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The Big Announcement

Release of Perfume Island: 15th November.

Now, to those who've been following me for a while, that's not a big announcement, as I've set about 8 different release dates over the past 15 months. Like the boy who cried 'Wolf!' But this time, I promise, it's for real! To prove it, here's the link to the page where you can pre-order it.

The cover reveal isn't a big surprise either, as I've posted it many times in various places and forms. But in case you missed it, here it is again.

And here I must thank photographer and graphic artist Alba, who's not only taken an interest in my work since the beginning, but gave me precious advice on the cover, even going so far as to do a mock up which I was able to use to get the final version.

So things have come a long way since I tried to come up with a cover myself for the first in the series, One Green Bottle. No problem, I thought - all I need is a knife, some blood and, you guessed it, a green bottle. All of which was easy to find, though the blood involved a trip to The Magic Joke Shop in Cambridge, where I spent some time admiring the magnificent disguises before heading over to the blood shelf.

I had to ask for help. Blood, I discovered, is like aftershave: spray, bottle or gel? "Oh, bottle, definitely," said the hemoglobin assistant, who clearly knew her stuff. When I got back, I tied some string to the bottle and dangled it from the wall outside the house, observed all the while by the neighbour across the road. He was fixing snow chains to his car, which I thought was odd. It was a cold day in January, yes, but bright and sunny all the same. But then, I suppose, I was hardly well placed to describe other people's behaviour as odd. Eventually, each convinced the other was mad, we sauntered cautiously into the no man's land between us. "I'm getting in some practice," he explained. "Off skiing soon."

"Oh, right. I thought we might be in for snow."

"Oh, no I think we'll be fine." He glanced at the sky. "For the moment, anyway."

I was holding the blood-covered knife. He was too polite to ask, so I came to his aid. "For a book cover."

"Ah, OK." His look of relief turned to worry. "That would be fiction, would it?"

"Oh, yes." I glanced at the knife. "For the moment, anyway."

3 thoughts on “The Big Announcement”

  1. I was going to reblog but can’t find the button so I’ll just add your link to a post! So happy this is finally coming to light. Believe me I know how much time it takes…good luck! ~Elle

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