Saturday, March 6, 2010

Cover Art?

Okay, this is another cross-blogging post (from my Unsupervised & at Large blog), but it does have something to do with my novel, Story for a Shipwright. I just finished this painting*, Moorings, as a possible cover design element—you know, in case I exhaust every agent in the universe and resort to self-publishing. It puts me in mind of a scene from the story, where shipwright Sam Wesley is sitting in the local diner, looking out over the harbor on Sunday morning…

"It wasn’t truly the best seat, but the corner booth, partially overlooking the harbor and a few lobster boats suited me fine. While Billy perused his options, my attention wandered to the boats in the harbor—many of them were out for the day baiting traps, which is all they’re allowed on Sundays, from June through August. I thought about how consistent lobstermen are—they seem to recognize no distinction of day or season, heat or cold, rain or shine. Glancing around the diner, at old lobster traps hung from the ceiling, and picturesque scenes behind glass, I chuckled at how we who live here take their trade for granted. Funny, how tourists romanticize the industry, carrying it home in calendars or placemats, rarely appreciating the sweat that goes into the lobster on their plate."


*based on an image by photographer, Doug Wood, titled, stonington, sunday morning

8 comments:

  1. Beautifully done, a very atmospheric image, suggestive of a melancholy, maybe. Definitely captures the image of the writing passage, too.

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  2. Thanks, Joanne. In fact, it's that meloncholic atmosphere that attracted me to the image; it's an important element in the setting of the story, especially as it opens.
    ...now to find one with a shipwrecked schooner...

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  3. Moorings is a wonderful compliment to the passage. A shipwrecked schooner sounds intriguing... Do I sense a theme developing? Because a series of SfaS inspired paintings would be awesome!

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  4. To be honest, Deb, I don’t know what to paint next...I’d like to build my portfolio of nautical scenes, and all the better if they have book cover possibilities.

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  5. I love this picture. Strangely, it looks like the image of our harbor from a certain point. I even asked my husband, without telling him what it was, and he told me it looked like our harbor from the same place I was thinking. So, even though it is not, you've caught a real truth here.

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  6. Thank you, Liza--what a lovely compliment! And how awesome to live nearby somewhere that looks like that :)

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  7. Gosh, Rick, I don't know what to say...(perhaps I'm better with paint, than words).

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