I’m so thankful I met Soleil years ago. Well, “met” on the internet — we’ve never met in person. After reviewing some of my early work, she also began helping me as a beta reader. She gets my voice and she shares her reaction to my work with me, so I can tell where I need to work a bit more or if I’m getting the responses I want.
A few months ago we were brainstorming in a private chat, and she suggested I run some kind of fan art contest. At the time, I wasn’t sure when Return to Shanhasson would be available (GREGAR), so I didn’t take action, although I thought it was a great idea. I would absolutely LOVE to commission some artwork. Someday.
Well, the someday came very quickly when I couldn’t find the right stock photos for Golden. I wanted something special, and if you haven’t tried to find an attractive Asian man 1). NOT holding a cell phone and 2). NOT dressed in a suit or as a ninja, then you can’t imagine how frustrating my hunt was.
Then it dawned on me. This was my chance to commission artwork for Golden — that I could use for Romance Trading Cards. And naturally, the first person I thought of, was Soleil.
She worked for weeks on these images, adding the small touches to make these images so much more special than anything I would have been able to find online. I can’t wait to have these made into character cards!
