Oh, and as a special bonus, I’m putting the lyrics to the song Riki sings in the tavern at the end of the book. “The Siren” is actually a song I wrote a few years ago and I think it works pretty well as a poem too, so you can get an idea of the kind of reaction she provokes in the tavern.

I’m off to do more proofing! — B.

Here’s my latest effort at cover art. This will be for the sequel to Ezekiel, the next in the Sons of Amber series - Michael - coming in August from Phaze.

Here’s a little bit about the story:

Michael is a Dominant Son of Amber, commandant of the human fighting forces and in charge of Atlantia Station. When he learns a smuggling ring is kidnapping human women and transporting them to the jit’suku galaxy, he goes undercover with his executive officer to uncover the rats in their own kitchen. But playing the role of submissive female is something Leah, the competant XO, isn’t sure she can do. Michael proves she not only can, but will enjoy the Dominant games he plays so well for benefit of the smugglers they must convince.

Now about the art (if you’re intested in the process):

I used DAZ Studio and posed my characters in the scene, but had to do quite a bit of post-work, taking the characters out of the scene and rendering each separately. I then put them back together and placed the cool red/orange star field outside the windows. I used the same font styles that were on the Ezekiel cover so as to make them look like they belonged together. They’re a little bright, but when the cover gets down to small sizes - as happens all the time on the internet - you can still read them, which is a good thing. LOL.

I’m pleased with the way this came out. It depicts a scene in the latter part of the story when they’re back on board one of their own transport ships and back in uniform. Things aren’t completely settled, so there’s a bit of angst on both their faces. She’s sending him off to battle and is going off to trap a traitor herself, so they’re both going into danger. I hope some of that emotion comes through when you look at the image. I’m still very much a novice with digital art, but I really enjoy giving life to some of the scenes in my mind this way. Hope you like it too!