Publishing Fire Drill -- Art Fact Sheet

I was also told I needed to get stuff for the art sheet of Knight Protector/Defender of Trust asap, as usual. This particular heroine (an ex barrel racer due to a bad fall, and rancher) will be working with the Chevaliers of Lladrana. The volarans (winged horses) believe that she is Summoned for THEM. I want a woman on a flying horse and I told them this:

"Calli (Callista) Torcher: Average height, girl-next-door pretty, blond hair, blue eyes, rancher, ex-barrel racer, curvey and athletic. I'd like her riding a volaran (see pics of winged horses). Volarans are regular colored horses, any color is fine. In Colorado she will wear jeans/flannel-plaid or chambray shirts. In Lladrana she will wear flying/fighting leathers which can be brown or ANY COLOR EXCEPT WHITE, if you want to do gray lizard skin, that might be good. She can have a chain-mail tunic and a helmet, or a helmet attached to the saddle. A filly can also be shown, mother and daughter."

I told them the background I wanted (but won't tell you because it might give away the story a bit), but also told them they could use pics of her flying above Windsor (top left) or Warwick (top right). For those of you who have read Guardian of honor, I had this picture in mind when I described when Bastien went to the Castle and met his father (though the buidlings aren't exactly the same and the courtyard is stone, I'm talking about the SUNDIAL).

So I sent a few winged horses. Ever look at wings on horses? I spent hours a few months ago when writing Sorceress of Faith doing that. Some wings are horizontal and go across the body. These are more likely but I've had Alexa and Bastien riding double and even with Alexa being small, that doesn't look probable. So I've considered wings angled across the shoulder. Ciro Marchetti has a wonderful one of his Knight of Swords in his Tarot of Dreams (which I purchased), but I don't know if it's up on his website: http://www.ciromarchetti.com and Nene Thomas has the Carousel Horses (I bought TWO posters of the brown one and gave one to a friend). http://www.nenethomas.com/galleries/faefants/prints/hunterbrown.html

You will notice that the last two times I've been immediately requested for art, I haven't had to scramble. Just pick some ideas that I've saved and send them off. I do my art ideas well in advance -- and I DO spend hours looking at things -- like the best pics of the Flatirons (not on Sorceress of Faith cover, but emailed to the art dept. all the same), or swords, or boxes, or pegasuses (pegasi? pegasae?) or keys.

So, be prepared. Know what you want ahead of time.

Love,
Robin