Every Breath US Cover

Hi again, I hope you’re all going okay with your respective seasons.  We are nearing the end of autumn here, and all the trees have turned red and gold.  Footy time has begun again, so our indoor washing lines have been strung with once-muddy socks and footy jumpers, and it’s raining heaps.  We’ve started keeping the wood-fire stove on during the day, it’s just getting that cold.  I think it’s going to be an early winter.

I wanted to show you the beautiful US cover for Every Breath, which my Tundra editor, Sylvia, passed on recently.  It’s gorgeous, with a very dark and broody Mycroft, and fingerprints on the title, so here it is!

Every Breath will be released in Canada, North America and the Philippines in September this year, so if you live over that way, make sure to keep an eye out for it.  I’ll let you know more about the release when we’re closer to that time.

So I’m happy to tell you that I finally completed the draft of Every Move, the third book in the series.  It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, and I did some marathon sessions at the laptop before the end – I did a nine-hour day in an artspace up at the old (de-commissioned) Castlemaine gaol, writing the finale, and then another eleven-hour stint the following day, desperately working through the ending…  You go a bit nuts when you’re writing on a deadline, I’ve discovered.  I’m very grateful to friends who saw me wandering around in my grubby trackies and ugg boots, with crazy hair and a slightly haunted expression…thanks to those people who gave me pats on the back, and encouraged me to keep going, it did make a difference!

I’m especially grateful to writer friends who told me to keep slogging, and most of all to my writing buddy, Ali Daws.  I’ve always been a bit of a lone wolf, as far as writing is concerned – I tend to hole up with my scribbled notes and my laptop, and try to nut it all out myself, and never show anyone what I’m working on.  But I found it kind of impossible to do that with this book.  I really needed someone to talk to, someone who understood the writing process, and knew and loved the characters as much as I do, just to get the final details straight in my head.  Ali was the guy who I sent draft chapters to, who read and critiqued, who gave encouragement at every turn, and who helped me brainstorm solutions to problems, and corners I had written myself into.  I’ve developed a new appreciation for writing buddies, after going through this process with him, and I certainly couldn’t have written the book without him.  Ali – respect.

So now the writing period is over.  Phew!  You’d think it’d be a good time to just sit back and chill out, and maybe watch a bit of telly, or have a nice cuppa in front of the fire and a lovely long sleep.  You’d think wrong.

Now we’re only a month away from Every Word’s release, so things are starting to hot up.  If I’ve neglected to reply to you on email lately, check your inbox – I’m slowly catching up with all my emails.  I’m going to be making badges and swag for giveaways and fun stuff like that.  I’ll be contacting booksellers and schools and libraries about the book’s publication, and maybe organising a few days to drop in and sign things (and if you’d like me to come visit your school or library or bookshop in June, when Every Word’s out, drop me a line).

And of course, I’m going to be organising the launches – there’ll be one in Melbourne in June, at Readings Carlton, and another one here in Castlemaine, to say thanks to local mates.  When I have dates and times and stuff finalised for those things, I’ll let you know.  Anybody and everybody is most welcome to come along.

I’ll be setting up a giveaway here on the blog soon too – maybe more than one - so if you’re keen, stay in touch.

Until then, stay warm and dry (or if you’re in a summery spot, stay cool!), and I’ll talk again soon!

Xx Ellie