I believe illustrations are a fantastic way to enhance a story. I think they add a bit of timelessness to the work. I'm always impressed when I see the illustrations of Alice in Wonderland by John Tenniel, or the illustrations in Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates by Howard Pyle himself!

Hiring an artist to create my book cover and provide chapter-side illustrations was something I had always wanted to do with Xandon and the King's Scepter. Unfortunately, the old idiom 'a picture is worth a thousand words' is so accurate you could market exchange those words for dollars. Yes, a picture is worth a thousand dollars.

Xandon and the King's Scepter never made it to the illustrated stage, but thought I'd share a couple of mock-ups I created. Enjoy!

Sketch of the false wall from chapter 15