The Creation of a Cover

For more than a decade, author Terry Brooks has accepted questions from his fans via the Ask Terry section of his website, where he answers five random questions a month. As his longtime webmaster, I am responsible for posting them. All of the questions come through me initially, and this means I get a unique look at what Terry’s fans are thinking as a collective whole.

Easily one of the most asked questions is:

“Where did the interior artwork go from the early books?”

It is a good question. As most of Terry’s fans know, the first three Shannara books contained a number of illustrations. The Brothers Hildebrandt supplied the cover and interior artwork for The Sword of Shannara. Darrell K. Sweet supplied the cover and interior artwork for The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara. While reading these great epic fantasy novels, readers were also given artistic representations of Paranor, the Skull Kingdom, Allanon, Garet Jax, Brin Ohmsford, Whisper, and any number of other places and characters by some of the best artists in the genre.

Those images have been emblazoned on my mind’s imagination for two decades.

I know now I’m not the only one.

For years, fans have wondered why interior artwork is no longer commissioned, so much so I receive several questions a month about it. The simple answer is interior artwork costs additional money to produce and therefore drives up the cover price of the book. Obviously higher prices are not good for fan bank accounts.

Putting some thought into it, though, I think most readers merely want to have a vision of how Terry sees his own creations—from places to characters to creatures. It does not end there. Fans also want to see pictures of the various talismans in the books. The Elfstones. The Sword of Leah. The Eilt Druin. And so many more.

That reason above all others is why Terry and Del Rey put together the illustrated guide, The World of Shannara.

More recently, several fans have asked for images of the black staves carried by the Knights of the Word.

I am happy to report there is a definitive image now.

But it didn’t come into being as easily as you might think.

Bearers of the Black Staff, Book One of the Legends of Shannara duology, will be published by Del Rey Books on August 24. When Terry was asked what scene he would like to see on its cover, he picked a moment that showcases one of the main characters, a Knight of the Word. Artist Steve Stone was tapped to supply the artwork and, given information about the scene in question, went to work.

It took two covers to get the staff right, though, at least the way Terry sees it in his mind. On first look, the original cover was quite similar to the finished one. A Knight of the Word stands upon the edge of his valley home, resolute, overlooking a vast plain below filled with an invading Troll army. In the original cover, the Knight of the Word held a staff that was fairly crooked, almost to the point of looking like a bow.

You can see that original cover, albeit black and white, to the left.

Terry loved the first attempt, but wanted a minor change to the staff. He politely asked the artist to straighten the black staff and make it thicker, like the weapon carried by Robin Hood’s man, Little John. Terry also wanted bright runes flaring with magic down its length.

The result? You see it here at the top of the newsletter.

According to Terry, the representation of the talisman featured on the cover of Bearers of the Black Staff is exactly how he envisions it in his mind. The cover is one of my favorites in the Shannara series. It evokes a great sense of what is transpiring in the novel, of course, and is a beautiful piece of work—but I really like that staff.

I think Steve Stone got it right.

We have Terry to thank for it.

Best Wishes,
Shawn Speakman
http://www.terrybrooks.net