Book cover showing a woman with long dark hair against a cloudy backdrop, with the title 'The Four Ages of Death and Other Stories' by Guy Riddihough, and a distant rocket and mountain scenery.

The inaugrual cover for my second collection The Four Ages of Death and Other Stories. The woman is one possible representation of the main antagonist, if that is the right word, in the title story.

Book cover for "The Four Ages of Death and Other Stories" by Guy Riddihough, featuring a profile of a woman with long dark hair against a background of clouds.

This was a early attempt at trying to generate a striking cover. While I like it a lot, I felt the woman was perhaps a little too young looking, and the side-on view concealed too much of her face. However, the cover does catch the dilemma story antagonist faces.

Abstract watercolor painting of a nude figure with vibrant blue and earthy tones, with text overlay reading "Guy Riddihough The Four Ages of Death."

I so wanted to use a piece of my Dad’s art for the cover (Tim Riddihough). His “fast flesh” paintings are stunning and this is one of my favorites. However, as my wife pointed out, I would have difficulty with nudity on the cover, so I gave in to commerical common sense. (But, when I am famous…)

Book cover of 'The Four Ages of Death' by Guy Riddihough featuring a futuristic figure holding a glass vessel containing a floral structure, set against a field of yellow flowers.

For the very first iteration of the book cover I wanted to use this work by the same artist, Baka Arts, who provided the image for the first edition of “The Glass Weaver’s Tale.” However, his price jumped from $400 to $1200, a 300% rise, which, for a book that might sell 50 copies if I am lucky, was a cost I could not justify.

Book cover titled "The Four Ages of Death and Other Stories" by Guy Riddiough, featuring underwater sculptures of human figures.

I next turned to the underwater art by Jason deCaires Taylor as a possible cover image. I tried to contact Jason’s representative but never got past the initial inquiry stage, and although I really love this cover idea, I did not have the energy to charm him into letting me use images of his work.

Abstract painting of a person underwater with a reflection of the sky and trees above, featuring distorted colors and wavy patterns.

Then I fell in love with Isabel Emrich’s underwater/air interface paintings, particularly this painting. I emailed the artist and her art gallery agents a number of times over the period of about nine months, trying to get her to agree to allow me to use this stunning image, but in the end, when she finally did reply, it was in the negative. And, to be honest, I fully understand.

Woman with closed eyes surrounded by colorful flowers, including sunflowers and daisies, wearing a floral-patterned garment.

Next on my list of artists to pester for a book cover was Marissa Oosterlee. Again, the same theme, women in water, and I liked this image a lot and she so very kindly agreed to liscence it to me for the cover, at a price I could afford. But I could not design a cover I liked with the art and finally gave up.