Celta Thursday, T'Ash Interview 2, HeartMate Cover Reissue

Celta Thursday, HeartMate Cover Reissue

Early in my career I had very little input into covers, so I didn't see the reissue cover until I actually got my author copies. I like the colors but it was a surprise...and I got that awful "but I didn't mention a tattoo in the book" feeling (as you can tell, I am over that). So I thought about it and when a "vengeance stalk" tattoo might occur. When looked at the text, I saw that Danith would have been the one to see the tatt since it was in T'Ash's point of view. As one of the first things I did for my original website was to interview T'Ash (which I've posted here more than once). I decided to interview T'Ash again, and here it is:

Robin: Hey, T'Ash, I didn't know you had a tattoo.
T'Ash: (smirking) You thought you knew everything about me. Ha!
Robin: (in a small voice) ha ha. (clearing her throat) Tell me about your tattoo.
T'Ash: (raising an eyebrow: You've never heard how the vengeance stalk marks one?
Robin: Uh, no.
T'Ash: It does.
Robin: Do tell.
T'Ash: (staring off into the distance at the starship Nuada's Sword): The tattoo is a matter of Flair, of psi power. I believe it first developed on the generation ships. (He shrugs). You can research that better than I, you are more interested in it than I.
Robin: I 'spose. It was sorta sprung on me.
T'Ash: Now you know what it feels like.
Robin: Tell me more about the tattoo.
T'Ash: When a person formally dedicates themself to the vengence stalk, the tattoo appears, stinging, on the body. Mine is black and red. It is an aspect of the god Arawn, god of vengence. He holds a heart, which means he holds the heart of the one who has sworn revenge. The heart is not then available to give to a mate until the stalk is done.
Robin: Huh.
T'Ash: Is that all?
Robin: Um, so, uh, you had it on the vengence stalk.
T'Ash: Didn't I just say so?
Robin: Yes.
T'Ash: (scowling and looking away, mutters) It also showed up when I went berserk, during the fights with the gangs in HeartMate. No one saw it, but it burned on my arm. I think. I did not look. I was fighting.
Robin: Of course.
T'Ash: I have never felt it since. Never gone berserk since. I will not do so again. (glaring at Robin) Right?
Robin (too heartily): Of course you won't. You got a happily ever after ending and will continue to have one.
T'Ash (narrowing his eyes): I think I see that you have something bad in my future. (putting his hand on his blazer sheathed at his hip). You'd better not hurt my Family.
Robin (llicking her lips): Uh, well, you wouldn't want things TOO perfect, would you?
T'Ash: Yes:
Robin: Oh. Well, I may have, uh, an idea, but you will all survive. I promise.
After a dirty look, T'Ash stalks away.

Celta Thursday, Original Cover of HeartMate

Belated Celta Thursday. :)

Yesterday I spent with a seminar (only half through) of Scrivener with Mac and setting up the new-to-me machine. I am confuddled with the Mac file system, and have found it to be less able to personalize than a windows machine, oddly enough (will talk of that later, I mean menu bars, window colors, icons for folders).

That said, I thought for the next while on Celta Thursday I would talk about the covers of the books. Let me know if this is not of interest to you.

First, of course, HeartMate and it's original cover. As soon as I sold that book in late January 2001, I got an email from my new editor. "Please send pictures of cat." Though the cover is very dated now, it looked fine for the time. For promo, since Danith drank tea, I had teabag covers made. HeartMate was part of the "Magical Love" series of Jove (which had just been acquired by Berkley Publishing Group and the offices had moved...thus one of the reasons I hadn't heard I'd sold for 6-8 months...).

As part of the Magical Love line, HeartMate had to have the magical element in the center of the cover, that's the HeartGift T'Ash is wearing. I didn't have another Fam on the cover until the recent Heart Fortune, but with the novellas I'm doing, from Script of the Heart on, I hope to have a couple and a Fam.

Here's the original cover, with Zanth and his emerald collar. I did describe his head as perfectly round and his ears flat. The reason for this I have learned was because he was a feral, unneutered male (until I let him -- Maddox -- inside). The ears were flat due to either fights or ear infections as a feral cat.

Celta Thursday: Pics of T'Blackthorn Residence

Celta Thursday: Pics of T'Blackthorn Residence (Cliveden). 1) Front, Heart Choice 2) Clock Tower, and still room and herb buildings (used in the secret garden, BalmHeal estate), Heart Fate 3) Draeg's Room above the roof of the wing, Heart Legacy, and Antenn's former rooms on the bottom, Heart Fire

Celta Thursday: Map

I am not at home with cats and catsitter, and quite tired, so I am posting a black and white map of the northern continent of Celta.