So here, at last, is the cover of my book!

Had it been left to me it would’ve been much simpler — verging on minimal, even — but when my editor sent me the first version (what you see above is the third and final) I immediately understood what they were thinking. We needed a cover that was rich and luscious to draw prospective readers to it. It’s textured, colourful, layered and thoughtful — just like the words it contains. And truth be told, this is absolutely the sort of cover I would pick up in a book store.

Having my mug on the cover made me squirm at first — that old visibility thing rearing its head. But I remember the day I took that photo and it was full of calm and quiet. And the photo of my sister on the right is one of my favourites. Seeing us together makes me smile.

The cover also reminds me of the wallpaper that decorated the dining room of our house when we were kids. This wasn’t planned but it feels so meant to be:

(Can you see how much Noah looks like his mummy?)

We’re working on the insides of the book at the moment — after the richness of the cover, the insides are much more calm and simple, with Polaroids dotted throughout the text. We’re getting our zen on and I think you’re going to like it :)

Some stats:
The book will be 5.5 x 7.5 inches
Hardcover
Publication date: June 5th, 2012
Price: $21.95 (£14.31) but you can pre-order it on Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk* right now for $14.93 (£12.78)

* Did you see what I did just then? I linked to my book on Amazon! There is a young girl dancing inside of me right now, the girl who spent entire weekends lying on her bed reading books. The girl who wrote stories about love and recorded the smallest details of her life in her notebooks…

After a week of poring over every word and making corrections and alterations, I sent the manuscript back to Kristen the copy editor yesterday. The cover design has been completed (I can’t wait to show you!) and next up is the interior. Going back through the manuscript for a second time was a much more sobering experience — I’m happy to report that there were enough passages I did like to reassure me the book’s not totally shite, but I gotta say… my perfectionist side went into overdrive. There were moments when I just wanted to delete the whole thing and start again. It’s hard to let the book be finished. Reading back there was so much more I wanted to add — new chapters, new ideas, new tangents that occured to me. I guess this is why authors pen a second book :) but still… it’s a finished object, and that feels strange. I think I have been blogging for too long.

* * * * *

We’re enjoying an Indian summer in the UK right now. They say it will last till Tuesday, so I went into town today to work in my new favourite cafe and just be in the sun-soaked streets. The warm breeze was like an embrace and I lapped it up. In the photo above you see me working on the Photo Meditations course — that feels like an embrace too. I really hope you like it because i can’t wait to share it.

When you write a book for a publisher it’s written into your contract that you will receive a certain number of author’s copies of your book — usually about 10 (if you want more you can buy them at a discounted price). Today my very first box of author’s copies arrived — our Pretty Polaroid Notecards are already in shops and available online, and this morning a box of 10 packs were delivered by the UPS man. The thing about writing a book is it takes soooooo looooong for the finished paper-and-stitching book to be in your hands — it’s like waiting for Christmas when you’re six-years-old. But even though these sweet little cards aren’t the finished book, they sure are lovely to receive :) Jen, Amanda and I put a lot of sweat and love into our Polaroid projects, and it’s so wonderful to start seeing the results.

So, i have one pack for my mum, one for my sister, one that i’m going to keep in a special box for Noah to have when he’s older (he’ll be getting copies of all my books too!)…. and I have two packs to send to two of YOU!

If you’d like to win one of the two packs — i’m happy to send them anywhere in the world — simply leave a comment on this post sharing three things you like about yourself (i’m serious — you have to do this!). I’ll draw/announce the two winners on Friday xo

Okay, I’ll go first:

1. I like how I see the world through my camera.
2. I like how I’m able to make people laugh and put them at ease.
3. I like that I’m not afraid to dig deeper into the heavy questions…. I like that I’m so thoughtful.

Now it’s your turn…