In mid-2010, Irene Gallo of Tor Books commissioned me to paint Honeyed Words by J. A. Pitts, the sequel to Black Blade Blues. My schedule was pretty full, and so even though I couldn’t get the final painting done in time for the catalog, I did have enough time to do a really refined sketch. (The catalog, by the way, is what the publisher sends out to bookstore buyers to facilitate them in ordering upcoming books.) The images within are usually black and white and just a few inches tall. However, to list a title without an image is sales suicide, which is why art directors often need covers painted way before a book is released, or sometimes even written.

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