A CLOAK & GHOST obscure in-joke

People have emailed to say they really like this joke in CLOAK & GHOST: LOST GATE.

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“She reminds me a little of you,” said Riordan. “Almost like you were characters created by the same author.”

“For God’s sake,” I muttered. “Not everything has to be compared to a damn book.” He smiled again. “And any author who could think up someone like me would be a serious jerk.”

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However, my favorite joke in the book is this one. Though it’s kind of an in-joke.

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Winston laughed. “I understand what that feels like, sir!” He took Andromache’s arm. “Darling, we shouldn’t keep our guests waiting, and we should let these fearsome security Valkyries you’ve hired,” he winked at Caina and Nadia, “go about their business.”

“Valkyries?” said Nadia. “They’re the ones with the winged hats, right?”

“Kind of,” said Winston, and he smiled and guided a bemused Andromache to the door.

“I don’t think I’d look good with a winged hat,” said Nadia.

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That refers back to the very first cover of CHILD OF THE GHOSTS, back when I started self-publishing in 2011. Back then, I couldn’t afford to hire a cover designer. Many indie authors use stock photos (I still do), but back in 2011, I also couldn’t afford stock photos.

So where did that leave me? Public domain art! I spent a lot of time looking at 19th and early 20th century artwork that had passed into the public domain in search of cover images. The first cover of CHILD OF THE GHOSTS came from the work of Arthur Rackham, specifically some artwork he did to accompany Richard Wagner’s operas:

Yes, I like to think my abilities with cover design have improved somewhat since then. (For that matter, I can afford stock photos now.) By comparison, the last cover I did myself was CLOAK & GHOST: LOST GATE.

Anyway, if all goes well, Caina’s next stand-alone adventure GHOST IN THE TOWER should be out in December. And Nadia’s next stand-alone adventure CLOAK OF DRAGONS should come out in February! I just got the cover image for CLOAK OF DRAGONS and it looks very good.

-JM