I got the first cut from my artist at work today. The email came in, I gulped, I gasped. What if it was a cock-up? What if it was horrible? Then I clicked on the attachment.

Magnificent!

And here it is…

I couldn’t believe how much I liked it. I’ve been thinking of this book for years, how the cover would look, what it would show. I wanted Mason in the middle of ranks of Persians and Greeks, with triremes looming over all. And that’s what I got. I just walked around the office in a daze, showing it off.

Okay, so there were little problems – the eyes of the trireme to the left are too low, lost behind the figures. And the Persians should have curly beards.

Later, everyone told me the main character looked a little too young, like Peter Pan (“He does not!” I wanted to defensively shout). But when I got home, I looked again. Okay, so maybe he is a little too young. I posted the artist for the correction. And we shall see.

Stay tooned…