Tim Zeltner for Henry Holt's Power Down Little Robot

  Power Down Little Robot, is a very special children's picture book lovingly illustrated by Tim Zeltner and written by Anna Staniszewski.  When it's time to power down for the night, Little Robot is not ready and he quickly opens his stalling program.  From there, the story is very familiar to avoidance experts everywhere (mombots and dadbots), and told with one fun twist after another.  In the end Mom Unit knows how to get him tucked in to his module as he finally powers down.

Sally Doherty, Executive Editor for Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, fell in love with Tim Zeltner's art.  Power Down, Little Robot is the second picture book she has commissioned him to illustrate.  Upon receiving Tim's final art for the book Sally's reaction was, "Wow!  You've done it again--you've really knocked us out with your extraordinary vision for this story.  I just love everything about what you've done:  the colors, the style, the expressions.  Fantastic!"  Well deserved praise for Tim Zeltner's beautiful hand painted illustrations on wood.

"Now hurry and clean your cogs.", says Mom Unit.  The Little Robot says to himself, "I try to brush them at half my normal rate, but nothing gets past Mom Unit's sharp eye."

"But I'm not tired!  Look.  My power level is still at yellow."

"But I need to tell you a secret!...Did you know that a hummingbot flaps its wings a million times a second?"

"The sleep module is soft and warm.  Maybe I could close my eyes for a millisecond..."

"Dream sequence initiated."

Check out Tim Zeltner's entire portfolio.

Mystery Book Covers: Clare Owen for Harlequin

Clare Owen has now created three gorgeous covers with art director Sean Kapitain at Harlequin.  The front cover for Hunting Sweetie Rose and Honestly Dearest, You're Dead are featured below.  Stay tuned to see the third in the series--to be released in March 2015.  Clare's illustrations are so inviting but be careful, with these mystery covers, the devil is in the details.

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I just love the details like the wind blowing the curtain and the steam rising on the coffee. They seem to bring the story to life.

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For much more delightful Clare Owen illustration visit her portfolio here.

Tim Zeltner for Harlequin

Art director, Sean Kapitain with Harlequin, has a keen eye for quality illustration and knows how to choose the perfect style to capture just the right mood for the novel.  The backdrop for The Lost Artist is a 19th Century New England farmhouse with a nasty storm brewing.  Who better to illustrate a moody landscape than Tim Zeltner?  Tim painstakingly builds the atmostphere of a painting with his unique combination of layering on wood with: paint, glazes and stains.  Sean Kapitain had this to say about Tim Zeltner's art, "We actually heard back from the author about this cover which is rare! She loved the package and thought Tim's art was absolutely spot on. Great work, Tim!".  Thank you Sean for the wonderful feedback.

I love the way Sean has used parts of the illustration for the spine and back cover.

To see more of Tim Zeltner's delightful illustrations take a look at this portfolio.

Rémy Simard Illustrates Graphic Novel 'Robbers!'

After much praise for his illustrations in Duped!, Rémy Simard was asked by Colleen MacMillan, Associate Publisher at Annick Press, to illustrate their next book entitled Robbers!.  Robbers!, the second book in the graphic novel series for young adults, was art directed by Antonia Banyard. Author Andreas Schroeder, the “resident Scam-meister” on the former popular CBC Radio show Basic Black, spent twelve years reporting on ingenious frauds, swindles, and hoaxes committed around the world.  He continues this fascination with a series of books.

Annick says: "Each story (in 'Robbers!') offers a glimpse into the high-octane underworld of the boldest of robbers. The writer’s fascination with criminal masterminds and the illustrator’s action-packed graphic depictions of real-life thievery make this a compelling read for fans of mischief, mayhem, and bad guys on the run."

'Robbers!' hit book stores this month, but why leave the comfort of your computer? - click here to pick up your copy today!

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Janice Kun for Orca Books

The illustration Janice created for the Hummingbird Heart bookcover shows her elegant, delicate lettering and atmospheric illustration style.  The concept was designed to look like tattoo art on skin.  To see more of Janice's lyrical illustrations, please check out her portfolio on the i2i website.

Janice Kun for Harlequin

Janice  used her atmospheric hand drawn/photo illustration style to set the mood for the cover of the mystery Cry Baby, available through Harlequin.  Cry Baby is about "a forensic sketch artist with an uncanny ability to reanimate the deceased through her drawings...".

