How Cover Art Shaped My Story, Part One
“I began to have nightmares of the most hideous description, peopled with things I called nightgaunts”
I was putting the cart before the horse.
I knew that, but I was stuck and had to find a way to continue writing my second book, Thin Places.
Visualizing things has never been my strong point. I joke with friends that I chose to write in H.P. Lovecraft’s world, so I didn’t have to create a place of my own. To put it bluntly, I don’t enjoy worldbuilding. I’m happy to focus on things that are important to the story, but I don’t feel like I need to fill in all the blanks about the world. After all, I don’t know everything about this world, but I can still function…
Still, I needed to be able to visualize the creature at the heart of Thin Places. The nightgaunt is important because it’s the first creature from the Dreamlands my main character encounters. It is through this gateway creature that Ellen Logan finds out more about this bizarre alternate world.
I turned to artist Paul Carrick for help. I have always admired his work. Whenever my creative batteries ran low, his illustrations for the role-playing game Call of Cthulhu jumpstarted my imagination. I found his website and left him an email, asking him if he would consider working with me.
I didn’t expect much except for a polite reply telling me he was too busy to take on another project. But Paul Carrick was willing to work with an unknown (and unproven) writer.
The Great Red Dragon And The Woman Clothed In The Sun by William Blake (1804)
We exchanged emails and developed our own vision of the nightgaunt. First, we had to zero in on what we didn’t want it to be.
We both admired William Blake’s The Great Red Dragon and The Woman Clothed In Sun , but we agreed that the creature portrayed in this masterpiece was too well…buff. It looked like it spent a lot of time working out at the gym. That’s not how we pictured nightgaunts. They’re in-between creatures, capable of slipping through the nooks and crannies that separate the real world from the Dreamlands.
Way Too Skinny…
But Paul and I also didn’t like the emaciated, skeletal versions of the creatures. There had to be a happy medium between these two extremes. After long discussion, I stepped back and gave Paul some room to think.
It took much longer than I expected, but when the painting finally arrived, it knocked my socks off. What I love about Paul’s vision of the nightgaunt is the sleek, streamlined body. The creature isn’t buff, but there is a tone to the body that suggests it could take care of itself in both worlds. There is also an ephemeral quality to the image. Look at the edges of the creature. Notice how the sharp lines begin to blur, especially around the feet and tail.
Nightgaunts are creatures that thrive by camouflaging themselves, on using their surroundings to hide their presence.
But something unexpected is happening. The nightgaunt is attempting to cloak itself, but a red light prevents it from fully concealing itself.
It illuminates its wings, exposing it to the world.
I loved this image, but I was baffled by Paul’s decision. I emailed him and asked him why the background behind the nightgaunt was so bright.
I’ll never forget his response.
“You’re the writer. You tell me.”
Those six words, along with Paul’s evocative creature, changed the course of Thin Places.
More on that in a future blog…
Until then, check out Paul Carrick’s website. He’s got lots of great stuff!