Author portraits at the Guildford Institute Library for non-binary author Cassidy Ellis Salter published by Bloomsbury

Snake

6 Apr

Cassidy’s author portraits are now published (and so is their book!)

Fantasy style portrait of an author writing by candle light

Way back in December 2024 I met author Cassidy Ellis Salter at the Satanic Flea Market in London and started on a journey, which while not exactly secret, I’ve held off talking about until now. When we shot together in Guildford on a very chilly day in January 2025 Cassidy knew that their queer fantasy trilogy was going to be published by Bloomsbury and that they needed portraits to help promote the book, but it wasn’t until March of 2026 that the first in the series ’’These Shattered Spires’ actually arrived on bookshelves - and with one of those portraits on the flyleaf no less!

Inside flyleaf of These Shattered Spires showing author portrait by Snake, Star & Skull by Sian T. Photography

Front cover of the book These Shattered Spires - artwork by Danlin Zhang

A portrait on a flyleaf was a bucket list item for me, as while I’ve worked with several authors in the past on covers and promotional images, I have never seen my work on the inside cover before, so this was a massive pinch me moment. Add to that the fact that this is a book in the fantasy genre, weird and beautiful and totally aligned to what Snake, Star & Skull is all about - and well I’ve been so excited and also slightly nervous about the whole project.

The thing is, I LOVE the images that Cassidy and I made together - and if you know we know that I sometimes suffer from the fact that I can always see how an image could be better and that sometimes robs me of the satisfaction in having made something really good. But honestly, these are exactly how they should be. The brief was gloomy and ambiguous with a dark academia vibe and between the library and the wider Guildford environs I think we nailed it.

It’s been really affirming seeing these images make their way out into the world. They are doing their job helping Cassidy promote the book and looking mighty fine in the process.