Rémy Simard Illustrates Non-fiction Book with a Twist

Rémy was chosen to illustrate Duped! for his graphic novel style.   Duped!, published by Annick Press and written by  Andreas Schroeder, is a collection of eight stories of the most outrageous scams of all time!  Rémy is now at work on a second book for the "It Actually Happened" series.

For all you mystery loving knitters out there!

Doug Martin continues to provide beautiful and detail rich paintings for the covers of the Seaside Knitters Series, written by national bestselling author Sally Goldenbaum. You can see the other four books in the series - all illustrated by Doug Martin- at Sally's site and browse knitting patterns and recipes as well.

A Timely Alibi - paperback version now out

Margaret Lee worked with Art Director Kathleen Oudit of Harlequin to create the new paperback version of A Timely Alibi by Ilsa Mayr.

Mystery Series illustrated by Doug Martin

Doug Martin has been creating the covers for the "Seaside Knitters Mystery Series" by Sally Goldenbaum, published by Penguin. Sally Goldenbaum recently passed on a compliment she received from reader Suzanne Barton, "...I've already bought Moon Spinners and can't wait to start it. Please pass my sincere compliments on to the cover artist. Cover art is definitely something that draws me to a book and, frankly, keeps me from purchasing an e-reader. I saw the other cover on your blog, and love that one too." Thanks Sally and Suzanne! Keep writing and reading, I'm sure Doug is up for another project. Keep your eyes open for  the next in the series, due out in November:  A Holiday Yarn .

Countdown to new mystery illustrated by Doug Martin

Doug Martin provided the cover art for Three Bedrooms, Two Baths, One Very Dead Corpse by David James and published by Kensington Publishing. The book  will be available September 28, 2010 in hardcover or e-book.

New Book Cover by John Webster

John Webster gave this recent mystery novel, Jilted by Death , his trademark vintage, collage feel. This cover was an exciting new direction for Harlequin, departing from the previous style of mystery covers.   We also wanted to show off some of the alternate versions of the cover he developed for Art Director, Kathleen Oudit.

Alanna Cavanagh Lends Her Line to UK Cover of "Hello Heartbreak"

Alanna Cavanagh worked with Art Director Justinia Baird-Murray to create this fun, whimsical new cover for the  Penguin UK paperback edition of of Hello Heartbreak by actress and author Amy Huberman. Alanna says this was a fabulous project as it combined two things she loves to draw: cropped figures and hand lettering. If you're considering adding this to your summer reading list, please note this cover is unfortunately only available in the UK. Maybe the new cover will be picked up in North America as the cover itself is receiving rave reviews, as noted by Leah at  Chick Lit Reviews .

Haunted Hillbilly Hootenanny! Monday June 26, 2010

SideMart Theatrical Grocery of Montréal presents:

Limited edition giclée prints of illustrations from Derek McCormack's books "Haunted Hillbilly" and "Western Suit" (both designed and illustrated by Ian Phillips) will be available in a raffle at the:

HAUNTED HILLBILLY HOOTENANNY! A night of Country Music Splendor!!! Monday June 26th at The Dakota Tavern 249 Ossington Ave, Toronto 8 to 10:30 pm $15

Featuring: Justin Rutledge Afie Jurvanen Doug Paisley Derek McCormack Chelsea P. Manders Matthew Barber and more!

A fundraiser, in support of the upcoming production of HAUNTED HILLBILLY A musical adaptation of Derek McCormack's novel, on stage at Theatre Passe Muraille Aug 6th - 15th part of Summerworks Theatre Festival

(The silkscreened Hatch Show style poster for the musical was also designed by Ian Phillips)

Doug Martin illustrates for St.Martin's Press Mystery Series

Some more options for the summer reading list: Doug Martin recently illustrated the covers of two of Elizabeth J. Duncan's mystery novels, published by St.Martin's Press. Doug Martin illustrated the paperback release of The Cold Light of Mourning, the debut novel where we first meet Penny Brannigan, a Canadian manicurist living and working in North Wales who investigates the murder of a friend. The second novel, A Brush with Death, is the follow up novel in which Penny inherits a cottage and mystery in Llanelen, North Wales.

A Great Summer Read for Tweens

Just in time for the summer of the 2010 (Year of the Tiger), Anne Horst has illustrated the cover of  Alison Lloyd's debut novel, Year of the Tiger, published by Holiday House. The story takes place during the Year of the Tiger in ancient China during the Han Dynasty. Two boys, Hu and Ren,  develop a friendship across class divisions while practicing for an archery tournament- their skills and friendship aid them when their city is invaded by Barbarians.