A Quiet Exuberance

In between bouts of self-loathing I've been working away on my novel. Quietly, you know. Chopping here, slashing there, duct tape slapped over my yap to dull the screaming.

This morning, though, something miraculous happened. After a few blissfully exciting days working with graphic artist Steven Novak (aka Mr. Awesome), I OK'ed the cover.

SQUEE!

As I'm writing this I'm gritting my teeth, in a good way, and rolling my eyeballs faster than a hydro meter wheel with the hot tub running. Such is my excitement!

I heard about designer/illustrator/author Steven from author GP Ching, whose book covers I admire endlessly. They're glamourous and richly done, beautiful in every way, and they attract readers to Gen's marvellous writing. I know how important cover art is – as a retired graphic designer, I spent years making words look good. As a reader, I find myself clicking 'Buy' on Amazon based on the cover. The old adage is you can't judge a book by a cover but, in this digital world we live in, that little thumbnail means the difference between selling your book or letting it languish. Granted, if the writing inside is terrible, nothing can help you. My hope now is that my own writing is equal to Steven's work.

I'm not sure when my book is coming out. Soon. Very soon. I'd like it to be done in time for my birthday in October, a present to myself and yet another excuse to eat cake.

In the meantime, help me celebrate Steven's work! The orange is the same shade as you'll find on the Dr. Seuss classic Green Eggs & Ham, and the lovely curvaceous woman with the wild red hair is exactly who I was thinking of when I sat down to write Weezie's story. It's funny, when I was working as a graphic artist, I would CURSE the clients who weren't sure what they wanted, who made me do revision after revision after revision, and yet there I was sending Steven through the same hell! My apologies, dear Steven, and my sincerest thanks for a job well done.

The cheque is in the mail ... really, it is ...