Well, compadres, here it is: Lynn Woodward’s cover design for Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.
There’ll be a couple of very minor tweaks of the back cover material, but… that’s what she looks like. It’s entirely Lynn. I told her I wanted to use the Burnham’s Weapons image, but that is the ONLY stipulation I made. I firmly believe that if you work with people who “get it” and let the artist have the reins, you get something great out of it, and that belief is affirmed here.
I wanted Burnham’s Weapons for a couple of reasons. One, the image emphasizes the international nature of the content — you’ve got his classic Old West six-shooter along with Matabele oxhide shield and spears. Also, it gives a sense of continuity across time — the ancient and the modern mashed up together: The spears of an Iron Age culture next to a bolt-action rifle that is essentially the same technology many of us carry into the woods to this day.
Craig McDonald, author of the Hector Lassiter series, served up a magnificent blurb, and Special Forces veteran Greg Walker hit on a key element of the work — the connection between the old-time warriors profiled and the modern warriors who are still out there in the hinterlands fighting the battles of empire. I can’t fully express my appreciation for their stamp of approval.
The whole thing will go of to the printer in the next few days, so we’re on track for November delivery. We still have to produce a morale patch and poster for Kickstarter rewards and, of course, we’ll have a big fulfillment job when the books arrive. Waugh!
* If you like the looks of this blog and of the book and want some of that for your own work — contact Lynn through http://woodwardcreative.com/.
Matthew says
It looks great!
JimC says
Thx Matthew.
Patrick McG says
Sincere congratulations, friend! Looks terrific.
JimC says
Thx Pat.
VS says
Perfect! I can’t wait to read it!
JimC says
Grand. I’m pretty confident you’ll dig it.
Thomas Eley says
Looking forward to a good read. Oh, I like the way Pancho Villa is portrayed in El Paso.
JimC says
We shall discuss. Looking forward to that.
Saddle Tramp says
NICE WORK!! It’s got that [real] torn and worn look to it. It’s like it just returned from 100 years of frontier adventuring.
My guess (and hope) is the poster will be of the same travel and battleworn aesthetic.
Jim & Lynn, I’m sure that it’s gotta feel good to see it come to light!!
JimC says
It do indeed.
Keith West says
Sweet! Eagerly looking forward to it.
JimC says
Thx Keith.
deuce says
Outstanding! I just promoted it over on the Swords of REH forum.
JimC says
Many thanks!
Eccentric Cowboy says
I can’t wait for my copy! I’m glad I was able to participate in funding this. That cover is absolutely fantastic! I own books that look like that, where you can see the wear of time on the frayed pages and splitting spine. That in itself is a work of art.
You picked a good cover pard. 🙂
JimC says
Thx EC — I did indeed.
Finn says
It looks like some of my old favourite books: Used and much read but still interesting…
JimC says
That was teh goal, methinks.
lane batot says
Ah cain’t wait!!!
Zachariah says
Where can I buy a copy? Several articles on here have been fascinating and I would love to get a copy of the book.
JimC says
Hey Zachariah — glad to hear the work is resonating. You can order “Warriors of the Wildlands” by sending a check to P.O. Box 461, Sisters, OR 97759. $24 book and shipping. Include your mailing address and any inscription you’d like. I’ll include a Frontier Partisans morale patch.