Reese Dante may not be well known to a lot of M/M readers but you sure know her book covers. She has designed covers for many of the books you read and you have admired her work on this site and elsewhere.
I will be interviewing Reese on March 23 when you will have an opportunity to get to know her a little better as well as see some of her portfolio. If you have any questions for Reese please leave a comment on this post. Since I plan to send out the questions by the end of the week I would appreciate your questions by Saturday, March 5. Thanks guys.
I’d definitely like to know Reese’s stance on the extensive and somewhat repetitive use of stock photography in m/m covers. It’s an issue that seems to come up again and again, and a lot of readers seem to get frustrated by seeing the same five or so guys on every cover!
I love Reese’s work. I would like to know how she works. She gets an assignment for a bookcover and what happens then?
I am an author who had the amazing privelege of working on “The Oasis” with Reese for Silver Publishing. It was the first time in my career that a cover artist actually read my book (and not just the blurb) and presented me with multiple pic choices for the two male leads. Unbelievable!
She also presented me with multiple backdrops. She finds unusual models and doesn’t use the same images – except the ubiquitous Jimmy Thomas, ahem – and was very excited when I brought gay porn star Samuel Colt to the party, both as a major character in the book, and as a cover model. She totally involved me every step of the way – and Samuel too. We were a big part of the process, a fact that he and I both appreciated. He was in Prague when I sent him Reese’s pic gallery. She left the final choice to the two of us and I will never forget Samuel’s giddy email responses as we went through the gallery together. It made us feel empowered and important. The end result is one of my favorite covers. EVER.
I want to ask Reese if she has ever been a writer because she is so considerate and accommodating in a way no other cover artist I have come across has been.
She really cares about characters and how we, the author, visualize them.
I also want to let her know, more books are on the way!
Thanks for intrerviewing Reese. You will love her as all her authors do!
yay! I can’t wait for this interview!
I want to know who her muse is and if i can borrow him or her 😉
zomg– it’s so great to see Reese getting her due! I can tell by A.J.’s comment that my experience with Reese is kind of her S.O.P.–she puts a lot of care into her covers and the writer’s perception of what it is she is reproducing. I know for the Talker cover, she hung out during a Facebook chat and read a teaser for the story in order to get some of the details just perfect (and she did–I was SO tickled to see Brian in the gray T-shirt that he always wore. For me, that was one of the things that just sealed the cover:-)
I was looking for war stories–lurking during the Facebook chat was really resourceful. Reese, what are some other resourceful, inventive things you’ve done to get your cover JUST right? I’ve got to tell you, as a writer, I sure do appreciate every one:-)
Reese totally nailed my character the first time when she designed my cover. She’s an amazing artist. My question is: When you’re looking for the “right” look for a cover, what part of the Cover Info that authors fill out for our stories helps you the most?
I’ve been blessed with some stunning covers and, as a result, am in total fangirl awe of talented artists. Reese is one of them, although I’ve never had the honor of working with her.
I’m curious about which publishers she’s worked with, as well as what techniques she draws upon to achieve the effects she’s after (this is similar to Amy’s question, I guess).
And…does she prefer working in traditional media (watercolors, oils, pastels, etc.) or using electronic manipulation, which has become an art form in its own right?
And…does she feel comfortable naming other artists whose work she admires?
Sorry for the double post! Your editing function is screwing up, Wave.
Sorry KZ
I know. 🙂 I’ll delete one comment.
Like AJ, I’ve had the incredible luck to work with Reese at Silver Publishing. To have an artist so involved in the process of cover making was a very novel and exciting experience for me. Every time I look at my two (so far) covers from her, I know she puts a lot of heart and dedication into what she does. My question for her is: Is there any particular type of cover you enjoy to design more than others? That is which genre do you like the most: contemporary, paranormal, fantasy, horror?
I have had the honor of working with Reese for my Catch of the Day story. And was amazed at how she brought my merman to life.
I’d like to know how Reese got started in art and what was one of the hardest covers she’s had to come up with for a story?
I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with Reese for my first ever book cover for Elora’s Match. I couldn’t have been happier with the cover she came up with. The only thing I changed was the colour of the text – everything else was absolutely perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better cover artist!
Reese is a true artist and so incredibly talented, she’s just amazing.
I would love to know what her favourite cover to create has been?