The Collected Doodles

Doodles are casual sketches or scribbles. When arrayed around a book cover, doodles are often silly (and occasionally profound) comments on the contents of the book within. Take, for example, my doodle for Sordaneon.

First, let me note that this doodle is my very first effort. It's clunky. No variety in the doodles at all! Woeful failure to use color. The more I look at this doodle the more I want to redo it. That said, it is recognizably a doodle and a fun one.

Sordaneon is a serious book. It's the foundational book of an epic series after all. As the author, though, I know it is also filled with humor, juxtapositions, and absurdities. Why not point these out? Readers might find them interesting! I'm especially fond of the bit about Arranged Marriage Destined For World's Worst Breakup. Yep, I hit that nail on the head!

Here's the doodle for The Kheld King. Much improved. Again, I had fun.

This book has a lot going on! Look at all that stuff. Villains (Nammuor of course). Grandmothers (as if Dorilian doesn't have enough problems, right?) And royal mama bears like Emyli and Palaistea make for good reading.

Naturally I created a doodle for The Second Stone. Hans and Arne alone make that worthwhile! Note that I upped the color game.

Is there a better line than "Hi, I'm Prince Handurin. Remember my brother Stefan?" After all that happened in The Kheld King? Hans is toast! Dorilian calls Arne a "tattered little hanger-on" and it fits. I also hint at the Hans-Dorilian bromance. It's there, or so a few people have told me. And some readers like bromances. Bingo!

Which is why I of course did a nice doodle for The God Spear!

I really had fun with this one. Soupy City? Yeah! Something strange about that hill? (That was literally my first thought upon seeing the cover art. What's with the hill? But ultimately it works!) And poor Hans has serious doubts about leading the Kheld people at a few points in the story. The God Spear is a gold mine for doodling.

So did I do a doodle for The Walled City? You betcha!

Look at all the major story elements in play. WAR! Monsters! Swords and armor and a necessary reminder that the book is Not-A-Romance. It's an epic fantasy and there's that Wall... and Dorilian needs to figure out what to do about that.

This may not be the final version of the doodle... but it's what I have right now. That's one of the good things about doodles. Unlike a published book they aren't necessarily forever.