Marsport copyright 2009 by Michael D. Smith Marsport. Acrylic on canvas, 2009. 24” x 20”

A painting done in 2009 at the time I was first realizing I should start submitting novels like The Martian Marauders to e-publishers. Note that I left the lower half open for wording such as “The Martian Marauders by Michael D. Smith.”
The Initial Nonprofit Ladies Movie Poster Vision copyright 2003 by Michael D. Smith The Initial Nonprofit Ladies Movie Poster Vision. Ink and watercolor on paper, 2003. 7.75” x 10.75”

A drawing in a 2003 journal as I worked on what I thought was the final version of Nonprofit Ladies. It has all the main characters, Dar, Joe, Geswindoll, Ranna, Urside, Churchill, even (I think) Hedrona Bhlon lurking in the far left.
 Guacoazezama copyright 2010 by Michael D. Smith Guacoazezama. Ink and colored pencil on paper, 2010. 12” x 9”

Though Guacoazezama dates from childhood writings, it turns out–coincidentally enough–that the Alpha Centaurian inhabitants of the Procyon A star system refer to their sun as “Guacoazezama.” Depicted is a 1950’s-era Guacoazezamaian saucer.
The Martian Marauders in the Kilpatrick Desert Version 2 copyright 2011 by Michael D. Smith The Martian Marauders Tarot Card. Ink on card, scanned and colorized, 2004-2011. 4.75” x 2.75″

The moment of realization in the Kilpatrick Desert that our boys were fighting ruthless telepathic Martians. The owner of a New Age bookstore dared me to make my own set of Tarot cards and produced a pack of 78 blank cards for me to start with. It took me three years to finish the cards. Included were homages to the twelve novels I’d written up to that time.
The Jack Commer Tarot Card copyright 2015 by Michael D. Smith The Jack Commer Tarot Card. Ink on card, scanned and colorized, 2004-2015. 4.75” x 2.75″

Here Jack is finally realizing that the brainwashed killers emerging from the Pod mean to do him seriously fatal harm. Amav has been pleading from the catwalk for him to notice what’s happening.
The Nonprofit Ladies Tarot Card copyright 2015 by Michael D. Smith The Nonprofit Ladies Tarot Card. Ink on card, scanned and colorized, 2004-2015. 4.75” x 2.75”

Another Tarot card, this one for the original Nonprofit Ladies. Joe Commer has just inadvertently time-traveled from 2036 to find himself at the podium of the first conference of the Committee to End Bullshit on Planet Earth. Ranna Kikken’s favorite cat Churchill has decided to make himself comfortable under the shellshocked Joe’s hands.
Nonprofit Ladies Draft 1 Cover copyright 2013 by Michael D. Smith Nonprofit Ladies Draft 1 Cover. Digital image, 2013.

I made an EPUB copy of the first draft of Nonprofit Ladies, the original version of Nonprofit Chronowar, just to reread it and celebrate the publication of Nonprofit Chronowar in May 2013. The first and last chapters of the rough draft share similarities with the final version, but the middle meanders into various unholy, confusing, and unpublishable directions. But this somewhat zany cover, cribbed from the March 2003 drawing above, expresses how I felt about writing the first draft.
Draft Cover for Collapse and Delusion copyright 2013 by Michael D. Smith Draft Cover for Collapse and Delusion. Digital image, 2013.

Another image created for an error-catching EPUB reading file. It has little to do with the novel, although Greeney Gooney is one of the main characters. Fortunately publisher Deron Douglas created a real cover.
Draft Cover for The Wounded Frontier copyright 2013 by Michael D. Smith Draft Cover for The Wounded Frontier. Digital image, 2013.

Thrown together from one of the Trip to Mars images for the fifth Jack Commer novel, again for an EPUB reading copy. But I haven’t considered a real visual conception for this novel yet.
Commer of the Rebellion copyright 2015 by Michael D. Smith Draft Cover for Commer of the Rebellion. (Original title of The SolGrid Rebellion.) Digital image, 2015

Another EPUB reading copy featuring the rejuvenated Suzette, Lee Borman’s flirtatious wife and co-owner of the Pavlovian Response nightclub in Marsport in 2075.

All words and images copyright by Michael D. Smith