An Interview with Talented Artist, Shandra Kay....

As far as guest blogs go, we have a "bye" this week in our "Spirit of the Knight" book tour (now available in both ebook and print, for those who were asking). Nonetheless, I still wanted to provide a place for your comments and tweets, and give you another opportunity to win our marvelous prizes (we can't have too many of those, can we now). Therefore, I thought this last Monday in June the perfect opportunity to Interview the very awesome, talented, Shandra Kay.

Now, just in case you didn't know, she is the artist who created "Prayer for the Fallen," the highly coveted, main prize in our current giveaway! (Breathtaking, I know! I have already ordered my very own copy and I can't wait to have it in my hot little hands!)

Prayer for the Fallen

Those who have followed my blogs and book tours during the past couple of years know that I have used Shandra's talents often. She created the exquisite necklaces for the "Spirit of the Revolution" and "Van Locken's Witch" book tours, as well as the gorgeous cover for "Van Locken's Witch." She also created all of the art work and put together the book trailers for "Shadow of the Witte Wieven" and "Spirit of the Rebellion."

Now that you have that piece of information, on with the interview!

I am so EXCITED to have you here for a visit, Shandra! I love your artwork and just have this burning desire to share your talents with everyone else! Now, with that being said:

Tell me, what was your thought process behind this particular vision of Sir Cailen?

For this portrait I had an instantaneous visual representation of what I wanted to do. The mood I wanted to present influenced the colors I used as well as composition. However, once I have that image in my head, it is not always easy to translate the many layers I see onto a tangible form. 

Well, I for one, think you did a fantastic job!

What is your favorite medium to use?

I am a temperamental sort, so it really depends on my current mood, :D. Right now, graphic design is my medium of choice, though I still dabble in oil and ink.

Do you have a favorite creation?

I really don't have a favorite in anything, and that includes my work. I'm sure that as an author you understand when I tell you that after I finish a project I can see its flaws and see things I would like to change and improve upon. But I think in striving for that, it provides the desire to continually progress as an artist.

I understand that completely and couldn't agree with you more!

What about the cover for "Van Locken's Witch?" What inspired your vision of Lissa?

Interestingly enough, and this doesn't always happen, I assure you, the image of Lissa leapt into my mind right away, much like Sir Cailen did. However, unlike the portrait of Sir Cailen, Lissa did evolve in respects to color and there were slight variations in the original mood as well.

You have made some beautiful, unique jewelry for a couple of my giveaways. Did you have an inspiration behind those?

For Lissa's necklace, I wanted to create the talisman I used on the cover. In spite of that fact, finding the exact stones and beads proved difficult when it came to creating an ideal composition. Therefore, I redid this piece many times over, and I had to tweak and re-tweak before the I reached the final design.

What about "The Jolena," the necklace you designed for Spirit of the Revolution?

I took your vague description of the necklace in the book and used the stones and beads that correlated closest to the vision I had for the piece. I re-designed it a couple of times before the necklace was complete.

Well, despite the challenges, the necklaces turned out beautifully, and I know from their emails, both lucky ladies adored them!  I thank you so much for consenting to this interview Shandra, I found your visit such a delight and I do hope you'll come back in the future!

For those who want to connect with Shandra, (and who wouldn't) you can find all of her social links right here:

Shandra Kay...

I know she would love to hear from you right now, so if you have a comment or a question, ask away!