Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
I was three when I read Treasure Island. It was the book that suddenly made me realize that my world was much bigger than just my parents house and our neighborhood. Robert Louis Stevenson also played an important part in narrating what the world could be beyond the perimeter of safety my home provided. Since then, I have read this book countless times. It has become something I turn to for comfort because of the conditions the book was first introduced to me. I still recall sitting on my fathers lap as he read his book and I read mine, referring to him some words that I didn't understand, or concepts that were totally alien to me.
I admit the initial reading, at that tender age, did not take full effect, but the beauty was that the story aged as I did. Every year, new experiences in my life, resulted in a whole new story within the same lines. I have learnt so much from that one book, that I made it the first book for my children too. Treasure Island has gone from being my personal treasure to being my family's heirloom.
How do you approach cover design?
I look at cover design as the artistic representation of the textual content. I have no idea what the cover should be until I have finished the book, then had a chance to get a feel for it.
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