She looks great. And tough, yeah. That's fantastic you have the ability to render your characters like that. Do you feel like you get pretty close to how you envision them? And does it take years to learn these graphics programs? This kind of thing is on my semi-short list of Stuff I Want to Learn.

Yeah, I am at the point where I feel like I can hit it pretty close. Sometimes it's a struggle though. I've got a painting (of the same character, Weaver) that I probably spent two weeks on, and was never satisfied. And last night inspiration struck, and I had a much more workable portrait in about an hour. That's just how it goes sometimes. Weaver's always been hard to draw — she's lean and hard and very un-curvy (she repeatedly describes herself as flat-chested in the novel.) I always want to make her a little more voluptuous than she really is, problably because on some level I still envision her as a sci-fi take on a Chandler-esque blonde femme fatale.

Of course, I had some friends who did not have my drawing skills, and they would go through magazine articles and clip out photos for their characters. Create a little dossier. This is what so and so looks like, this is their house, etc.

The programs aren't hard to learn. Not really. I probably use no more than half a dozen tools in Corel Painter and they make it very intuitive. You can mix colors just like you would on a palette and the brushes will all be familiar. They usually have a 30-day free trial on the web site, which I recommend you try some day when you have the time to play with it. It's fun.

I get a bit of an Emma Peel-like vibe from your rendering of her. Femme, beautiful, but not someone to be crossed or trifled with!

I get a bit of an Emma Peel-like vibe from your rendering of her. Femme, beautiful, but not someone to be crossed or trifled with!

I do love me the Mrs. Peel. Thank you!