St. John Nepomucene Neumann

The hap hap happiest writer

A sketch of Evelyn Waugh. He loved kittens*, babies**, and the films of Shirley Temple.***

* possibly a lie
** definitely a lie
*** well, yes, another lie.

The Curé d'Ars Today

A design for the re-release of this book, first published around 25 years ago.

St. Raymond of Penafort

You may be asking, if you saw my post at SmallPax today, why Dominican Saints are so awesome. The answer: I don't know.

Anyway, here's St. Raymond of Penafort. According to legend:

Aside from his scholarly pursuits, Raymond preached with untiring zeal to the Jews and Moors (Arab invaders of Spain). He also acted as spiritual director for King James of Aragon and Saint Peter Nolasco, whom he aided in founding the Order of Our Lady of Mercy (Mercedarians) for the ransom of captives from the Moors.

King James valued Raymond so highly that on several occasions he sent him on missions to the Holy See. At one time, however, he stoutly resisted Raymond's admonitions regarding chastity, and a miracle was required before the monarch consented to reform his life. This miracle took place during a visit to Majorca on which Raymond had accompanied the king in the hope of strengthening Christianity there. They had been on the island only a short time when Raymond discovered that the king was involved in a sinful love affair with a woman of the court. The king refused to listen to Raymond's protests, and when Raymond threatened to leave the island, the king threatened with death anyone who would give him passage.

Thereupon, or so it is said, Raymond spread his cloak on the water, set up his staff as a mast, and, having rigged up a corner of the cloak as a sail, boarded this miraculous "boat," setting his course for Barcelona. He arrived there the same day, having covered 140 miles in about six hours. A great crowd assembled at the waterfront witnessed the end of this marvelous voyage, which inspired numerous conversions.

Read more here. Though it isn't official, I would say he is the patron saint of windsurfing, having originated it.

Half-hour cover: A Short History of the World

A Short History of the World by J.M. Roberts is a pretty good overview of history, which mostly consists of peoples and nations beating the crap out of each other.

Mick Wiggins

I was introduced to Mick Wiggins' art via the cover to My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. The Caustic Cover Critic has an interview with him--he does this great retro-looking art in Photoshop using a mouse. Sort of a high-tech luddite, in a good way. Check it out!

Half hour cover: The Metamorphosis

Stupid Blogger compression makes this look chock-full-o'-artifacts, so clicky for better view.

Half hour cover: The Human Factor

A novel of espionage by Graham Greene, The Human Factor is one of his typical later (1970's) spy books that (sort of like John le Carré) shows a weariness with the Cold War. It concerns double-agents and secret government-sanctioned murder, among other things. Codes sent by the number of times a telephone rings figure into the plot, and so into my design.

Half hour cover: The Golden Age

The Golden Age is the first book in a trilogy by John C. Wright. The paperback that I read had a cover that (I thought) inadequately portrayed what the book was about, which is a semi-humorous sci-fi novel set in the far future in which people are normally surrounded by computer-generated imagery instead of reality. The sun and Neptune figure into the plot, as do masquerades, so I put these on the cover.