I've received a proof of the cover for the last title in my Silk Sisters trilogy, and here it is!
It's been a long time coming. This is partly because I was so STUCK on what to call it. I mean really stuck. More stuck than a stick Superglued to another really sticky thing. More stuck than a room full of Stuckists. I was stuck for weeks...months. It invaded my dreams; it very nearly turned me into a teapot. I filled page after page of my notebook with random words that might go well with 'gold' (I knew all along that there would be 'gold' in the title) and also have some relevance to the plot.
I had wanted to call it 'Aurora Gold', but the publishers wouldn't let me. (It's OK, we're still talking to each other.) I think they thought my readers might have difficulty with 'Aurora'...and they may have a point (what do you think?) This reminds me of possibly the funniest ever episode of 30 Rock
(Tina Fey! We love her) in which Jenna thought she'd got her big break in a movie called The Rural Juror, which was awful and a complete flop, not least because saying the title makes it sound as if you have a speech impediment.ANYWAY...we got there in the end. And how it happened was this: having worked my way steadily through every gold, orange and vaguely yellowish thing under the sun (another yellowish thing) I finally hit on Tiger-Lilies.
Yes! I called up my publisher and yelled, 'Tiger-Lilies! They're an orangey yellowy type thing!' (yes, this is the sort of certifiably lunatic behaviour title crises can lead one to).
Silence.
'Kirsty? Are you there?'
'Fiona,' came the response at last. 'Your story has nothing to do with tiger lilies.'
'Well!' I said. 'we can work on that.'
So I did. Funny how things can sometimes evolve in such unexpected ways. I hope you like the result. Unfortunately it won't be in the shops until next spring (will let you know the date when I have it), but for now you can at least admire the cover.
