See how I take a novel and create a companion piece of art. Basing my creation on the words, places or themes (sometimes all three smashed together) the book presents.
It's a strange hobby to be sure but no stranger than these...
The Boy Who Stole Time by Mark Bowsher
Let's get under the cover...
Krish isn't the adventuring type but all that changes when his Mum becomes sick and he needs to get his hands on more time. This sweet, inventive and well-paced novel is brimming with creative touches and wild originality. Although I usually like my fiction a little darker the book more than held my attention. Krish's struggle against an impossible task but also his own flaws and weakness makes for a captivating read.
Shall we meet the author real quick?
Mark is a proudly dyspraxic writer and filmmaker who has made over 100 book promos for a certain publisher named Unbound. He wrote and directed his first full-length play, Not the Story of Me, at 20 and went on to make three shorts which won Best Short awards (plus one Best Screenplay award) at festivals in the UK and the US. The last of these, Only One Person Will Like This Film, was picked by the BFI as one of their '10 to try' out of over 300 films at LSFF 2013. He isn't married and doesn't live in Surrey but he did once climb a mountain dressed as Peter Pan.
Ok let's get loved up with some Artwork.
OK, so I bloody loved doing this. I went hard on the slightly younger audience element, and decided to illustration one of the stories Krish is told. I am a big fan of the story within a story, Arabian Nights. The only hard part was choosing which images to illustrate, there were so many lovely features to this tale. I'm not going to go on, because there's a story just ahead for you... please enjoy Marks words and my doodles.
It was a job... but such a good one... Might look to illustrate other fairy tales.
The Boy Who Stole Time is out now if you fancy getting your grubby mitts on it. Christmas is just round the corner and what better than this imaginative book for the little bookworm in your life. (Or the big bookworm.) Mark is on The Twitter