Cover Reveal for My Upcoming Book!

In my last post I speculated that I might not have much time for blogging over the summer. I guess that turned out to be correct- but I finally have some exciting news to share with you all. My upcoming book now has a title, cover, and release date!

My book, titled Fractured Threads, will be releasing in paperback format on August 27^th, 2022. As I stated in my announcement, this will be a collection of short stories that take place against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. The stories are all interlinked in ways that are sometimes life-changing and other times trivial, emphasizing the point that we are all the protagonists of our own story. Therefore, the book can either be read as a collection of separate, self-contained stories or linearly as a single narrative of human connection. The choice is yours!

I’ll be providing more updates on the book over the coming month. If you want to keep up to date, be sure to follow my Instagram (@mj.vowles) and my Tik Tok (@tumbleweedtoks) as I tend to post there more frequently. The blog has always been a great place to go into depth however, so I am looking forward to writing about this book’s journey, its inspiration, and the reasoning behind its creative choices.

For now, I’m excited to share with you my book’s cover. The cover was illustrated and designed by Jasmine S. Higgins, a poet, cover designer, and close friend of mine. Jasmine has her own book coming out August 17^th, a poetry collection titled Mermaid Lungs that she has written, designed, and illustrated all by herself (click here to see it!). I like to think of our books as cousins. We’ve been working on our books in tandem over the past year, meeting up regularly at our favorite café in Surbiton, as well as proofreading each other’s manuscripts. No one knows my book better than her, and I think she did a great job responding to the theme of the book in her cover illustration. Take a look!

To me, her illustration implies emotional distance, which couldn’t be more fitting for a book focused on the need for connection. The image portrays a scene from one of my stories and is actually inspired by the footbridge that connects the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire campus across the Chippewa River. It’s amazing to me how accurately she recreated it considering she hasn’t been there.

Anyway, I couldn’t be more pleased with the cover and I hope you folks like it too!