Behind the Cover: Mara McKennen

[reviews_and_ramblings]

I am the Art Director for Dreamspinner Press, which is my full time "night" job. Dreamspinner Press uses cover art from a variety of sources - original artwork, stock photos, specially commissioned photos, and work from freelance cover artists. As Art Director my responsibilities include selecting, recommending, or creating the art as well as designing the text elements, layout, color scheme, etc. I and my staff work with information supplied by each author for this process, and we spend a lot of time making sure the covers are as wonderful as we can make them.
 









 
Art has been a huge part of my life, since I was old enough to hold a crayon! I paint (acrylics and oils), draw, I'm learning leatherworking, I dabble at photography, and Repoussé (metal working) is my hobby. For years I taught acrylic painting classes and loved it. With the advent of the online communities I was drawn to all the lovely banners and headers, icons, and the beautiful art on the web pages. It became my passion! Unable to resist it, I mentored with a professional graphic designer to master Photoshop and InDesign. Now I get to combine my years and years of art experience and my sharp computer graphics skills to create our covers at Dreamspinner Press. Every cover is truly a labor of love.

I am enclosing five covers (as per your request):
 
A Note in the Margin - the story touched my heart.
 
To Love a Cowboy - This was my very first cover and to date my favorite by far.
 
Diplomacy - The story title describes this cover for me one.
 
Irish Winter - Ireland close to my heart.
 
Picture Perfect - Because I love it.

-- Mara McKennen

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

Comments

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I believe that you are a James Bond's fan ;-) Elisa

[b-sheridan.livejournal.com]

No, don't care much for Bond in general but I do appreciate seeing drooling over men in nicely tailored clothing.

LOL