It’s incredible to finally have actual, physical copies of my book instead of peering at proofs on a screen. To be able to hold it in my hands and flip through the pages. And you know, to see my name on the cover.
Designing the cover and getting it right was a big process. I went through many ideas before this final version. I knew I wanted a drawing of a bird, a welcome swallow in fact, but finding the image was a challenge. It turns out there aren't too many pictures of welcome swallows in the public domain!
In the end I ended up drawing it myself which meant learning to use a new, open source program to create the image. First I drew the bird on paper, then loaded it on to the computer and finally I traced around it. I'm sure there's an easier way to do it but as a beginner in drawing on a computer this is what worked for me.
Like most things it took way longer than anticipated but I think that it was well worth all the effort!