Reading on the Dark Side: Mercedes Thompson

by Patricia Briggs

Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson
Middle name: Athena
Tidbits: She is a “Walker” who has the ability to turn into a coyote; Runs a Volkwagon auto repair shop
Appearance: Tanned skin – from her Blackfoot Indian and white mixed background ; Athletic build from her karate lessons.; Has long, straight brown hair, usually kept in braids.
Physical marks: tattoo of coyote paw print on her belly, below the navel and two Celtic knots on her upper arms; Has buckshot scars on her bum.
Mate: Adam Hauptman, Alpha of the Columbia Basin Pack

Adam Hauptman
Status: Alpha of Tri-Cities werewolf pack
Age: around 64 years old
Tidbits: Runs a security firm; is divorced with one teenage child, Jesse.
Wolf form: Deep silver fur, almost blue with an undercoat of lighter colors;muzzle, ears, tail and legs deepen to black, yellow eyes
Knicker Removing Quote: His hands, which had been moving in circles in my fur, stopped and took a good hold. “Ben says you might run. If you do, I will find you and bring you back. Every time you run, Mercy. I won’t force you, but… I won’t leave or let you leave either. If you can fight that cursed fairy drink, you can certainly overcome any advantage being an Alpha gives me if you really want to. No more excuses, Mercy. You are mine, and I am keeping you.”
Mate: Mercy

Samuel Cornick
Middle name: Llewellyn
Age: at least 700 years old–was alive during the Black Plague circa 1340
Parentage: Son of Bran Cornick, The Marrok
Siblings: Charles Cornick
Appearance: Over 6 ft tall; light blue-gray eyes with brown hair streaked with sun.
Occupation: Doctor/Surgeon
Wolf form: White fur; no markings; ice blue eyes with black ringed iris

Bran Cornick
AKA: The Marrok, Alpha of all North American Alphas
Appearance: Sandy-haired young man with a nondescript face; describes as looking like a “college student, a computer geek or maybe an art major”; warm hazel eyes
Wolf form: All shades between black and white that makes him look like a medium gray color with a white tipped tail; pale gold eyes;
Mate: Leah Cornick

Siebold Adelbertsmiter 

AKA: Zee
Classification: Fae
Appearance with human guise: somewhat tall, balding with a potbelly; lanky and rawbone; cool gray eyes
Appearance without glamour: good ten inches taller than human guise; skin is dark; hair is gold

Classification: werewolf
Wolf form: brindled coat
Tidbit: Mixed African-Chinese heritage; speaks Chinese when he is pissed off
Mate: Auriele
Appearance: big man over 6 ft; ebony skin; blend of both his African and Chinese cultures

Classification: werewolf
Wolf form: brown coat
Fun fact: was a real cowboy when he was changed
Appearance: built like a marathon runner; rugged look to him

Wolf form: Red coat
Appearance: taller than Adam; pale hair; British accent

AKA: Boy toy
Classification: Human with no abilities
Tidbit: Dating Warren
Occupation: Divorce Lawyer
Appearance: similar in size to Mercy; dark brown hair; wears expensive clothing

Mercy’s human assistant

Dating Adam’s daughter

Middle name: Tamarind
Appearance: Likes to change her appearance often

UTC: Do you read the books before you come up with a cover idea?

Daniel: Whenever the manuscripts are available, yes. I try to give as honest a depiction of the story as possible. Though, often times the covers are done a year in advance of the book being released (as in the case of the Mercy Thompson series), so the manuscript isn’t actually completed yet. In these cases I work from rough outlines or through direct Author discussions.

UTC: Which cover has been your favourite to create so far?

Daniel: It’s very rare that I like anything I paint for more than a few weeks. Though, lately, I’m still pretty smitten with the cover to ‘My Life as a White Trash Zombie’, by Diana Rowland. It was a fun cover, and easy to paint. Having the actual process of painting be fun actually contributes a lot to how much I enjoy the piece when I’m done.

UTC: How much time goes into one of your beautiful pieces?

Daniel: I do a painting every 2 weeks. That gives me about 3 days to read the book and do ketches, another 2 days to book models and shoot reference, and the last 9 days or so to paint the actual image. Though, that is almost always a rush for me. Inevitably, several days will be lost waiting for sketch approval, or waiting for layers of paint to dry. That eats away at my allotted time very quickly, and before I know it, I am skipping sleep in order to get it done on time.

UTC: What type of material do you use to create your artwork?

Daniel: I always work traditionally, using oil paints on illustration board. I really like having an original piece of art in the end. It makes all of the hard work seem worth it. Though I am familiar with digital techniques, and often utilize Photoshop when working on my rough concepts or when compiling my reference photos.

UTC: What’s the best and worst part about being a freelance artist?

Daniel: The best part is definitely being your own boss. I get to make my own hours, and my personal success (or failure) is entirely my own to decide. No surprise lay-offs, and no one can make me do a job that I don’t want to do. On the downside (of which there are many), there is no paid vacation time, no paid sick time, no health benefits, no retirement plan, and skipping several days of sleep in order to meet a deadline seems to come with the territory.

UTC: Whose other artist’s artwork do you wish you could emulate?

Daniel: Oh, there are far too many to name. But some of my favorite artists (who seem to have surprisingly little similarities to my work) are Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud, William Bouguereau, Jean-Leon Gerome, Paul Pope, J.C. Leyendecker, and Michael Whelan.

UTC:Thank you so much for stopping by today and sharing with us Daniel.  Now if you want to know more about his art and find out more about his covers:
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