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| Image: Alain Elorza |
The initial draft of the front cover for Stella arrived in my inbox this morning – it’s very exciting. I never knew quite what to expect before I saw it – I have my own visualisation of the book in my head – so actually seeing someone else’s representation on the screen in front of me was quite strange.
The artist was given a summary of the plot and my AIF from which to work, which detailed a few of the locations in the book, key imagery, and character descriptions. She has come up with something very nice, and on showing it to a few people it seems to have produced the desired effect. There are a couple of things I’m gong to ask her to change, but to what I’m not sure. I’m happy to be getting a say in this part of the process, but it’s hard because I’m not a designer so knowing quite what to offer that is acceptable and will help the book sell is not something I know much about.
I’ll send off my comments and hopefully have a final version to show you soon. The artist mentioned in her email: “since you will be publishing soon,” which leads me to believe a release date is not as far off as I initially thought.
The day job dragged today but only because I was working in the knowledge I have tomorrow off. I’ve planned the day out meticulously, and most of it revolves around writing and “time for me.” I think I;ve earned it, and it can’t come quick enough.
Gail and Laura went to see Riverdance at the Playhouse in the evening, so I suggested to a pal we go to the flix. Sam and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire at Ocean Terminal in Leith, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Danny Boyle is an exceptional director, but the acting was what made it for me, particularly the children. India has some fine acting talent hiding in it, so it’s great to see it being exposed to such a worldwide audience.
On the writing front most of what I got done today revolved around marketing for Stella, both with the front cover analysis and in gearing up faster now I know the release date is nearer than I thought.
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Freedom from the Mundane 
The best advice I can give you for STella is that, when someone who knows nothing about the book looks at it, they should get a sense of the book and want to pick it up.
It needs to be a tease that fulfills its promise.