With 166 days between now and the debut of Accounting for it All on November 19th, 2018, one might think there’s not much going on in the way of preparation or promotion.

On the contrary, the last month was full of background work to begin setting the book up for the release readers and the book itself deserves!

Cover Design

In the last week, I submitted my cover-design request sheet to NineStar Press, which means I should have the cover design in my hands in the next two months!

What is one asked to include on a cover design sheet, you ask?

That will vary by press, but to complete the form for Accounting for it All, I had to provide basic information about the characters, their appearance, the book’s themes and motifs, and also pass along three covers of currently published books that fit the feel of what I’d like to see in a cover for Accounting for it All.

Naturally I’m super excited to see the final product, but I’m even more thrilled to know that the amazing cover designer Natasha Snow will be creating it! If you want to check out her vast portfolio of cover design work, you can take a look on her website, natashasnow.com.

Once I’ve got the final cover, I’ll be sure to do a cover reveal of some kind here online. So keep an eye on this blog, along with my Twitter and Facebook feeds to make sure you don’t miss a thing!

Character Sketches

In an earlier update post, I mentioned that I’d commissioned some character artwork to help introduce Accounting for it All‘s main character, Robin, to the world. This month, I actually received the first preliminary sketches from the artist who’s doing these pieces!

Though I won’t be sharing the preliminary drawings, I’m really looking forward to showing off the finals to everyone as we get closer to the book’s release date. If you want to know what kind of style you can expect from the artwork, definitely check out Maggie Derrick’s commissions page. I’m so eager to see what she puts together for the final pieces, and I hope you are, too!

Publicity

As it turns out, I was perhaps a bit too eager with my plans to start hitting the road where publicity is concerned, so I’ll be paring back my work in this area until next month most likely.

All the same, I actually did swing by the blog of author Valerie Biel to talk a bit about Accounting for it All and other writerly topics if you want to check that out.

This weekend I’ll also be visiting the Work in Progress Podcast, which, according to their description, is “a podcast about four creative friends talking about creative things.” One of those four friends will be out for this weekend’s recording, so I’ll be stepping in as a guest! I’m looking forward to being part of that conversation and will definitely share a link to the final episode once it’s available!

Sequel

I… may or may not be writing an Accounting for it All sequel tentatively titled Accounting for the Small.

When I write “may or may not,” I mean I’ve written one chapter and have about twelve or so outlined. With my current work on all things EMPATHY, though, the writing of the sequel will be slow going for some time, I’m sure.

But, you know, stay tuned.

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