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| “Colder Wind” by Wylie Beckert. |
A few months ago I did a post about all the different art of “Cold Wind,” my short story about snow, and sex, and shape-changing. It was full of pictures of the various pieces that inspired it—a print of Terri Windling’s Deer Woman; Riva Lehrer’s marvellous multi-media, multi-dimensional portrait of me as a snow leopard; Hedningarna’s haunting “Viima”*—and my discovery of some art, by Rovina Cai, inspired by it. All art, I concluded, influences all other art.
And then yesterday I got a message from the inestimable Henry Lien, the new art director of Lightspeed Magazine, wondering if I’d seen the long and interesting process post on how Wylie Beckert put together Colder Wind, her illustration based on my story.
It’s radically different in mood and tone from Rovina’s piece, though it’s interesting that both use flowing/floating clothing accessories to add interest and fill space, quite unlike Sam Worthington’s original illustration for Tor. I loved seeing different artists’ take on Hild, too (there’s more I haven’t got around to posting). It tells me so much about the different approaches readers must take to a text.
I’m curious, though, about which of the three pieces—Sam Wolfe Connelly’s cover illustration, Wylie Beckert’s painting (above), Rovina Cai’s interpretation—comes closest to matching the pictures “Cold Wind” put in your head (if it did). Or which you think enhances the story in some way. I’d love to hear your thoughts, any thoughts on the subject, really.
* I played that song on repeat for hours and find it has snuck into the playlist for Menewood…
Nicola Griffith 
Of the three my favorite is Rovina's. It captures the essence of the story in a simple and powerful manner. I have to say that I originally bought Cold Wind in spite of the cover art. It was only knowing that it was written by you that made the difference. While I like the snow and tree side of the book, I dislike the overall tone. Really liked the story, but thought the cover – although matching the tone of the book, would not have convinced me to read it on its own. But the Rovina work is compelling.
On a different note – to go back to some of your earlier posts on etymology and looking up words in the OED – I just wanted remind people that many public libraries (including Seattle Public and King County) provide remote online access to the OED and usually a large number of other databases. All you usually need is your library card. Obviously not all library systems – especially smaller ones – can afford to provide this service, but many do and it is a great resource you can use without leaving your home.
To tie it back to the art note – the Seattle Public library system even offers free museum passes to several of the city's institutions including the Seattle Art Museum.
Thank you for your books. You are one of a handful of authors I re-read on a regular basis and your work always challenges me.
The thing that blows me away is how different they are. Absent my name, they would each bring in a completely different readership. I don't envy an art director their job. At all.
I had no idea about SPL handing out free museum passes! Thanks for that.