Story time and a cover reveal.

It was the summer of 1980 and my ten year old self was bored. This was the era before the internet and it was far too hot in Garden Grove California in the late morning/early afternoon to play outside with friends. I was reading the newspaper (we had these things on real paper back then) and waiting for my mom to finish watching her soap operas so my sister and I could play something on the Atari 2600, who's wood-grain stickered exterior was calling our names. 

Mom passed down the local news section to me, pointing out an article she thought I'd like. It was about some crazy game with knights and whatnot. I loved reading and was introduced to the Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia by a great teacher who read them to us in class. This new game was just like something out of those books, with monsters, wizards, and mysterious environments to explore.

Later that day, when it finally cooled down a bit, I headed outside to play with the other kids in the neighborhood. It was a different time and kids just went outside and played back then. Typically we'd shoot some hoops on the backboard nailed over the garage, or play touch football in the street. I told the other kids about the cool game I heard about, and one of them nonchalantly says "Oh, yeah, Dungeons and Dragons, I've got that game." He busted out his basic set and we played all evening. 

I was able to talk my parents into buying some of the rule books and spent hours just thumbing through the pages, looking at the artwork and trying to imagine the story behind the image. When I hear of a creature, my mind automatically conjures images of the first Monster Manual artwork. The basic set cover also captured my attention, would those adventurers on the cover defeat the green dragon? I always felt they were doomed, but you never knew how the dice would play out. 

The work of Erol Otus populated many of those pages, his style was unique and had an otherworldly feel that sucked you into the image. His work on the Expedition to the Barrier Peaks module was some of my favorite. About a year ago, on a whim, I found Erol on social media and sent off a message asking if he ever did cover art. He kindly replied and was gracious enough to place me in the queue for a project. I gave him several that I have in the works and he was intrigued by they concept of Cat Core, agreeing to do the cover for book 2. 

Here it is, and yes, I am geeking out a bit. Mortimer Skullshaper has an important part to play in the story and is featured on the cover in front of a rather unexpected and unwanted addition to Florence's home.