I’ve always thought that one of the best things about this site is its visual appeal.

Whilst granting due credit to Erin and her team for the superb layout, I’d like to save some for the authors who have contributed such a variety of arresting images to the front page. Even after the considerable help I’ve been given by those more IT savvy than myself, I still find illustrating my work to be a fiddly business, and that’s after I’ve spent hours searching for the picture that best suits the mood of my story.

I particularly like Drea’s grainy portraits, which add a melancholy wash to their reflective subjects. I never tire of looking at Sue Brown’s joyous blue sky and butterfly-haunted meadow. Pride of place this evening goes to Elspeth’s black-garbed sorceress, though Rhona McCloud’s exquisite silhouette runs it very close.

Which are your favourites? Who has the knack of coaxing you into reading a story you might otherwise have decided you didn’t have time for? What shouldn’t you include in a teaser?

Never judge a book by its cover? I agree, but when there are so many to choose from…