Near the End of Time

I worked off and on for six years on the YA SF manuscript, A Singular Prophecy. Frustrated with the traditional timeline involved with marketing this work along the usual channels, I decided to jump into online publishing by formatting it for Amazon’s Kindle reader. (For other designers out there, Amazon provides a free download extension for InDesign that allows export to the Kindle format.) Soon, I will also have print-on-demand capability from CreateSpace.com, both in order to reach traditional readers and provide hard copy for those who want that option in addition to digital reading.

I’m fortunate to be able to design my own book interior and covers. I created a photomontage for the cover using a couple of my photographs, along with bits and pieces of web images and modifying them. I had an idea for a scene from the Prologue/Epilog portions of the book and soon jumped into creating a painting that I called “Near the End of Time.” (My characters reconnoiter there after their adventures.) Unfortunately, although I loved the finished painting, it didn’t really work well with the cover image. I regrouped and built the back cover from another photo that matched the one I had used on the front.

Perhaps someday, if A SINGULAR PROPHECY does well, I may decide to illustrate the interior of the book, but I suspect that I will have moved on to other projects by then. “Near the End of Time” might work well in black and white opposite the Prologue.

In the meantime, I’m curious as to how the painting resonates with others. What does the image below say to you?

Some technical notes for other illustrators:

Near the end of time is mostly acrylic used primarily like watercolor with some colored pencil. It’s painted on a light blue matte board (the color of the blue plain in the middle of the work). Finished size is 16” X 20.”