by Chris McMahon
I’m over the moon about the new Calvanni cover – and the fact the book will soon go live on the Naked Reader site!
It got me thinking about how different types of art can inspire each other. The first time I saw an illustration inspired by one of my stories I could hardly describe the feeling – I think honoured would be the closest, probably followed by awed – that another creative person would be inspired enough by my own ramblings to produce another piece of art.
The first illustration in this vein was inspired by my story The Buggy Plague, which was an action/survival story set on Mars. It was a two-page sketch, with the central character Chas in her skin-tight biosuit in the Martian dust before the approaching bulk of an Assembly and Service Unit, whose rogue AI was directing a swarm of exploration buggies forward like its own personal army. For that I owe thanks to the editor of Orb, Sarah Henderson, who also commissioned artwork for my story The Cook (which surprisingly enough was about the escape from intergalactic slavery by a group of humans cherry-picked from Earth during different epochs – although the key character was actually a celebrity cook working for the alien slavemasters).
Art endlessly inspires itself – books to films, books to music, music and fine art back to fiction and poetry.
I remember reading the introduction in Duke Elric by Michael Moorcock. I was surprised to learn he was involved with music in the 1970s and how fiction inspired so much of what they did, particularly lyrically. It put me in mind of so much of the classic 70s rock – Rush, Led Zeppelin etc – that was often inspired by Fantasy fiction. The Battle of Evermore comes to mind.
What are your favourite Art Instersections? What other forms of art inspire you? Or better yet, how has your work inspired others?
Mad Genius Club 
9 responses to “Art Intersections”
Just an fyi for everyone, The Calvanni will go live Friday at nakedreader.com and will follow shortly on Amazon, B&N, etc. And, Chris, it really is a great book. More on the rest of your post in the morning, when my brain is functioning.
Thanks, Amanda! I really love the cover:)
Great cover, Chris. I almost wish I didn’t already own the old version so I could buy this one.
Thanks, Scott. That’s a great compliment. It’s a cool fantasy cover.
Wishing the Calvanni every success, Chris!
Thanks, Rowena:)
Nice cover. The last time I went to the museum, I found myself noticing pictures of my characters, and evaluating them according to how they’d do as book covers.
Hi, Pam. Sounds like fun. Just make sure you don’t start cutting out the pictures at the gallery and taking them home:)
These days I just find them online and copy them. 😉