You will lose your hand, find your fist and gain an ally. You will also meet your enemy face-to-face.

Life is pain. War is change. The raw materials of life hammered and shaped into something with a purpose.

The best way to end a war is to make certain that it never happens. The best way to win a war is to change the shape of the battles to suit your needs.

Alejandro Colucci has designed covers for my books that stand out, that catch the eye, and that make me, as a reader and consumer, want to know more about the books behind those covers.

I have to say, Alejandro Colucci is amazing. I had seen his work several times before I started making the connection between the art and the person making it, and when I heard that he was going to work on the cover for 'Seven Forges,' that connection was not yet cemented.

Back in my younger years, I read an average of a book a day. That was when I was going to school full time and working a job after school 30 hours or more a week.

I've been at this for a while, and to a very real extent, you look at cover art with the same sort of expectation you have for playing slot machines in Vegas. That is to say, you hope to break even and promise yourself not to flinch when all you get is the same sort of mix of fruit that you get in a cup of generic fruit cocktail.

Long before I fell in love with writing, I fell in love with reading. Sometimes, honestly, I feel like I'm cheating on my first love when I settle into my office chair to start work on the latest manuscript.

Lloyd Alexander's tales were written and published when I was in diapers. Decades later, they remain utterly timeless for me. I cannot recommend them enough.

I am the first to point out that I really am not kind to illustrators. By that, I mean I really don't give that much to work with.