Recently I put up a post about my steemit journey so far, and in this post I spoke about the first friend I made in these halls, @therealpaul. He is a brilliant writer of both fiction and non, as well as an incredible artist.

It is this last that prompted me to ask him if he would be interested in creating a cover for my book Reborn. This part of his response...

I grew up entertaining my friends with war and gore drawings, so I may be right for this story, since I Imagine the cover art to be: "...everyone had flattened themselves against the wall, none wanting to be a bi-product of the god's fury." Of course I would make it more bookshelf-friendly than what I imagine the floor to look like in that room, but that's what dramatic shadows are for, to 'suggest' what happened just before.

...made me feel not only was he the right one for this project, but that this collaboration was magical. It was as if he had taken the image I had always carried of the cover right from my head, using a line from the prologue that I hadn't even recognized as exceptional until that moment.

It was new territory for both of us, but I made an offer, he accepted, and over the course of the next weeks he sent me sketches of his project which we discussed with growing excitement on both sides. He has expressed his intention to do a progression post, so soon you will also be able to enjoy the steps it took to recreate the opening scene for my book. And now without further ado, I give you Reborn's new cover by @therealpaul:

Eventually I will publish Reborn as a full manuscript, and when I do, the open space you see is where I will put the title, my name, etc. But for now, here in steemit, I've decided not to disrupt this magnificent creation, so it can be enjoyed undiluted from chapter to chapter.

Thank you so much @therealpaul, you have taken the experience of Reborn to the next level!

Generously created for me by @son-of-satire