Creating Linny

I wanted the cover of my book to reflect what options were available for capturing images in 1914. After research I learned there were black and white photos or oil paintings if someone had the financial means and wanted to be captured in color. I decided I wanted a color cover and I wanted it to be a painting like those of the early 1900′s oil paintings.

The process for finding an artist who wasn’t overwhelmed by my vision and fit in my budget took months. I found two artist. The first one was an artist named Emilio who accepted my project on a website called Elance. The first Linny was so beautiful I would sometimes just stare at her before writing. I also think I was amazed at seeing the rendering of a person I created.

I was so excited, I showed the first Linny to all my close friends. A few of them asked if it was a ghost story. Knowing that it’s important in publishing to create a cover that matches your genre, I was immediately aware I would have to do a different cover. So I started again looking for an artist hoping for something more relative to the time.

Eventually I found Lam Lu, who did an awesome rendering of Linny. His work is so detailed and beautiful. Although I love the final book cover, it’s unfortunate that a lot of the intricate touches Lam achieved aren’t seen in the final cover. So I thought I would post something showing the process.