The art behind ‘The Art of the Con’

Most book covers are made from stock photographs combined and edited into something unique. Budgets mean there are no other options most of the time, but when we’ve been able to, we like to do things differently.

Three of my six covers so far lent themselves to using original photos we took. Two of those are based on pieces we made, and this latest (and I didn’t make it, so I can say it) is spectacular.

I’d asked Cally - cover designer, artiste and chocolatier extraordinaire - if we could take the cover for my upcoming novel The Cancer Man and make a painted variant of it for its prequel novella. She had other ideas, but I still got to play a small role in its creation.

After all that fun, the outcome is absolutely perfect for the book; striking and disturbing:

The piece of art is going to live on the wall behind me, so you’ll have something far more interesting to look at than the bare wall (and me) during episodes of the podcast.

I really couldn’t be happier with it all. I hope the book does it justice and that you enjoy it all.

In case you didn’t know, the novella is FREE from my website for all newsletter subscribers, so sign up if you haven’t already.

Also, Cally is open to making other pieces like these, so if you’d like an unsettling, original artwork in this style, message me here.

Enjoy the book!