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Maria Selto

@mariaselto

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⚜ #MariaSelto | #illustrator
⚜ #ConceptArt | #Realism
🚫NO AI. Don't distort/misuse my art
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✨Eärendil vs Ancalagon The Black♠

Better yet, Eärendil & Thorondor vs Ancalagon The Black.

This artwork has been on my mind for such a long time. I adore professor J.R.R. Tolkien’s books and have always been fascinated by the extensive lore he presents in The Silmarillion; it offers so much depth to the events of The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings, and a much better understanding of how the LOTR universe came to be.

This artwork depicts a scene I found majestic: Ancalagon, greatest of the winged dragons of Morgoth, destroyed by a half-elf of deep courage and “surpassing beauty” - Eärendil - and by “Thorondor, King of Eagles, mightiest of all birds that have ever been.”

For those who would like to read a quote from The Silmarillion, here it is:

“Then, seeing that his hosts were overthrown and his power dispersed, Morgoth quailed, and he dared not to come forth himself. But he loosed upon his foes the last desperate assault that he had prepared, and out of the pits of Angband there issued the winged dragons, that had not before been seen; and so sudden and
ruinous was the onset of that dreadful fleet that the host of the Valar was driven back, for the coming of the dragons was with great thunder, and lightning, and a tempest of fire.

But Eärendil came, shining with white flame, and about Vingilot were gathered all the great birds of heaven and Thorondor was their captain, and there was battle in the air all the day and through a dark night of doubt. Before the rising of the sun Eärendil slew Ancalagon the Black, the mightiest of the dragonhost, and cast him from the sky; and he fell upon the towers of Thangorodrim, and they were broken in his ruin.”

It is said that the light of the heaven shone on Eärendil’s face, and his ship is adorned with the last Silmaril and is set in heaven as the brightest star.

This year, I promised myself that I would try to connect with my LOTR family more; so if you are a Tolkien fan, let me know!

‼NO AI software was used in the creation of this artwork.

#mariaselto #highfantasy #tolkien #jrrtolkien #lordoftherings #silmarillion #hobbit #Eärendil #aragorn #legolas #elf #morgoth #ancalagon #dragon #mythology #lore #tolkienart by @mariaselto

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2 years ago

Absolutely adore this stunning art of Tuoni and Hanna (The God and Goddess of Death) by @mariaselto 🖤⚔️With the 4th and final book, Goddess of Light, now available, this dark romantasy series is now complete!
💫❄️
Ready to binge? What can you expect from Underworld Gods?

🇫🇮 Finnish Mythology
🪦 Tuonela, the Land of the Dead
🗡️Enemies-to-Lovers
🔥 Forced Proximity
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼Marriage Bargain
💀(Skull)Masked Lover
🤴🏻Single Dad
🖤Morally Grey MC
☠️ God of Death
💋Shadow Daddy
🏃🏼‍♀️Tall + Athletic Heroine
👻 Creepy Spooky Atmosphere
🤭Banter and Humor
😡Touch Her and Die
🙃Touch Her and She Might Die?
🦄Skeleton Unicorn Sidekick
🔮Portal Fantasy
❄️Winter Vibes
👑Royal Politics
🕸️Dark Cottage Core
💫Labyrinth x Hades & Persephone x Beauty and the Beast

Reading Order:
•River of Shadows
•Crown of Crimson
•City of Darkness
•Goddess of Light

FAQ:

•Why does my paperback not have your name on the cover? Please see my Christmas Eve post for full explanation and what you can do about it. Note, going forward as of today the paperbacks on Amazon will be the proper version (they show as not available but should populate soon).

• Yes, Goddess of Light will get a special edition with the digital edges, same as the other three books. No it won’t be sold through the Signed Bookshop as their store has closed forever as of Monday. This special edition to match the others will be sold via a retailer (Ingram) directly online (as such it won’t be signed). This will happen in January sometime. I will let you know here and in my newsletter.

• There is no God of Death novella. I announced this in 2021 before River of Shadows was even written. Suffice to say, as I wrote the series I realized there was no need to explore Tuonela in the before times…honestly I wasn’t interested in anything without Hanna in it too. So even though back matter of RoS mentions this book, it ain’t happening and that’s a good thing.

•Are there audiobooks?
The last two books don’t have audiobook deals at this time but I hope that will change. If it does, audio probably won’t be available until next summer or fall. by @mariaselto

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2 years ago

✨Elessia & Loche✨

I had the pleasure of working with the lovely @sophiastgermain_author and I am so excited to share with you all this artwork of her protagonists from her upcoming book “A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly” which releases on December 3rd!

