on Apr 12th, 2009 
This is the week of Cain.
Anne Cain. Author and award winning artist extraordinaire. We Smutketeers have a particular fondness for her, since she has done most if not all of our Samhain covers.
I knew from the very first book, Regina in the Sun, when she sent me my character, Regina, looking just as I’d imagined her, that she had talent. But with cover after cover she has continued to go above and beyond, understanding what we wanted and making it better.
Yeah. I like her. :)
This week we’ll talk about her art and her body of work, we’ll show off our covers and a few of our favorites that she did for other authors, and we’ll get a nice juicy interview!
And prizes. Yes, there will be prizes, so stay tuned.
Every single cover I have with Samhain Publishing has been done by Anne. See HERE. A fact I am continuously grateful for. Lux in Shadow, Twilight Guardian, Not in Kansas, Surrender Dorothy and, cover fairies willing, my upcoming Three for Me?
If I had to pick a favorite that wasn’t mine or a fellow Smutketeers? Well two spring to mind.
Dayna Hart’s Go Between
And The Fallen by Gwen Hayes
Amazing colors!
Both are also fantastic reads FYI
Anne’s talent for book covers, as well as her original artwork, astounds me. As an author, I can say that the way she works to really capture the emotion and characters of my work is something I can never thank her for enough. Covers are important. They are the first thing a reader sees, a decisive moment in time when they decide whether or not they want to read the blurb and the excerpt. Especially if they aren’t yet familiar with the author.
I think all our readers will agree…Anne makes you want to read the blurb. :)
Subscribe to Posts 
Anne’s work is unbelievable! Of course, I love all the Samhain covers and artists. I’m biased. I think our covers rival anyone’s.
Anne has even held workshops to help those of us who have no clue how she does what she does get a clue. That’s just the way she is! She shares her knowledge and is always ready to help.
And I can still hear R.G’s scream ringing in my now semi-deaf ear when she got her Regina cover! Note to Anne: maybe you shouldn’t be quite so good! LOL. Love ya, Anne.
Hugs,
by Bethany April 13th, 2009 at 8:19 amBeth
She does do great work. I’d take half her talent!
The woman has a lot of skill. Hope she gets to do your never cover, R.G.!
by Lanie Fuller April 13th, 2009 at 8:42 amHi RG! I love all your covers although I have not seen other works of Anne, she is a great artist. I agree that covers are important. I quite often check out a book just because it has a great cover! Tamsyn
by Tamsyn April 13th, 2009 at 8:45 amI agree completely! I’ve been lucky enough to have two covers that Anne’s done, and she never fails to blow me away. With my cover for All that Glitters, especially, I was just gobsmacked at how she’d taken the incoherent babbling of my cover art form and turned it into something that was nothing like I’d asked for, and yet was so perfect. She’s hands-down one of my favorite cover artists out there. :D
by Aislinn Kerry April 13th, 2009 at 9:03 amBeth-Sorry about your ears lol
by R.G. Alexander April 13th, 2009 at 10:06 amLanie-me too!
Tamsyn-Thank you!
Aislinn-Oh I LOVE your cover too!!
Aislinn-LOVE your ‘All That Glitters’ cover! But then, I adore Anne’s work. We’re very lucky that she’s doing so many of the Smutketeers’ covers-but I’ll talk more about that on my Week of Cain blog day. :)
by edenbradley April 13th, 2009 at 1:05 pmI can’t wait for her interview to be posted on Friday. We asked her some fun (well, it was fun for us, anyway-lol!) questions!
Oooh!
How is it my cover looks even purtier here than on my site? *laughing*
I reread my cover art forms awhile after I got my cover…and I was stunned. Anne gave me EXACTLY what I asked for, in a way I’d never have envisioned myself. It’s just so stunning. I remember sitting back in my chair for a full five minutes, staring, with my hand over my mouth, making no noise at all.
I *love* this cover so much.
And therefore, I love Anne :)
by dayna hart April 13th, 2009 at 1:28 pmI adore Anne’s work. You are Blessed Among Authors to have had all of your covers done by her, RG. Each of them is gorgeous. Her way with color and texture and collage imagery is fabulous. I’d be screaming if I got an Anne Cain cover too!
by evie byrne April 13th, 2009 at 1:31 pmI adore her covers! She is so very talented!!
by Feisty April 13th, 2009 at 2:08 pmAnne Cain did my cover for A Passion Draconic. She’s AWESOME. I loves her. :)
by Nonny April 13th, 2009 at 2:10 pmI love Anne’s covers – all of them.
She did the cover for my fantasy novel “The Scroll Thief” and when it arrived I couldn’t believe it. There were my characters gazing back at me. I think (although I will deny if asked in public) I might have cried a little bit!
by RFLong April 13th, 2009 at 2:51 pmA great cover will definitely have me reading the blurb. You’ve been so fortunate to have Anne as your cover artist.
by Cathy M April 13th, 2009 at 3:04 pmRF-YES! Don’t think you’ll escape us showing your cover before the week is up. We LOVE it. :)
And Nonny-she is awesome isnt she?
evie-I’m definitely blessed. I’d have her do all my covers forever if I could.
Dayna-I remember when you got it. It was unreal how beautiful it was. That is the moment I knew I wanted her to do my cover.
by R.G. Alexander April 13th, 2009 at 3:04 pmI still credit the awesome success of my dirty pirate time travel, Treasured, to Anne’s cover. It made people click to find out more, seriously.
by Crystal Jordan April 13th, 2009 at 3:30 pmNo problem at all R.G. I LOVE showing off that cover.
Crystal – the cover of Treasured certainly made me click through!
by RFLong April 13th, 2009 at 3:36 pmWhat a talented lady.
by Estella April 13th, 2009 at 4:04 pmYour covers are awesome.
You ‘ll get no argument from me R.G. Anne’s covers are fabulous. They are a recommendation of the book all by themseves.
Sandie
by Sandie April 13th, 2009 at 4:18 pmI’m lucky enough to have 5 covers by Anne (please don’t hate me, lol)
My fav has to be Lost Gods, though. *Love* that cover
by Kim Knox April 13th, 2009 at 6:48 pmCrystal-I think your dirty dirty pirate had a little to do with it ;)
Estella-isnt she? And thanks!
Sandie-totally. She’s got magical cover powers, I swear.
Kim-I have 5 too! We’re what you call hardcore Cain cover addicts. LOL
by R.G. Alexander April 13th, 2009 at 9:41 pmI think Anne’s covers are so wonderfully done. As a graphic designer myself, I just love her play on colors and the mood she captures.
Regina of the Sun is still a fav of mine :)!
by Pam S April 14th, 2009 at 12:00 amI love her covers. The covers definitely draw me to the book
by Jean P April 14th, 2009 at 2:12 pm*happy sniffles* Thanks so much, everyone–you make a girl feel loved and pleasantly humbled by all the praise! It’s always my pleasure to work on the covers for these awesome stories, and I love-love-LOVE it when I get that extra-special email from an author, saying I got the characters and tone “just right”. That gives me such a great, warm-and-fuzzy feeling inside! :D
To the Smutketeers and the other awesome writers I’ve done covers for: thank YOU for trusting me with your stories!!! *hugs*
by Anne Cain April 14th, 2009 at 10:36 pm