Artist Ben Baldwin has posted the original artwork he created for my story "Into the Depths of Illuminated Seas," which appears in the new issue of Interzone. I love the art and am wondering how my family will react to a print hanging in our house (fingers are crossed for a positive reaction, because I plan to order one). If you want to see a larger version, click on the link above.
I should mention, though, that readers won't find a naked woman standing in ocean waves in the story. Ben used that oft-mentioned "artistic license" technique to great effect, as he aimed at capturing the story's essence instead of illustrating a particular scene.
And while there has been a lot of worthy debate recently about why so many naked women are featured in fantasy magazine art (especially on the covers), in this case I believe the subdued nudity is appropriate. My story deals with a woman cursed to have the names of dying sailors continually flow across her body. Without showing her skin, I don't see how anyone could illustrate this story. If a fantasy magazine plops a naked woman on every cover, yeah, I have major concerns about that. But when an artist illustrates a particular story where you have to see some skin to expose (pun intended) a major plot point, then such an illustration strikes me as appropriate. Especially when it's done as tastefully and artistically as Ben did. It'll be interesting to see what other people think.
Ben is an incredibly talented artist who has illustrated a number of books and magazines. You can check out more of his art on his website at www.benbaldwin.co.uk. For more on my story, please see this recent post.
Just in the thumbnail, the use of color looks really lovely. I'm a sucker for art that looks like it's aged.
Posted by: Rachel Swirsky | January 16, 2010 at 04:37 AM
I think there's a difference between nudity and sexualising your subject. Nudity, as the example above proves, can be delicate and beautiful. Sexualising your subject is like swearing--it has it's place and can be very effective when used with care and a light touch, but the more you use it the more you're going to come across as a semi-literate yahoo.
And that picture is wonderful.
Posted by: Dylan Fox | January 16, 2010 at 05:19 AM
Rachel: I loved your story "Again and Again and Again" in IZ226. While I'm usually not a fan of extremely short fiction, this story was perfect for its length. As the father of two young boys, your story left me wondering what my kids will do to "rebel" against me. :-)
Dylan: Well put.
Posted by: Jason Sanford | January 16, 2010 at 09:46 AM
That's kind, thanks!
Post-story (which I drafted a couple years ago on the way back to California from Iowa), I have discovered a body mod that people can do to creep me out. Prior to that, I was mostly a detached observer, neither very interested in looking rebellious, nor very bothered by those who were. But hollow ear expanders...! Tattoos, piercings, whatever, I'm fine. But hollow ear expanders...! Get off my lawn! ;-)
I haven't gotten my copy of the magazine yet. I look forward to it!
Posted by: Rachel Swirsky | January 17, 2010 at 04:54 PM
Ever since an illustration of my work made the cover of Dungeon magazine, seeing how an artist interprets what I've written has always been one of my favorite things about getting published.
Posted by: Jeff Crook | January 20, 2010 at 11:40 AM