Some of you may have hear the news that I’ve got a new project cooking. Well, it’s taking a few steps forward.

The project is called Of Sand and Malice Made, and it’s a triptych of three novelettes set in my Shattered Sands universe that together tell a larger tale. It’s set several years before Twelve Kings in Sharakhai begins, and it tells the tale of Çeda as she comes across an old being, a legend in Sharakhai. The creature’s name is Rümayesh, and she’s an ehrekh, something akin to the Arabic djinn. Rümayesh becomes intrigued by Çeda, a dangerous thing indeed for our young hero.

I’ve been working up several art pieces with René Aigner, a gifted artist. Just take a look at some of his pieces and you’ll see what I mean. I’m going to have two color pieces, which I’m sharing today, plus two more black and white illustrations. One color piece will be the cover of the three collected stories, and one will be the cover for Irindai, the first story, which I’ll be selling separately (or perhaps giving away for free) as a lead-in to the larger tale, as well as Twelve Kings in Sharakhai.

So, without further ado, here’s the first piece:

This shows Rümayesh herself, in half human, half ehrekh form. She doesn’t appear like this in the story, but I liked the idea of combining the two to give a glimpse into her nature.

I really like how she turned out, with a look like she’s just spotted her quarry. And I love the ghost image that René and I designed together, symbolizing the triptych. A bit of trivia: each image on the triangle contains a key element from that story. So keep an eye out for those as you read each one.

Plus, we worked up a full wrap cover as well for the trade paperback and hardcover versions! Here’s what that looks like, cool, shadowed streets and all.

I love all the little details René added, like the broken brick, the play of light, the mysterious figures in the mazelike streets of Sharakhai’s west end.

The second cover, for Irindai, shows Rümayesh in her human form, fetching one of the irindai moths from the wall of a crypt. Why a crypt, the nature of the moths, and what they have to do with Çeda, I’ll leave to the imagination for now. Suffice it to say that they’re integrally linked.

It’s stunning, isn’t it? I really love the colors René chose for her dress, the wall, the moths. And the details in the cloth itself, the jewelry… It’s all amazing.

And how, dear reader, might you get your hands on these? Well, the first story, Irindai, is already available in the Blackguards anthology from Ragnarok Publications. It’s a great anthology, and well worth the money. Just take a look at the ratings and reviews.

But I’ll also be running a Kickstarter for this full project some in late September. Keep an eye out for it. I’m going to have a lot of goodies available, including ebook, print, and a limited edition hardcover for sale. I’m cooking up an audio version, with Sarah Coomes, the same voice actor that voiced Twelve Kings in Sharakhai. I’m also going to include print copies of my latest short story collection, In the Stars I’ll Find You (which weren’t available in my last Kickstarter).

I’m working with Shawn King on the covers for these projects, so I’ll be posting plenty of news on this in the coming weeks. For now, though, just soak in that great art from Mr. Aigner.