Confession… my love for reading began with historical romance novels. I shamefully devoured them in my teens.
That’s not a typo – I meant “shamefully”. I’d rip the covers off if I dared take them to school.
The covers were terrible and did no justice to the heroines I read about. Women who were quirky, fearless an had the balls to save themselves. Yes, they’re was a love story with a pretty dude, but that wasn’t the main draw for me.
It was their settings in history. My favorite stories were the ones that intertwined with real historical figures and events. I’d research real history to figure out what was fact and what was fiction. I learned more history from romance novels than I ever did in history class.
Beyond the heroines and history I loved to redraw the covers as I thought they should be. I would create images that were just suggestive enough to make would-be readers curious. They’d hint at the story instead of graphically illustrate coitus. This inclination is what lead me to graphic design as a profession.
The inclination to create images as I see them remains. Recently my husband and I took our kids to see “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and it was great except Disney Pixar left me wanting a scene that never came. Without giving too much away I wanted to see Vanellope evolve and grow up a bit for her role in Slaughter Race. It just made sense! So reaching back to my roots I created the moment “as I see it.”