I've been working on the cover for Portrait of a Girl
Adrift … it's been quite a process. In case any of my readers have suspected,
yes, I am the model for the 'girl' on the covers, not because I necessarily
resemble Leila—I mean, I am fifty six, after all—but I publish my novels on a
scant budget, and what can I say … I'm cheap and available! And it's not
difficult to trim off twenty-five pounds and smooth wrinkles with graphics software.
Nevertheless, I had intended a different pose for this cover—Leila
sitting cross legged, 'Indian style' as we used to say (but that's probably no
longer politically correct—the term, not the position). At any rate, Todd set up
the camera, adjusted the flood light and flipped on the fan for billowing the linen
shirt. But when I tried to assume the position, well, there was simply no way! I
don't know when it happened, when my body decided to be so inflexible, but I
was going to have to reconsider the composition for the cover. The image proportions
are a bit different from the covers for Girl Running and Protégé, but Adrift
still has the same feel.
Anyway, I thought it would be fun to post the progression of
the painting (and no, I will not share the photo I worked from—don't need that
circulating around the internet!).

Meanwhile, it's back to editing…