A few weeks ago, I opened discussion on the relative advantages and disadvantages of publishing illustrated fiction in digital format. One response that struck me in particular was the observation that quite often, images don't match up with the story - a recurring problem that can effect any medium - this was particularly evident with old comic strips and pulp magazines, where covers shots frequently had nothing to do with the interiors. My solution was to draw the illustrations first then write the story around them, ensuring that there would always be at least some correlation between art and text.

Back in my self-publishing days, I drew a series of pictures simply titled Cynosure: Angel's story, a one-off project which evolved into a short piece called Fallen Angel. As a general rule, I only include one B&W image with each story, but in this case I put a lot more effort into the illustrations, aiming for a slick, clean look reminiscent of British TG journals of the 80s.

Which brings us back, of course, to the main question: in the present day and age, is there any need for illustrative material in a literary milieu? As a reader (and possibly author) of transgendered fiction, do you consider illustrations to be an unnecessary distraction from the textual content, or could a few well-placed images actually enhance the overall reading experience?