It’s always a shock when one of my books is published. I have been tucked away researching and writing for years, with no one to read it but me. Now suddenly the lid is blown off and everyone gets a crack at it. I can no longer make any corrections or influence how readers may respond. The novel is like a child riding away from me, the training wheels removed from its bike. Will it stay upright or fall over? All I can do is stand by and watch.

For a distraction from that anxiety, let’s look at some covers. Because face it, that is how we judge books at first. Here are the US, UK and Italian covers:

Isn’t it surprising how different the tone of each cover can be? Hard to believe the words inside are the same!