Covers, Fireworks and Treats

What a lovely birthday week I’ve had, being thoroughly spoiled by friends and family, culminating in a wonderful Fireworks treat with my wee granddaughter, son and daughter-in-law last night! As part of their gift, they had booked tickets to the huge fireworks extravaganza in the grounds of Hopetoun House, one of the largest country estates in Scotland, dating from the 17^th century. I’ll certainly return for a visit to the house itself at some point.

Amongst their other gifts, Iona drew me a picture of herself (you can just see her her long fair hair) surrounded by small roses and cut it carefully out so we could put it in the frame she gave me, along with a lovely big candle. Needless to say, we also had cake (chocolate) with candles and an enormous box of chocolates – no prizes for guessing what I like! Back to healthy eating soon…

In other news, I’ve now revealed the cover of my new Scottish novel, Return to Kilcraig, which will be launched on Friday 4^th November! Please join me for the celebration party that day on the Facebook event or on the blog here. There will be fun, food, music and competitions!

I was very surprised to discover myself on the cover of the latest Romance Matters magazine from the Romantic Novelists’ Association, along with other writers (bottom right)! The editor kindly published my overview of the Conference in July and I’ve also set up a Scottish Chapter of the association on Facebook – first real-life meeting happening soon.

As you can see, it has been an exciting October and I’m looking forward to November and all the interesting activities to brighten up the darker days and nights.

Rosemary

Edits and Covers

I’ve been having fun the past few days going through the first edits for my forthcoming novel, The Highland Lass, due to be published by Crooked Cat this spring, although it’s also time-consuming and a strain on the eyes at times. This is the part I love, as the hard writing should be mostly over and the professional editor has hopefully caught anything I need to address or correct. It’s notoriously difficult to edit our own work and I can’t believe the silly things our eyes pass over because we read what we expect to see!

At the same time, I've had contact from my cover artist and we've started to discuss ideas for this important part of the book. Not as easy as it sounds, but I'm happy with the actual image we’re thinking about at the moment as it suits the flavour of the story. It’s even more difficult when the novel covers two time frames, but it’s mostly a contemporary story and that will be the focus, as well as a rough indication of the setting (Scotland). It won't be as chilly looking as my photo of Loch Lomond above!

It’s an exciting move towards the actual publication and makes it feel real. Can’t wait until I can reveal more about it. Meantime, I’d better get on with the novella I'm supposed to be finishing, although my heart is still with The Highland Lass at the moment.

Just as well the weather has been terrible up here for days at a time – gale force winds and heavy rain. At least it stops me from gallivanting too much! Hope it’s not too bad where you are.

Rosemary