The blurb and tropes already have me intrigued! Spy half-fae FMC, human king MMC, court politics, enemies to lovers, hidden identities, secrets and betrayals? Sign me up! I cannot wait!

Thank you for making working together an absolute delight, dear Sophia! Big hugs!

‼️NO AI software was used in the creation of this artwork.

#sophiastgermain #mariaselto #atonguesosweetanddeadly #enemiestolovers #fantasy #bookishart #bookart #characterart #bookstagram #bookaholic by @mariaselto

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2 years ago

Would you look at that, we’ve got an Ember portrait by the wonderful @mariaselto 😍
I absolutely adore all of the colors we landed on for this illustration (especially that background, oh my god it’s so prettyyyy). It’s also perfect timing because I should be wrapping up HOET shortly and diving right back into TOSK 4, which is when Ember finally gets her chance in the spotlight.
I feel like whenever I get tagged in reviews and talk with readers, Ember is the character most likely to be forgotten. It makes some sense—she HAS gotten the least amount of time out of all the POVs, and whereas the others are dark and twisty and angstie disasters, Ember does a good job of hiding all that away behind her sparkly charm and bravado. It’s really not until KODAD that we see the mask finally crumble, and I’m so excited to finally get to dig into her more.
Especially since she is the ultimate linchpin of the entire series… And I may or may not have already started dropping hints as to how 👀
You can read all about this horrifically disorganized healer in my romantic fantasy series, starting with book 1, Kingdom of Masks and Mourning. (Also, because I can’t help myself, can’t wait to see how that celibacy vow stands up to a certain traitor’s wicked charm 😏).
#romantasybooks #bookart #darkfantasy #slowburn by @mariaselto

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6 months ago

THIS SCENE!! 🫠 iykyk 🦋🧬 Absolutely in love with this art by @mariaselto ✨ She captured the intensity of this moment between Vanguard and Mia so well, and those post-dystopian city vibes are just 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

✨She’s an assass!n with a poisonous kiss. He’s the genetically engineered super soldier she’s falling for…and also her target✨

🦋The Boys meets Dark Romance
🧬Spy x Target
🦋 Forbidden love
🧬Obsessive possessive down bad hero
🦋 Badass touch-starved heroine
🧬 Sci-fi twists
🦋 Wtf was that?!
🧬 What if Captain America had a dark & knky side?
🦋”Who hurt you?” But he’ll literally rip them in half with his bare hands
🧬Post-Dystopian NYC
🦋Found family

Bookstagram | Books books books | Romance novels | Dystopian romance | Dark Sci Fi Romance by @mariaselto

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7 months ago

Meet the artists and their creations!

It took a village to bring These Unbreakable Bonds to life. Fortunately for me, I have the best village ❤️

I will never quite get over the beautiful work that was done by these incredible artists.

If you are just as awed as me, I hope you'll consider running to the Kickstarter link in my bio and find the perfect reward for you! 🥰

*Disclaimer: There is a typo in my last two slides. The chibi illustrations by Joyphio and Aedion Studio were not end pages. This is what I get for working on book stuff at 11PM 😂

~

#meettheartist #bookart #bookillustrations #bookillustrator #bookishkickstarter by @mariaselto

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8 months ago

I couldn’t finish Compelling Fates without commissioning another stunning piece from the incredible @mariaselto 🤍

Happy holidays everyone. Sending you all my love and I hope you get to celebrate in whichever way you prefer 🤍 I am so grateful for all of you, thank you for filling my year with so much cheer 🤍 by @mariaselto

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10 months ago

🏛️ Persephone & Melinoe 🏛️

The third illustration I did for the lovely @dawndarlingauthor . Persephone as a whole has always intrigued me and this time I got to experiment a little with drawing sheer fabric. The Characters depicted here are from the book series “Of Gods and Monsters” (a Pandora’s box reimagining, a psychological thriller, filled with witty banter, dark romance and plenty of Mythological goodness for all Mythology and fantasy lovers).

‼️NO AI software was used in the creation of this artwork.

