Four Sleeps till Pub Day!

That is, I’ve got a book coming out on Friday. It’s book five in this strand and book seventeen in my life and . . . it’s still exciting.

(Full disclosure, I’m writing this last week before I go to the Sisters in Crime Hollywood Conference and it’s already exciting. If I think about publication day, a frog hops up my throat a wee bit and then lands back in the base of my belly.)

And forgive me, but isn’t it lovely?

It could have been so different. QUIET NEIGHBORS, the story of Jude and Lowell, started out as DEAD LETTERS, the story of Tash and Jerry. Tash and Jerry are completely different people, don’t you think? They sound as if they might have themed parties. And a boat.

After that, QUIET NEIGHBORS  was briefly THE FORGOTTEN, the story of . . . funnily enough, I can’t actually remember.

Even once it had a name, it took a while to give it a look. I got a chance to show off my total lack of any artistic skills whatsoever:

prompting a lot of messages back and forth between my editor – the incomparable Terri Bischoff – and me, saying profound things like “books aren’t neighbours though” and “they weren’t letters either” and “it’s hard to draw shadows” and “ that seagull is a crow, by the way” and “what seagull?”

Then the wondrous Kevin Brown got to work with his considerably greater artistic skills and my Sharpie sketch became this:

And yet, and yet. I had a packet of tombstone Peeps leftover from Halloween 2014. (I always put a pumpkin on my step and buy Halloween sweeties, just in case. We live up a dirt road and even the neighbours across the fields don’t have any children young enough to go trick-or-treating. But just in case.) Instead of throwing them out in two layers of deodorised plastic bags – you know, because I wouldn’t want the rats at the dump to get sore tummies (I’m not a fan) – I found myself keeping them for possible fairy-cake-plate-decorating purposes at the QUIET NEIGHBORS launch party.

It was a moment of psychic prescience. Not long after that, Terri sent a message asking: “Is there a description of the cottage? How many storeys? Brick? Wood?”

And I sent back:

And Kevin replied:

And eventually that turned into the jacket I can’t take my eyes off today.

Now, careful readers might be wondering why the editor of this book was asking if a particular description was in the book. And the answer is . . . one I’ve been trotting out quite a bit, but it’s still true: broken arm, plaster-cast, Vicodin, couldn’t type. In other words, the jacket came before the story was anything like finished.  That is why the picture on the front matches so precisely the description inside: I was looking at the picture while I (finally) typed it.

“And to be fair, it was lovely, like something from a fairytale. It had two big windows below and two little windows above and it showed its ecclesiastical connections by having its door on one gable-end like a chapel, sheltered from the weather by a tiny black-and-white-painted wooden porch that made Jude think of a lych-gate. She wished she hadn’t, or at least she wished she hadn’t remembered that the lych-gate began as a place to keep coffins while the graves were dug. The charm diminished as they grew near enough to see the blisters in the paint, the missing roof slates and the line of damp around the base of the single chimney. The windows were dappled where rain had run through summer dust and this, along with the darkness inside, left the place looking closed and yet watchful. A fairytale cottage indeed.”

All in all, I’m more than usually delighted to saying goodbye to this one and sending it out into the wide world to see if other people want to spend time with Jude and the books and the quiet neighbours!

If you would like to be entered in a draw to win  a signed first-edition hardback copy, just leave a comment below. I'll use a number randomiser to pick a name tomorrow. Otherwise, QUIET NEIGHBORS is available at your own favourite bookshop from Friday.

Comments

[Karen in Ohio]

Thanks for sharing the progression, Catriona. Fascinating, and now I'm intrigued to read the book (as if I wasn't already).

And "lych-gate" is a new word for me!

[Lori Rader-Day]

You keep trying to make Tash happen. Wasn't that Gloria's first name, too? Love the post and the evolution of the cover. Kevin's quite good, isn't he?

[Mark]

Congrats on the new book release (in four days).

It was great meeting you Thursday night!

[catriona]

Wow, you're right, Lori. Tash is really trying to get here.

[Susan Neace]

Scary neighborhood. Nice cover though.

[Diana Kornfeld]

Love your work. So good. Best of luck with your new one.

[Ruth Nixon]

Great cover but what's inside is what I'm waiting for.Lych-gate a new word for me , must look it up.

[Ann Mason.]

Oh Catriona of Clan McPherson pick me pick me pick me. Even though I've ordered Quiet Neighbors on Kindle, I'd be ever so pleased and proud to have an autographed first edition to add to my collection.

[Kathy Reel]

I have so loved this cover since I first saw it, and it's such a treat to know how it evolved to its finished state. Your covers and writing are always exceptional, but this might be my favorite cover so far and one of my favorites in all my reading. An autographed first edition is an awesome prize.

[catriona]

I love how the cover and the title work together and create more than each would have on its own. Terri and Kevin surpassed themselves this time.

[catriona]

Nice to meet you too, Mark. And in such lush surroundings!

[Ginny MacDonald]

I thought it was an excellent seagull. Crow. Nice cover though and very interesting to see the process!

[Sally Schmidt]

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing part of your journey to get this one done. And what a cover, it's great. I love it.

[Shannon Baker]

This is an outstanding "strand" of books and I'm excited for the latest installment. The cover is truly exceptional.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

You are fabulous. Endlessly endlessly fabulous.

[Daniele K]

I really like the final cover. Congratulations on your new book and thank you for the chance to win.

[Jacki York]

Authors- you lead the most interesting lives compared to boring auditors like me! Congratulations on the new book and I'm looking forward to reading it!

[catriona]

Random.org, the random number generator, just chose . . . Jacki! Jacki, could you send your physical mailing address to [email protected], please? Thank you.