I violently dislike using a cliche to convey my feelings. It doesn’t seem right for an author to rely on expressions that have been so thoroughly chewed on, rehashed, worn to death. But in this case, I have no other resource but to say: I can’t believe this is real. Cinders and Stars is here, and you can preorder it, and publication is set for 11 April, and it’s real, y’all.
(Can I say y’all, even though I’m not native to any of the places where they say y’all? I’m just going to; screw it.)
It took some time to get here…
The characters from any of my stories past and present – Cinders and Stars included – never come to me fully formed. While some writers begin with character and write a story around them, I tend to come up with a situation first and find an interesting character to match after. That also means that as the story progresses – as I discover more – so does the character change.
Kaisi and Niall, my star-crossed lovers from Cinders and Stars, went through many iterations before becoming what they are now; even to become what they are to each other. Jule, the story’s antagonist, took me forever to figure out.
What do these characters want? What do they believe catching their golden goose will bring them? And what is it they actually need? No book is satisfying if only the mystery of the story has been solved. Characters must also be solved, in a way; change, and learn, and hopefully grow. If a story is to stay with you, the characters must be at least as vivid as any I’d find on the train.
Kaisi, Niall, Jule: my aim has been to make them come alive for you. I hope when my book hits the shelves (April 11th! another I can’t believe this is real moment), you might let me know if they did for you.
… and it is both exciting and very scary.
Designing the book cover for Cinders and Stars has been a particular kind of torture for me – something I imagine authors in traditional publishing don’t experience the same way. At publishing houses, highly experienced people with thorough knowledge of the market and access to trend reports are making decisions about book covers.
In my case, it’s just me, my cover designer, and my bag of insecurities.
When I had my first call with Samantha Sanderson Marshall, cover designer extraordinaire, I had no idea what I even wanted. Except for it to “look cool and professional and like something I want to have on my shelf”. Of course, Sam – fiercely creative rock star that she is – took on the challenge and created exactly that.
Something that looks cool.
Something professional.
Something for bookshelves everywhere.
So much so that when I recently stepped into a bookstore to ask them if they would shelve my book, they stopped rolling their eyes when they saw the cover (their exact words: “Oh! That looks good. That looks really good.”).
I am hoping you will love it.
Today is the big day for the cover reveal. April 11th is the day when it will become available. And April 13th is when the book will be going on a book tour on Instagram; follow me there if you want to stay updated (@esther.scherp).
I can’t wait to have you join me!