Weekword: Novel

A list of all this week’s participants is given at the end of this post

I must admit that I’ve rather overstretched myself this week (turns out that blogging regularly is almost a full-time occupation, who knew?!) and thus come to Weekword a little lacking in inspiration.  Which, thankfully, made me think.

“Never judge a book by its cover” – that’s what we’re told, and it’s damn good advice because if I judged books by their covers I’d never have read some of my favourite novels.

Take this one, for instance.  Thornyhold by Mary Stewart.  At first glance it looks like just another run of the mill, insipid romance novel.  Chocolate box cover art, totally uninspiring.  There is romance in this book, but it’s interwoven very skillfully with a tale of magical realism.  It’s actually rather fab, and although I can’t think what sort of cover art would do it justice, it’s certain that the current cover falls short.

One of my other favourites is The Spellkey Trilogy by Ann Downer (I actually have two copies of this, one copy of the original first part, and a copy of the complete trilogy).

I adore The Spellkey, but the cover art is dreadful and does the book(s) no favours whatsoever.  These books have been a source of inspiration for years (so much so that I ended up with a commission from the author!), and it’s a tragedy that the covers don’t reflect the genius within.

So there we go.  Two of my favourite novels, and a very rambling post!

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog for this week’s Weekword.  Don’t forget to pop by and see all the other participants too!

• Sally at Sow & Sew
• Sally at Diario
• Emily at Ready for an Adventure?
• Jennifer at Architette Studios
• Mary at No Polar Coordinates
• Katy at Creating Misericordia
• John at The Healing Seed

I’m nominating Sally at Sow & Sew to pick the next word (sorry Sally!), so please visit her blog on Monday to find out what the next word is.

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Elvish Book of Court Etiquette

Three years ago I created a unique piece inspired by one of my favourite books.  The original piece can be viewed by clicking here.

To my great astonishment (and neverending joy!) I was contacted by the author of The Spellkey, the book which inspired my creation, earlier this year.  She said that she had stumbled across my Elvish Book and loved it, and wondered if I would be able to make another one.

Of course I said yes, after I had calmed down somewhat that is.

This second version of The Elvish Book of Court Etiquette is similar to, but far more sumptuous than, the original.  It features over 600 clear, iridescent, lilac and amethyst coloured rhinestones.  The girdle tail is an eight-strand braid, and the tie-closures are 4-strand braids.  The covers have been lined with a handmade lilac paper which has small flower petals embedded in it.

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