There I am emailing back and forth with my editor, Kathy Pories, of Algonquin Books about the cover to my debut novel, CALLING FOR A BLANKET DANCE. She let’s me know that the Creative Director of Algonquin Books, Christopher Moisan, has found an artist in southwest Texas who does amazing work. He’s especially interested in the specific style of art she employs. I quickly click on the attachment they provided. I’m instantly taken by how her work captivates the mind. It’s almost like a trap. A beautiful and alluring trap that you never want to leave.

Next thing Christopher reaches out to her to see if she’s interested in doing the cover art for the novel. He sends her chapters of the book and we wait patiently. A few weeks pass, and then finally I get the the good news. She’s agreed to work with us.

What happens next stuns me. Now I’ve looked through her website and her Instagram. I know what she’s capable of doing as an artist. Her work is well respected by her community and captures dynamics that I had hoped to see in her final piece for the novel. But not only was she able to capture the cultural elements I was hoping, she also made the image come right off the page. All I can tell you is this: this image crawled into my mind the moment I saw it and it has never left. Her ability to lure you into her art is amazing. You’ll catch yourself staring, waiting, hoping for the image to go further into your psyche.

And once the image traps you, you’ll immediately want to open the book’s pages to find more.

The cover reveal happens tomorrow, August 24, 2021, at 2pm Central Time. I can’t wait to introduce you to a stunning artist whose work is both radical and enticing.