The truth about the covers

So excited I may throw up. (Sorry.)

Okay, so let me quickly go through the questions I usually get asked about my book covers. (But do let me know if I miss one and you want an answer.)

Do you have any say in the design?

Yes and no! My involvement varies. With my fifth book, I was involved in the briefing process for the very first time – I was asked to submit book covers I liked, typefaces I admired, and pick out the main themes I wanted the cover to represent. Sometimes, I am presented with two different covers to give feedback on. And occasionally, the final concept is presented to me. My feedback is usually taken on board. But not always! My job is writing, not cover design, so it makes sense, I guess. Editor Phoebe Morgan wrote a really informative piece on the entire covers process from a publisher POV – you should read it!

What happens if you really hate a cover?

The publisher will listen to my concerns and if they think they’re valid, they’ll address them. Sometimes too much feedback can be a bad thing and the decision process can get muddy; I know I’ve made that mistake before. On every cover I’ve ever had, at least one change I’ve requested has been implemented.

Have you ever not liked a final cover?

Honestly? Yes. But I’ve never all-out hated one. Even if a cover hasn’t aligned with my vision or taste, I can still appreciate the work that has gone into it, admire the execution of the idea, and understand why it’s been chosen for the market. After all, the book doesn’t need to sell itself to me; I’m not buying it.

Letting a cover loose into the world for the first time is very exciting. The cover for The Glorious Dead has been ready a REALLY long time, and I have been champing at the bit to show everyone. It was briefed by my lovely editor Alexa Allen-Batifoulier, designed and illustrated by the very talented Meg Shepherd, and refined and finalised first by my wonderful publisher Christina Demosthenous and me, then a few further twiddles by the sales and marketing teams.

I’m rambling. Email subscribers were treated to a preview of the finished cover – but everyone else will have to wait. In the meantime, look at the fonts! Aren’t they amazing?

Would you like to know what The Glorious Dead is about? Course you would! Here’s a teaser:

Laurie Blount, the ‘enfant terrible’ of the West End, the voice of a generation, a shining star, is dead. Very, very dead.

Killed in a car crash in the middle of the night, Laurie exited this world the way he lived his life – dramatically and dangerously. Leaving his husband Jo, best friend Vivi and goddaughter Rosy behind, the three are forced to confront a life without their dazzling Laurie, with his voice confined to the scripts that cemented his legacy.

As time marches on, the three try desperately to move forward with their lives. But, rumours of an unpublished memoir written by Laurie himself begin to haunt the group. Waspish, wicked and witty, Laurie’s memoir breaks the fourth wall of his one-man show, revealing a side to him that even those closest to him are unable to recognise. With Laurie gone and unable to answer their questions, where can they turn to find the truth? And how much of a dead man’s words can they trust?

Jo, Vivi and Rosy are about to discover that comedy and tragedy are the same mistakes, made under different lighting. If they are ever to find peace in the future, they must confront Laurie’s as well as their own past – and the mistakes they’ve all made. After all, there are three sides to every story...

Believe when I say this is not like the others. Oh man, it is a wild ride.

Preorders are now live, and they mean a great deal to authors. They show booksellers that there is interest in the book, they drive sales and marketing efforts, they make the book show up more prominently in algorithms online, and they make publishing houses interested enough in me to give me another book deal.

If you can, I would appreciate it so much.

Honestly, this book is worth it. I promise.

Preorder on Amazon | Preorder at Waterstones | Preorder on Bookshop.org

I hope you love this book as much as I do.

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