Jim Hillebrecht has been working at his craft for nearly 35 years and has produced a dozen books in that time, ranging from techno-thrillers to paranormal drama to sword-and-sorcery fantasy. The first book of his Paladin Trilogy, currently released in e-book form on Amazon, was produced in 1991, but it wasn’t until his daughter, Barbara, read it some 15 years later and insisted on reading the other two that the Trilogy was completed.

In 1979, he began working for a tungsten carbide company to pay the bills, and over the course of the next 33 years, he slowly advanced through the technician ranks to the position of senior engineer. Throughout that time, he worked on his writing primarily in mornings and on weekends with the support and encouragement of his wife, Margie, and their three daughters, Barbara, Adella, and Katie. He lives in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Jim met the Trilogy’s cover illustrator, John Blumen, in junior high school, and they have been close friends for more than 40 years. It has been a dream fulfilled to have John do the covers for the three books of this series…and for the other series yet to come.

Jim can be reached by email at james@jamesahillebrecht.com.

With an eclectic portfolio that runs the gamut from industrial design to children's books, John’s 35 year career in advertising and publishing reflects his wide range of expertise in the multi-faceted world of illustration and design.

After years of perfecting his techniques with traditional media, John chose to apply his creative knowledge and artistic insight to the discipline of digital illustration. This seamless transition from canvas to computer has yielded some of the most imaginative and thought-provoking imagery in John's career.

John lives and works as a freelance illustrator in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His images grace the covers of books published by The Penguin Group, Tor, Harcourt Publishing and Llewellyn Worldwide and a myriad of other publications and periodicals. His work also appears in the fantasy art showcases Spectrum, Fantasy Art Now, Aphrodisia and Erotic Fantasy Art, Now.

More of John's work can be found at www.johnblumenillustration.com.