Chapter Images

So Rachel (my awesome friend and book cover artist) has been itching to take The Tusks of Odoben to a whole new level, in terms of the artwork she wants to create. We already agreed the goal for the cover is to design something similar in style to the amazing cover art for The Percy Jackson novels.  We really want it to pop right off the page with color and flow, as if the book cover were a moving scene, like the Daily Prophet from the Harry Potter novels.
So that's already in the works. But, like I was saying, Rachel decided to take it even further. She offered to paint chapter images for each chapter. Well, of course, I was totally down with that. I absolutely loved the sketches in the HP novels. They really added to the reading experience.
So Rachel's been quite a busy bee lately. She's already painted several chapter images and I'm excited to say that she's given me permission to post one here today! This little guy is called a Viewing Bee and he'll make his debut appearance in Chapter 9, titled Aedes. Which will mean nothing to you since you haven't read the book yet. But it will someday (I hope!).
Pay close attention to the Viewing Bee's binocular eyes. They record everything they see. Notice the bee's special antennas. They allow its keeper to recall the bee back to the hive. The Viewing Bee is easily overlooked, as it looks and behaves like any ordinary bee. But after close inspection you might notice its mechanical legs and wings.
By the way, the Viewing Bee did have a small cameo appearance in The Silver Earth Seed. I'm not saying where exactly. But knowing Viewing Bees the way I do, they always seem to show up during the most climactic moments.