Well, I unlocked the door to a stranger earlier today, and was subsequently taken by complete surprise…
For it was a deliveryman, bearing the Advance Reader Copies of SINISTER SCENES!
And as was my delicious wish, their covers have been printed using the bloodiest ink available. As such, I thought a crime scene would best show them off.
For anyone unfamiliar, ARCs (as they are better known) are preview copies of an upcoming title that are given away to booksellers, librarians and a host of other wonderful freeloaders in an effort to create buzz. Considered utterly disposable, they are printed not upon the luxurious paper stock that will comprise the final bound product, but simply slapped upon swan skin in order to save costs.
Because ARCs are created from early printing proofs, they are also famously riddled with grammatical, typological, and/or factual errors which the author and editors subsequently address for the better enjoyment of the purchasing public. For example, in the ARC of SINISTER SCENES shown above, the character of Joy is often referred to as Jot owing to an injury I sustained to my right index finger midway through the work.
Okay, now I am just making things up, like I always do whenever I am overwrought. Which is always, I suppose, which incidentally may be why I chose this profession in the first place.
However the swan skin thing is true, I swear.