BAREFOOT ON THE WIND COVER REVEAL & MORE EXCITING NEWS!

Hello, hello, hello, Dear Readers! Apologies for the quiet period here on the blog - I've had a month of frantic mega-busyness, including a wonderful weekend as a speaker at the Bradford Literature Festival, where I met some of the most wonderful and fascinating people imaginable. Sadly all the rushing around (predictably) culminated in the herniated disc in my spine recurring and putting me on bed rest for a week (look after your spine, my children, you'll definitely miss it when it's gone).

But I'm back today to share the thing I've been desperate to show you for weeks and weeks and weeks now - yes, you know what I'm talking about - it's the cover artwork for BAREFOOT ON THE WIND! Which, just to refresh your memories, is a Feminist re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast, set in a fantasy version of Feudal Japan.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE. Before you scroll down to feast your eyes on the undeniable loveliness of the artwork designed by Delightful Designer and the ThereIs artistic studio, I have more exciting news to share - about Shadows on the Moon.

So, BAREFOOT ON THE WIND is a companion novel to Shadows on the Moon, taking place in the same fairytale realm, Tsuki no Hikari no Kuni (although there are no over-lapping characters). As such, and because it's been five years since the original release, Walker Books have been inspired to reissue Shadows on the Moon in a brand-spanking-new edition which will not only have new artwork, but original bonus content written by yours truly.

The new edition of the book will be available just after BAREFOOT ON THE WIND's release (which will be the 1st of September). I'll be sharing the luscious new cover artwork for that next week, as well as giving you more details about the exclusive new material which will be in the reissue. For now, let me just say that it's providing something many readers have been asking me for since the book originally came out.*Eyebrow wiggle*

OK, OK, you've been good patient readers. I'll put you out of your misery - here, without further ado, is BAREFOOT ON THE WIND...

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Is that gorgeous, or is it gorgeous? I love it. Everything on this cover - the white, red and green colours, the frosty white thorns, the moths, the red butterflies and the falling snow - is symbolic (Google 'butterflies in Japanese mythology' for a hint) and comes directly from stuff that's in the story. I want to burble on endlessly about how much they nailed making the cover represent the book, but it's basically all spoilers so I'll just be over here quietly squeeing while you absorb this:

The full wrap, including a quote from legend L.A.Weatherly, who calls the book 'Hauntingly lovely'. Don't you love the way that the way the illustration continues all the way around like that? J'adore! J'aime! Also, note the brush-stroke effect in that lovely font - I suggested that! When I first got this I spent at least an hour just staring at it, taking in all the tiny little things that link the art to the story and make it totally unique and meaningful. Ack, so happy. If you're interested in cover design, here you can see the Pinterest board of story-relevant images that the designer asked me to put together to help inspire the illustrator.

Over to you now, Dear Readers. What do you think? Does this live up to your expectations? Make you excited to read the book? Sound off in the comments :)