Sword of Twilight by Kirk Blackmore

Thanks to Eoin Dunford’s website 
Title: Sword of Twilight 

Author: Kirk Blackmore

Publisher: Talisman 

Source book: A Crown of Lights by Phil Rickman

Robin Thorogood, a major character in A Crown of Lights, the third Merrily Watkins book, is an illustrator. Sword of Twighlight might be 700 pages of total bollocks starring Lord Madoc the intergalactic Celt, but creating the misty cover art is what will pay Robin’s mortgage.

It’s not that often an author creating a fictional book bothers to mention the publisher*, so well done Phil Rickman for making the effort. It’s a nice detail. We even get the name of the Art Director at Talisman: Al Delaney.

Unfortunately for Robin, Kirk Blackmore doesn’t like his vision for the new book cover. Blackmore has a million and a half three-book deal, plus his seven book back catalogue is due to be rejacketed to match Sword of Twilight… however that’s going to look. And Kirk doesn’t like Robin’s vision of Lord Madoc; not his face, his hair, his clothes, not even his boots. He doesn’t even like the colour of the mist Lord Madoc is walking through. Bummer.

Kirk Blackmore is a the nom de plume of Edward Bainbridge alias Ned Bain and I think that’s enough spoilers.

*although, see Angela Thirkell, for example, for particular attention to publishers, and here too.

Thanks to the Natural History Museum 


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