R4G3 | Vein of Mortals

Dr. Charli Stanwick became a doctor to change the world. Project Joy was her chance, despite eighty-four years of failed experiments in human regeneration.

When convicted murderer Thomas Evers was executed by lethal injection, he should have been another corpse on a laboratory table. But his body didn't just heal. It transformed.

Project Joy is more than a medical breakthrough. The U.S. military sees a weapon. Societas Arcanorum recognizes the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. And billionaire Leon Spicer wants to harness its power at any cost.

Charli believes her work could end disease, perhaps even hold the secret to defeating death. Yet with every day that passes, the unnatural force inside Thomas grows stronger, and his humanity slips further away.

The closer she gets to him, the harder it becomes to separate what she must do from what she wants.

If he becomes a monster, the last hope of a better future dies with him.

Released 2023
Multiple POV, Science Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
For Adults 18+
Profanity, Drugs, Suicide, Violence

Behind the Scenes
THE COVER

Here are my favorite questions I asked award-winning illustrator Alejandro Colucci about his work on R4G3. Alejandro created the front and back covers, as well as a two-page interior spread. He has created artwork for hundreds of fantasy, horror, science fiction, and crime publications, including books by Anne Rice, Robin Hobb, Isaac Asimov, Ursula K. Le Guin, Andrzej Sapkowski, and Joe Abercrombie.

For indie authors, the opportunity to work with artists of this caliber can be difficult to come by, so I feel incredibly fortunate to have collaborated with Alejandro and to have seen him bring such a distinctive creature to life.

This is a question I get asked often. I always try to balance my work between the indie world and established publishing houses. I’ve never believed the quality of the work should depend simply on earning more money from one side than the other. When I accept a project, it’s because I intend to approach it with my usual passion, intensity, and professionalism.That said, highly complex illustrations do cost more than standard ones, and naturally, larger publishers are usually the ones able to afford those rates. But those are exceptions. For instance, my covers for The Witcher involved the same amount of work as the cover for R4G3.

Alejandro Colucci
Cover Artist

Like almost everything in my work, the creation of the R4G3 creature stems primarily from the text of the book being illustrated. Of course, we illustrators also bring our own experience and artistic perspective to enrich the final product. As a professional specializing in fantasy and horror, and a genuine fan of those genres, I’m always aiming to create illustrations that satisfy not only me, but also the future readers and the author. In this specific case, I built on the author’s suggestions and examples, proposed a few changes, and sketched out some quick designs for the creature’s body and head. I then combined those elements, and that’s how we arrived at the being that appears on the cover and inside the book.

Alejandro Colucci
Cover Artist

Behind the ScenesTHE STORY

Behind the ScenesTHE COVER

Behind the Scenes
THE STORY

Behind the Scenes
THE COVER