I’m happy to be able to show you all the brand-spankin’ new cover for The Beauty of Bucharest, but before I do I’d like to tell you how it came about.

I had been flailing around with various attempts at designing it myself and coming up with results that looked little better than the cat I colored in kindergarten using only a black crayon, not even hinting at staying in the lines and on which I drew four-paned windows for eyes, much to Mrs. Hughes’s very vocal dissatisfaction. (Had the internet been around in 1965 a scan of it would no doubt still be floating around, but you’ll have to take my word for it).

Then over the weekend, pretty much completely out of the blue, I was contacted by a brand new publishing firm out of Iowa, called Northern Lake Publishing.

I say it was out of the blue, and to me, it felt that way, but in all fairness, I should point out that the CEO of said house is, in fact, my friend, and co-author of the SpyCo adventures, Craig Hart.

Long story even longer, by the end of the conversation I’d made a deal for NLP to publish none other than The Beauty of Bucharest or T-BoB, as we call it in our shorthand conversations, in which I usually address Craig as “C.H.” and he calls me “J.E.R.K.” which I assume is some kind of publisher’s acronym.

So the cynics will say… cynical things. But I will explain a little as to why I was blown away. I had known Craig was starting NLP to handle the publication of his own works and had figured that would be that. I thought that I might be represented tangentially in their catalog as the SpyCo’s,  logically, would be included, but that was the extent of it. I never expected anything more to develop.

When the subject was brought up I was very glad that we were communicating via Facebook Messenger, so that Craig couldn’t hear me squealing like an excited school girl. I probably gave myself away, though, since every other message I sent was just “EEEEEE!!!”

As my main work was already done, (the book was finished and ready for the editor), NLP kicked it into gear quickly by providing the cover design, which I approved without revisions.

Here then, is that cover:

See how much better that is than a cat with window eyes?

Assuming everything continues to fall into place, (it has thus far), the official launch date should be announced before too much longer. I’d tell you now but, frankly, I don’t know it.

I guess if you want to find out any sooner you’ll have to ask my publisher. (You knew I was going to have to pull that line at least once, right?)