is on the line, along with everything he holds dear, but Sakurai’s dark whispers promise a passion Dai is powerless to resist

CHILDPREY Series – ChildsPrey, a series about love, sex and Jock.

On the biggest night of his career, Japanese glam rocker Miji Makana drops his mic to the stage floor and disappears from the public eye. No one knows what happened, not even his friends or former bandmates, now part of the rival rock band, ChildsPrey.
After working behind the scenes as an assistant editor for too long, Yutaka Kaneshiro finally gets his big break. He’s given a potentially lucrative assignment to write an exposé on the world-famous rockers of ChildsPrey, one of which happens to be his stepbrother. But once he arrives in Tokyo and starts his research, he’s drawn to the mystery surrounding Miji Makana. Where did the rocker go? Was he involved with the mob? Is he running from tax collectors? Did he have a sex change?
The rumors are wild, but nothing surprises Yuta more than the truth: the down-to-earth fry cook Yutaka is falling head over heels for is really the glam rocker in disguise?
When a series of hot sex tapes ignites a scandal that quickly skyrockets out of control, truth is separated from fiction and love is brought to light under a secret moon.

 

Here’s today question for the contest..

We visited quite a bit of covers yesterday (and I am still wiping up the mess) so I am not going to ask a question about naming a cover again – Today’s question, I want your honest answer – How easily persuaded are you by a good cover and are you one of those that loiter in the book aisle just cover drooling.

Contest Rule

Just leave a comment answering the question – That’s it…

This is open to all commenter’s.

For basic general rules CHECK HERE

Whose on Your Cover contest is still open until 5pm today.

And I