Midlist Writer: My Civil War Book Gets An Illustrator

Monday 24 November 2008

My Civil War Book Gets An Illustrator

My editor at Osprey Publishing, who will publish my Guerrilla Tactics of the American Civil War next year, has told me that my illustrator will be Gerry Embleton. Anyone familiar with Osprey's books will know that one of the main selling points is their excellent full-color plates. Gerry is one of the most experienced of Osprey's many talented artists, having done more than forty titles for them, as well as numerous other projects. His fantasy art looks cool too. When are you getting more of those up on your website, Gerry?

Doing the plate descriptions has been the hardest part of this project. I've had to describe every scene, including what everyone is doing, firing, riding, wearing, and carrying. People buy Osprey books for their detail and accuracy, and that has to be reflected in the color plates. Luckily Gerry has illustrated Civil War books before. I've admired his work over the years and I'm completely amazed that he's going to illustrate one of my books. This is my first title with Osprey, so I bet it's no accident they've teamed me up with a seasoned illustrator!

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