There’s a lot that has to happen before a book is ready for its close-up, Mr. Demille. As I noted earlier, I just turned in the final manuscript for the Lord Yamada collection last month. It has to be reformatted for printing, flap and/or catalog copy written, the cover art chosen and the cover designed….

Speaking of that, we’ve already run into a slight snag. When my publisher and I first talked about doing this particular collection, he already had a piece of cover art in mind, and the assumption was we’d use that when the time came. Well, to cut to the chase, when the time actually did come, it turned out that the cover art was licensed to a gaming company and wasn’t available. So…we have to find another one, and soon, so his designer can get to work on it. Since we’re kind of under a time crunch to get everything ready, I’m also looking. Maybe I’ll find the perfect cover first. Have to say, though, that so far that has not happened. I have no doubt we’ll get everything done in time, and I’m looking forward to seeing the result. There’s a certain mixture of excitement and dread  that comes from seeing a book cover for the first time, at least when it’s your own.

It’s your baby. You care what it’s wearing out in public.