The Trailhead #09

Written By Jon Walter

Behind the artwork

The cover for THE LOST DIARY OF GIL STANFORD came together faster than I expected—starting with a bone-chilling (literally) late-November hike to Mary Campbell Cave. The goal was simple: photograph a composition notebook that exactly matches what’s described in THE TOWPATH, placed in a location that matters to the story. As it happens, Mary Campbell Cave in the Summit County Gorge Metro Park isn’t just featured in THE TOWPATH—it plays a central role in THE LOST DIARY OF GIL STANFORD as well.

After experimenting with placements, angles, and light, I landed on the shot I wanted: the notebook partially obscured by a jagged boulder in the foreground. It felt right—something discovered, maybe even forbidden. A relic that wasn’t meant to be found.

From there, I brought the image into Photoshop and started shaping the mood. Multiple adjustment layers (Hue/Saturation and Brightness/Contrast are my usual workhorses), a dark vignette via a black layer mask, and a few subtle additions pulled from my existing photo library and prior artwork. The spiral etched into the foreground boulder is one of those details—easy to miss, but intentional.

A key goal throughout was continuity. I wanted THE LOST DIARY OF GIL STANFORD to feel unmistakably connected to THE TOWPATH: the same typography (right down to Brandon Grotesque and its weight), similar composition, and careful alignment of text within the artwork. On the back cover, I layered in a stylized depiction of the cave—mirroring the Towpath Trail artwork that anchors THE TOWPATH’s back cover.

Check out my Instagram post to see the final product. I’ve included the original artwork specs from THE TOWPATH so you can see that through line clearly. There will be no spine artwork with the new one as the printed paperback copy will be slightly too thin to accommodate anything meaningful.

And finally… THE LOST DIARY OF GIL STANFORD may not be the last companion artifact to emerge before—or after—I finish Book Two.

(Wink, wink.)

The paperback is now out! Get it on Amazon, available for Kindle too: https://a.co/d/eYdmmux

STAY IN TOUCH

Let’s stay connected. Here’s where else to connect with THE TOWPATH and its author (yours truly):

For more on The Towpath:

Jon Walter

Jon's debut novel, THE TOWPATH, about a group of teens who are targeted by a time-traveling killer and her band of Iroquois warriors from the past, is set to be published by Collective Ink Books in 2024.

By day, Jon is a senior User Experience (UX) design professional and leader with more than 20 years of experience in his field. His career has included roles at U.S.-based Fortune 500 companies in insurance and industrial automation. Additionally, Jon has earned 18 patents on industrial software applications and worked for small startups in the commercial security and real estate technology industries.

Jon often spends his “downtime” writing on User Experience and related topics. His thought leadership has been on display in UXmatters, UX Collective, and The Startup digital magazines. Jon has been a contributing columnist for UXmatters since 2017. As a fiction writer, Jon’s short fiction has been featured in GHOSTLIGHT, THE MAGAZINE OF TERROR (SPRING 2019), DARK DOSSIER #32: THE MAGAZINE OF GHOSTS, MONSTERS, AND KILLERS, and THE DEVIL'S DOORBELL: AN ANTHOLOGY OF DARKEST ROMANCE.

Jon resides in the Cleveland, Ohio area in the U.S. with his wife and two sons. He gets by just fine with the help of hoppy beer and strong coffee and enjoys hiking and biking on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park where much of The Towpath is set.

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The trailhead #08