The Lad with the Golden Hair by K. Nelson Harper

This book was inspired when one of my three brothers fell gravely ill in the summer of 2014. I wanted to give him one last gift, so I decided to create for him a book of his early years, using old family photos. I told the tale as the saga of a great hero, borrowing freely from historical mythologies of various cultures. The tales included The Ancestors (grandparents); The Humans (Parents) and The Siblings. The story was informed by each photo that I found in the very large family stash, and I let the photograph suggest the narration. Unfortunately, my brother passed away before I could show him the book, but I finished it anyway as a tribute to him, making a bound copy for other family members. The original edition was all digital. I redesigned the second edition (this one) to incorporate handset type and letterpress pressure printing. The various patterns in the background recall the wallpapers throughout our childhood home. The cover resembles an actual major league baseball, complete with raised stitches. When I did the first edition, I had stitches but the title was tinted debossing. I noticed that when folks would admire the cover, they would run their fingers over the flat, printed stitches, so I decided to give them a tactile sensation in the final version. The cover paper, too, resembles the tight grain of the baseball leather.