When I chat to readers about the books I write, I often mention the joy of working with wonderful artists like Cate James and Philip Longson, and the privilege of seeing the stories I’ve written come to life in their illustrations.
But then I admit that the pictures I love most are the pictures I never see. The pictures inspired by the novels I write. The pictures that you, the readers, create in your own heads as you read the Spellchasers trilogy or the Fabled Beast Chronicles or Mind Blind or Rocking Horse War…
I can’t draw. Not at all. If I draw a cat, I draw it from the back, so I don’t have to attempt the face or the paws. (I can just about do ears…) So when I write a novel, I draw with words. I hope to draw pictures in your heads: a collaboration between my words, and your imaginations.
I’d love to see those pictures on paper, I’d love to discover what you see when you read about Molly shapeshifting or Innes galloping or Beth with her trees or Atacama by his pyramid.
And now I’ll get the chance to see those pictures! Because my publishers Floris are running a Spellchasers competition, with a prize of the full Spellchasers trilogy (including a very early copy of the final book, The Witch’s Guide to Magical Combat) for the best picture of a character or a scene from the two Spellchasers novels so far. The winner will also get a print of their artwork (which is a splendid prize!) and all the shortlisted artists will get one of those early copies of The Witch’s Guide.
Jordi Solano has created wonderful covers for the Spellchasers trilogy, but you might imagine the characters differently, and you will have your own images of the monsters and magic and action that aren’t on the covers.
So, what will you draw?
Will you draw the dryad, the kelpie, the sphinx, the toad? Or Molly herself? (As a girl? Or a hare? Or shapeshifting between the two?)
Will you draw a baddie? A flock of mobbing crows, a hunting pack of nuckelavee, a circle of grey men, a line of mosaic warriors, or a warrior queen by a roaring fire?
Will you draw one of the magical locations? The Promise Keeper’s Hall, the witch’s farm, a Speyside pyramid, a cave, or Beth’s wood?
Whatever you draw, I’ll be fascinated to see what adventures the Spellchasers characters have in your heads and in your pictures, once they’ve left my keyboard! I’m really keen to find out what you see when you read!
All the details of the competition are here: http://discoverkelpies.co.uk/2017/05/spellchasers-fan-art-competition/
And the closing date is the 23rd of June.
Best of luck!
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