Yule: A time to celebrate with those we love. A season full of magic and new beginnings which spring from the darkest days of the year.

When short, dark days stretch interminably ahead the deep human urge to rebel against nature and celebrate is hardly surprising. It is an instinct deeper than religion, broader than faith; whether it’s carols in church, TV and tinsel, or the burning of a sacred log, it is something which touches almost all of us.

After 21^st December the days start to become a little longer. Actually, that’s what I need. Maybe there is some mid-winter magic to create a few extra hours in each one. Maybe I should write to the fairies and ask them. As well as everything else, this festive season I have proofs to check.

The last few months have been particularly hectic as I balance work, writing, preparing for publication of The Faerie Tree and even a stint or two selling books on Chichester Christmas Market. That came about because I’m lucky enough to be part of Chindi, a very active group of independently published authors in the Chichester area. The reason we exist is because there are so many things we can do together which we couldn’t do alone, and one of those was to take a stall on the Christmas Market. It was something of a learning curve and a great opportunity to meet readers. It was also fascinating to see which books sold well and which didn’t – and to try to work out why.

The huge importance of covers was brought home to us very quickly – which was actually great timing for me as far as The Faerie Tree was concerned. The Cheesemaker’s House is pretty striking visually and people tended to head straight for it on the stall. But when it was stacked sideways with other books the title disappeared – and having watched one gentleman struggle with the colour of the print on the back I realised a few things would need to change next time around.

My main concern when briefing the cover designer at Matador was to make sure the book looked as though it was for adults. The title could imply it’s a children’s story so it had to be crystal clear at first glance who it was meant for. I also wanted it to look as much like The Cheesemaker’s House as possible. It’s an inescapable – if a little uncomfortable – fact that authors are brands these days.

When I first saw the cover of The Faerie Tree I had one word for it: wow. It’s a word I’ve heard time and again as I’ve showed it to the people closest to me and to other members of Chindi. So, for the first time, I am revealing it to the wider world through Frost readers and I’m really interested to see what you think. The significance of the candle? Well, you’ll have to wait until Imbolc to find that out.

Now that the cover has been designed there is a plethora of marketing material to sign off. The paperback will be in the shops from 1^st May and the book trade need to know about it now, so an AI (advanced information) sheet has been prepared as well as a trade press release. They’ve been languishing in my inbox for over a week but gut instinct tells me sending them out this side of January would be a waste of time. The thought is salving my conscience anyway.