Beautiful Doesn’t Begin to Cover It

Oh my god.

That’s kind of it. Oh my god. Not even OMG. Just…

I just got the preliminary pencil sketches of Michael Kaluta’s illustrations of The Orphan’s Tales, which no, you cannot see because I am not allowed to post them publicly.

Oh my god, you guys.

I had no idea. I had no idea they’d be so big, and detailed, and beautiful, and it’s my Magyr! And my fox-girls! And my Griffin! And my poor, lonely orphan girl!

Honestly? I thought that by “illustrated” they meant little teeny sketches on a few chapter headings. Also, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was illustrated, and the drawings were butt-ugly, so just because it’s illustrated doesn’t mean it’s going to be amazing art.  I had no idea they meant this. I had no idea it would be this amazing. I’m totally dumbfounded and gobsmacked. I keep staring at them.

Then I went to print them out and the printer is out of paper. VADERNOOO!

But the point is? I can’t even believe how beautiful this book is going to be. And I’m so honored that all this work and art is being put into something I came up with in my head one autumn in Rhode Island.

And if you tell anyone I teared up when I saw them, internet, it’s totally over between us.