Jeffrey Catherine Jones (née Jeffrey Durwood Jones) was a prominent American illustrator best known for her paperback covers and comic art in horror, fantasy, and science fiction from the late 1960s to the 1980s. Initially publishing as Jeff Jones and publicly known as a cisgender man, she shared that she was a transgender woman in 1998 and began creating and circulating work under the name Jeffrey Catherine Jones. Though she studied fine art at Georgia State University, Jones was largely self-taught. In 1967, she moved to New York to pursue commercial illustration and soon found work with King Comics, Gold Key Comics, and Warren Publishing, contributing to titles like Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella. By 1968, she was painting paperback covers for Warren.

Jones’s painting appeared on the cover of Dark of the Woods, a sci-fi novel by Dean R. Koontz published as an Ace Double—two stories in one book, each with its own cover. The novel follows author Stauffer Davis, who travels to the alien planet Demos to study the disappearance of its native, winged inhabitants. He falls in love with Leah, one of the last Demosians. Their romance is forbidden and leads them to flee into the wilderness, where Davis is fatally wounded. Leah saves him by transferring his consciousness into a winged Demosian body. Together, they find refuge and soar through the skies of this strange world.

Jones’s cover captures this moment: Leah stands on a rocky ledge, wings spread, framed by a glowing sunset. In the distance, Davis’s new form hovers. Though the novel centers on Davis, Jones highlights Leah, portraying her as strong and commanding—contrary to Koontz’s description of her as fragile. The dreamy, fantasy-like artwork contrasts with the novel’s fast-paced sci-fi tone withits hover cars, mechanized robots, and other advanced technology, showcasing Jones’ unique artistic vision.