More book cover photos - all three new editions together

The Last Queen of England - Thomas & Mercer Edition

As promised last week, here are some photographs of the new paperback edition of my third book, The Last Queen of England, which is out next month on March 18. For me, this cover marks the greatest change from my original cover image, and much for the better I think. It's closer to how I originally imagined the cover, but I was unable to reproduce it with the tools at hand. I love the movement provided by JT in the top half of the image. It says he's going to be doing some running around in this book and he certainly does plenty of that. I also wanted to get those binary digits in, and I think Amazon Publishing did a great job with them. It says there's a puzzle at the heart of this story, which the original cover also failed to get across. I like the image I made for the original cover, of the statue of Queen Anne with St Paul's Cathedral in the background, but it never really shouted thriller to me, which I feel this new cover definitely does. It gives you a glimpse of what to expect before you start reading, which of course is what a book cover should do.

Shot on location in my kitchen. :o)

Also as promised, here are a some photos of all three of the new T&M edition books together. I can't wait to see the fourth book alongside them now, but I'll have to be patient for its release later this year. I'm thinking dark blue for the next cover, with a silvery title and some fog, but we'll see.

A suitcase full of books!

To the Grave - Thomas & Mercer edition.

More books arrived from my publisher this week, and having just about finished the second draft of my new book, the title of which will be announced very soon, I thought I'd take some time out to play with my camera again. Last time I posted a few photos of the new T&M edition of In the Blood, now it's To the Grave's turn.

I had a rummage in my loft and found Mena's little red WW2 era suitcase, which I'd bought previously for the cover of the original edition. Now that my book covers are changing, I thought it would be nice to use it again to welcome in the new edition. These are not the first books to have been put into Mena's suitcase, however, because in the story, when Jefferson Tayte first comes across it, among other things it contains a copy Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert - a book that came to hold special significance for Mena.

The new edition will be out next month on March 18, along with In the Blood and The Last Queen of England, and I can't wait! I have copies of all three new edition paperbacks now, and I think they look great together. I'll post some more photos soon, so you can see for yourself. I'm just waiting for some inspiration for how best to showcase The Last Queen of England. So, if you see a man with a camera, piling books up around the Queen Anne statue outside St Paul's cathedral at the weekend, that will be me. :o)

A suitcase full of books!

Book 4 update and new edition paperback photos

I've finished!

Just a small post this week to share the news that I've finished the first draft of my next (4th) book. Yay! The story is down, but there's still a fair way to go before it will be ready for publication. I was aiming for 100,000 words and the story has come in at around 97,000, which is great, and will sit nicely with the other books in the series. I've lots and lots and lots of editing to do now, which I've already begun. Mrs R has started reading it, too, and so far so good. I'll be sending it to my editor at Amazon Publishing next month - and then holding my breath!

Something else I wanted to share is that I had a very nice surprise during the week when a UPS van pulled up out outside my house and the driver delivered a big box of books. The new Thomas & Mercer edition paperbacks of In the Blood have arrived ahead of their general release on March 18, and I must say, I think they look amazing. The vivid colours really pop out, and the satin finish is very classy. Needless to say, I'm over the moon with them and can't wait to receive the other books now. I know they're going to look great side by side, and I'll be sure to post some more pictures once I have the set.

Click images to enlarge