After I Left You has a new look! This is the cover design for the paperback, which is due out at the end of July.
I hope you like it. I think it’s a beauty, and captures perfectly a certain kind of sunny afternoon, and the feeling of being free and happy in a golden place and time.
I have this song by George Ezra on the brain at the moment, and the lyrics seem at least partly apt: ‘Give me one good reason why I should never make a change…’
It’s interesting how cover designs can change over time. The initial cover for my first book, Stop the Clock, featured three pairs of legs, representing the three different characters; the career woman, the uber-mum, and the unassuming girl-next-door. This was good fun for me, as I got to help draw up the prop shopping list. In the end, though, it hit the shelves with a quite different look – the lady sipping coffee, reading her newspaper (probably checking out the column written by Tina, the career woman, which causes all sorts of problems when her friends think she is writing about them.)
Sometimes covers even feed into a book. There’s a scene in Julie Cohen’s excellent Dear Thing that involves a pair of baby shoes. Julie mentioned that she put the baby shoes into the book after she’d seen the cover design for the hardback, which featured someone holding a pair – it was too good a metaphor to miss!
BIG thank you to everyone who has said kind things about the cover of After I Left You – here are some of the comments – and thank you so much to everyone who has shared it. The response has been lovely and I’m really grateful.
@AlisonLMercer What a gorgeous cover! xx
— Tammy Cohen (@MsTamarCohen) June 16, 2014
@AlisonLMercer @TransworldBooks Oh it’s beautiful! x
— Samantha Ellis (@SamanthaEllis27) June 12, 2014
@AlisonLMercer @rowancoleman @creativepumpkin Wow, that really is captivating! Lovely.
— Katy Regan (@katyreganwrites) June 12, 2014
@AlisonLMercer @katyreganwrites @creativepumpkin oh stunning!
— Rowan Coleman (@rowancoleman) June 12, 2014
@AlisonLMercer @katyreganwrites @rowancoleman lovely!
— Sarah Rayner (@creativepumpkin) June 12, 2014
@AlisonLMercer @TransworldBooks Love that cover – well done everyone!
— Mark Thornton (@mostlybooksmark) June 12, 2014
@AlisonLMercer @Leanne_Oliver1 @TransworldBooks this looks beautiful!!! *adds to wish list*
— Sam’s book corner (@sam_smith73) June 12, 2014
@AlisonLMercer @TransworldBooks gorgeous cover!
— One More Page (@onemorepage) June 12, 2014
@AlisonLMercer @TransworldBooks Beautiful cover!
— Lindsay Healy (@linshealy) June 12, 2014
@AlisonLMercer @ChickLitChloe @TransworldBooks Love this, what a beautiful cover.
— Emma Davies (@Emdavies68) June 12, 2014
@AlisonLMercer @pulpthorn Oh beautiful!
— Julie Cohen (@julie_cohen) June 12, 2014
@AlisonLMercer @julie_cohen Wonderful cover!
— Susan Murray (@pulpthorn) June 12, 2014
RT @AlisonLMercer: @AlicePeterson1 After I Left You has a new cover – gorgeous book about first love #afterileftyou pic.twitter.com/Uista9chuP
— Alice Peterson (@AlicePeterson1) June 13, 2014
@AlisonLMercer @TransworldBooks gorgeous…
— Victoria Ralfs (@VictoriaRalfs1) June 12, 2014