What is your writing process?
I prefer to write out the first draft of anything by hand. The words flow better, and quicker, and the limitations of space and inconvenience stop me from going back and editing. If I write a first draft electronically, it is so easy to glance up the page, and just fix this one error, and oh that would sound better if I did that instead, and before you know it your flow has ebbed.
My second draft is the "typing up" version, with edits and revisions as I go.
I have to give "percolation" time between drafts, so that the words are fresh when I reread them, and so I can notice typos and other small errors.
You can never check too many times!
How do you approach cover design?
My favourite book covers have always been ones with bold colours, or unique artwork. Growing up, I had a set of Foundation novels, and I loved how the alien tree in the foreground grew with the city in the background. So with my own covers, I have tried to make striking or beautiful images, and to have clear links between the covers of connected stories.
The original covers of Causality and Probability were created using Photoshop, and at the time I was extremely pleased with them. Since publishing them, I've painted replacements, with a theme of a sky and a certain constellation.
With Homeless, I wanted something stark and bold.
With The Visitor, I wanted something dark and mysterious. Although I was pleased with the work I did on it, the darkness doesn't work well in the sizes most often viewed.
I used my own photographs for January 2016 Volume 1, and Five Miles Out Of Black Creek, and I'm very happy with how they turned out.
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