#mariaselto #mythology #bookishart #darkromance #digitalart by @mariaselto

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a year ago

“I spent ninety years drifting through shadows, barely surviving, not always wanting to. But then you showed up. And in a lifetime of nightmares and misery and doubts, you’re like seeing in color again” (Rayner, Kingdom of Dreams and Decay).
Here he is, the masquerader himself kicking off week 2 of romantasy art fun leading up to Kingdom of Dreams and Decay’s launch 🥳 This stunning portrait of Rayner was illustrated by the incomparable @mariaselto.
I absolutely adore the pose we decided to go with this time around, and just look at that red spotlight 😍
Rayner has become quite the divisive character, but there is nothing I love more than a redemption arc… Especially when betrayal is involved. There is so much Rayner lore and context revealed in KODAD that may or may not sway your current opinions, and I just can’t wait for his story to finally be told.
If you’re new around here, though, hello! I’m Abigail, and Rayner is one of the characters in my romantic fantasy book, Kingdom of Dreams and Decay, which features:
🌙 Enemies to lovers, betrayal version
🌙 Political chess game featuring highly competent women
🌙 The slowest of slow burn pining
🌙 Secret missions and heists
🌙 Banter, angst, and learning how to forgive
🐦‍🔥 Start the series with book 1, Kingdom of Masks and Mourning on KU now.
#romantasy #slowburnbooks #enemiestoloversromance #romantasyrecs #foundfamily #forcedproximity #fantasyart Character art illustration of Rayner, one of the characters in my romantasy books. He is a Latin man that appears to be in his late 20s, with wavy, mahogany hair, light brown skin, dark, golden brown eyes, and a full mouth with a bump in the bridge of his nose. He’s wearing a purple shirt and is looking over his shoulder. The background is dark red, with the red lightening in the center to create a spotlight effect by @mariaselto

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a year ago

🏛️ Xia & Siren 🏛️

The second illustration I did for the lovely @dawndarlingauthor . Xia is one of the characters I found most intriguing and had so much fun designing her outfits and jewellery. She is one of the protagonists of the book series “Of Gods and Monsters” (a Pandora’s box reimagining, a psychological thriller, filled with witty banter, dark romance and plenty of Mythological goodness for all Mythology and fantasy lovers).

‼️NO AI software was used in the creation of this artwork.

#mariaselto #dawndarling #siren #greekgods #mythology #fantasy #darkromance #slowburn #bookart #bookishart #characterart #digitalart #illustration #fanart #gods #monsters #zeus #ofgodsandmonsters by @mariaselto

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a year ago

🏛️Brooks & Chaos 🏛️

I’ve had the absolute privilege to work with the talented @dawndarlingauthor on illustrating her protagonists. For those who’ve followed me for a while, it comes as no surprise that I would be over the moon to work on anything Mythology related, and this book series, “Of Gods and Monsters” is exactly that: a Pandora’s box reimagining, a psychological thriller, filled with witty banter, dark romance and plenty of Mythological goodness for all Mythology and fantasy lovers. I loved exploring these characters and Brooks is just one of my favourites.

Thank you, dear Dawn, for trusting me with this project! It was a lovely experience from beginning to end!

‼️NO AI software was used in the creation of this artwork.

#mariaselto #dawndarling #chaos #greekgods #mythology #fantasy #darkromance #slowburn #bookart #bookishart #characterart #digitalart #illustration #fanart #gods #monsters #zeus #ofgodsandmonsters by @mariaselto

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a year ago

💜 Dimitri - the Sun King’s bast*rd 🌙
🎨 Illustrated by the incomparable @mariaselto ☀️
The little gremlin servant living in the castle walls finally gets his time to shine, and look at his eyes 😍 I let Maria decide what his pose should be, and the slight head down side eye is the most Dimitri thing I have ever seen, it’s perfect.
Also, that RED shirt? The purple background? Iykyk 🥹💜🌙
If you’re just meeting Dima for the first time, you can expect a servant with no filter and the attitude of a wet, feral cat… Although we all know he’s a secret cinnamon roll. He first appears in Kingdom of Masks and Mourning, book 1 in my NA romantic fantasy series, featuring:
🏰 Truce marriage turned revenge castle infiltration
🔥 Fiery, schemy FMC
🗡️ Secretive, snarky MMC
🥀 Enemies to allies to kinda love triangle
🩸 Banter, angst, and a twisty magical mystery
🐦‍🔥 Available on KU
⚔️🌙⚔️
Romantic fantasy books, romantasy banter, epic fantasy with romance, slow burn books, fantasy book series, throne of glass
#romantasy #slowburn #forcedproximity #fantasybookrecs #morallygraycharacters #mustread A portrait of Dimitri, one of the POV characters from my romantic fantasy series. He is a thin man in his early twenties, with light-medium tanned skin, dark blond hair that honestly looks like he just ran his fingers through it a couple times and said, “Good enough,” and weasel-like features. His head is slightly angled down, and he’s giving a noticeable side eye. He also has gorgeous amber eyes. He’s wearing a casual reddish maroon V-neck, (fantasy style), and the background is dark purple with some lighter purple glowy parts. by @mariaselto

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a year ago