Book Illustratin'

After two weeks of incessant posting, I thought I'd give you an illustration interlude. As the actual writing part of my book winds down (yes, I'm still entering in those changes -- got hung up on a problematic scene but I think I fixed it today), I've been thinking more and more about illustrating it. The idea of big, full-page pen and ink drawings isn't appealing to me (way too much work), but I like the idea of little drawings that could appear on the first page of each chapter, just above the big number. In addition to the painted, full-page illustrations in King's "The Gunslinger", the artist, Michael Whelan, also drew these great, ultra-detailed little drawings that kind of gave the story an added layer of richness. That's kind of my template.

The above is an unfinished sketch (the two trees that frame the scene ought to be black, for instance), but if I did a finished version of this, I'd put it at the beginning of Chapter One. The drawing shows the unfriendly emissary of the gated community, Richard Junger (in his black Mercedes) parked at the end of the paved road watching the hero drive up the dirt road. Anyway, it's a first draft.