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It's officially Autumn!

I hope you're all having a mustard yellow, pumpkin-spiced October filled with all the Halloween-themed snacks that Tescos have on offer.

For the last few weeks, I've been dividing my time between editing my next book and doing events to promote The Loneliest Girl in the Universe. This is the first time I've had a proper 'tour' for a book release - I'm doing eighteen days of events around the country from Edinburgh to Dublin. It's been hard to find time to write in-between all the travelling! It's a new part of the job for me, but I really love meeting you all, so it's worth all the frantic writing-on-my-ipad-on-the-train days I've had.

It's totally worth snatching every moment to work on my new book, though, because I'm so in love with it - I can't wait to announce what it's about in my next newsletter! Lowrie and Shen, the protagonists, are some of my favourites I've ever written, and it feels strange that none of you know who they are yet.

Right now I'm doing structural edits on the book, which means I'm dissecting a 4-page long editorial letter from my editors, who listed everything that's not working about the book at the moment (in a very nice way!). I then make adjustments based on their thoughts, some of which are little things like clarifying how a piece of technology works, and some are larger, like changing the pace of a plotline or cutting out a subplot completely. It's a bit like making a mosaic - you cut up your book into lots of scenes and reshuffle them around, then paint over the cracks. I really enjoy it, but it's also quite scary chopping up a complete book into pieces. It gets worse before it gets better.

The way it usually works is that I'll alternate between angsting about how terrible the book is, and gleefully declaring I'm nearly done and it's a work of art. Once I enter a new phase, I immediately forget about the last one. And then do it all over again, taking myself by surprise.

Anyway, we don't yet have a title for this book, so I've been going through thesarus websites frantically trying to find good words for one! If you're doing NaNoWriMo this year, I'm documenting my writing progress on the website here - add me!

Cover reveal!

Today I have an exciting exclusive cover to show you - the Harpercollins cover for the American edition of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe. This is still top secret elsewhere - you're the first people anywhere to see it!

Days since The Infinity left Earth: 6817

The daughter of two astronauts, Romy Silvers is no stranger to life in space. But she never knew how isolating the universe could be until her parents’ tragic deaths left her alone on The Infinity, a spaceship speeding away from Earth.

Romy tries to make the best of her lonely situation, but with only brief messages from her therapist on Earth to keep her company, she can’t help but feel like something is missing. It seems like a dream come true when NASA alerts her that another ship, The Eternity, will be joining The Infinity.

Romy begins exchanging messages with J, the commander of The Eternity, and her friendship with J breathes new life into her world. But as The Eternity gets closer, Romy learns there’s more to J’s mission than she could have imagined. And suddenly, there are worse things than being alone. . . .

I love this cover so much! I asked for something similar to the cover of WE ARE OKAY by Nina La Cour, and they really came through. The colours even match!

It's a little like an art deco movie poster, and the elegant simplistic design really highlights Romy's isolation and desire for human contact. The circle looks like a planet, a porthole and space full of stars, all at once. The font matches the UK edition - and the fonts used for The Next Together and The Last Beginning too - which I love.

The little details really bring it to life, I think - her hand pressed against the glass, her plait, the shadow of her body on the windowsill. I'm absolutely and utterly in love.

It's illustrated by Amir Belhoula, who is a really wonderful artist - here's some of his other work:

I really can't wait to see this printed in hardback. It's going to be stunning. The edition is out in July 2018, in hardback, audiobook and eBook.

Finally, because I can't resist, here it is next to the UK cover, for ultimate impact:

They're so different but both capture the book so well. I hope you love the new cover as much as I do - but please don't share it online just yet, as it's still a secret for a little while. This is an extra special sneak peek for my subscribers. :)

Here are some of my recent blog posts, which you might have missed:

And here's some cool things I've read online recently which I think you might like too:

New reviews!

A few brilliant reviews for The Loneliest Girl in the Universe have come in, which I'm thrilled about:

“Impossible to stop turning the pages” – Irish Times

“Moves at full throttle from beginning to end. Lauren James isn’t just headed for the stars – she’s already there.” – Samantha Shannon

“The Loneliest Girl is a page-turning science fiction thriller with some terrific twists.” – Philip Reeve

Upcoming Events

October 13th: Panel at Deptcon3, Easons, Dublin – Tickets available here

The number one way a book spreads is through word of mouth. If you like my writing, please spread the word!

If you're an aspiring author you may be interested in my editorial critique services.

The current cheapest place to buy my books are:

The Next Together - Amazon Kindle (£1.99)

The Last Beginning - WHSmith (£5.59)

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe - Book Depository (£5.59 with free shipping)

You are receiving this email either because you signed up at http://laurenejames.co.uk or because you participated in a promotional campaign for my books.

My mailing address is:
Lauren James
Walker Books
87 Vauxhall Walk
London, SE11 5HJ
United Kingdom

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Lauren James · Walker Books · 87 Vauxhall Walk · London, SE11 5HJ · United Kingdom