MONTE MOORE MAKES MAGIC

How My Characters Got Their Looks

See the picture? Let me introduce you to Lea and Nieve. They are my girls. Aren’t they stunning?

Let’s turn back the clock to 2013. One day on Kickstarter, I spotted a campaign I couldn’t afford to miss. One of my favorite artists, Monte Moore, was crowdfunding his latest book, Mischief. It’s no secret I’m a little bit geek about a lot of things, but I go 100% fangirl over his art. Crazy fangirl. Not that surprising, since his paintings are truly magnificent. He’s done everything. Art for Star Wars, comic book covers, games, and pin-up art. Yup. I love it all.

One of the pledges involved a commission for a painting of two characters of your choice. At the time, I was neck-deep in writing Divide and Conquer. I was drinking, eating and breathing Lea and Nieve day after day. I knew every nuance of their psyches, from how they felt about politics right down to their particular brands of humor.

But here’s the problem. I’m not a visual person.

Oh, I can pick out and describe gray net curtains, a stained carpet, the scratch marks on a sofa. But my mind is unable to fill in the gaps or to create a three-dimensional space. I’m worse with faces. If anyone mugged me on a sunny day and the police quizzed me about the criminal’s features, I’d probably get their gender right.

That’s what happened with Nieve and Lea. I had the most basic details: the leather uniform, their weapons, Nieve’s striking white-blond hair and white eye lashes against tan skin, the tattoo on her shoulder. But the rest of their appearance was hazy.

Then the Kickstarter campaign blew into my lap. Owning a genuine Monte of MY characters? I had to pledge. So I carpe-d the diem and hopped on the Monte bandwagon. At his request, I sent the specifics as I laid them out here, nothing more. I figure, he’s the artist. I’m not. Who am I to tell him how to do his job? I wouldn’t tell a lion tamer how to tame a lion either, right?

Divide and Conquer was approaching its heart-thumping finale. My proud and bold statement The End was followed by months and months of revisions and editing. Then the email I’d dreamed of. I got offered a contract.

Snoopy dance!

Lea and Nieve would soon come to an e-reader near you. A paperback version is also on the horizon.

You know those smiles that bite into your cheeks and become painful? I had one of those for days.

Anyway, my website now needed a “Books” page, with a blurb and a cover, but I wouldn’t get a book cover for many months. As a quick fix, I used my iPad to produce a book collage. A visual representation of some of Divide and Conquer‘s crucial elements: the Seattle Space Needle, a dagger and a fighting stick, and the fog called up by their enemies. But look here. Lea and Nieve had no faces. Just blurred indications of where their noses, eyes and mouths should go.

Why? Because, even after two years of sweating over Divide and Conquer, I still didn’t know what the girls looked like.

Then a week ago, I opened another one of those grin-inducing emails. My painting was done. And. It. Is. Extraordinary. Monte’s cleared the level of my expectations with miles to spare. I simply can’t stop staring at the picture. It’s pure magic. I’m torn between showing it to everyone I know, and hunching over it with a snarl so no one steals it (that’s also why I watermarked it).

To see Lea and Nieve for the first time… Heck, the feeling is indescribable. Lea is unbelievably pretty. Her features, her dagger and her uniform are jaw-droppingly intricate. Nieve is, well, I can’t take my eyes off her. And let’s be honest, only a special kind of woman could draw your gaze from Lea.

I’m over the moon and hope you love it, too. For the first time, my girls have faces. Thank you, Monte.

If you’re interested in learning more about Monte Moore, check out his website.

Monte M. Moore
Artist/Writer/Designer
web: www.mavarts.com