Quest IV – almost there

I seem to have been ‘almost there’ with Quest IV (‘A Quest for Clemency’) for much too long, but I have more or less finished my final round of editing and all that’s left to do is to format the file in a couple of different ways, and publish. As so often happens, I have found a way of complicating things for myself, in this case by deciding now would be a good time to create an omnibus edition of the first three novels in the Quest series, which means wrestling with cover design again. I’ve found a few images lying around on my computer but they don’t seem quite right somehow….

Personally I am very fond of the chairs and 1950s clock picture, but it doesn’t seem dramatic enough – on the other hand I’ve also had to reject (reluctantly) some illustrations I’ve found online showing a man with dark hair and a woman with red hair both holding guns. Apart from the guns they would be just right for the characters.

My latest thinking is to put a picture of Big Ben down one side of the cover and maybe a couple of figures somewhere but not the ones with guns. This is a self-imposed torment so I may eventually decide against the omnibus altogether. It’s something I’ve often considered doing for Pitkirtly but so far I’ve only got as far as producing a limited print edition (two copies – very limited indeed!).

Anyway, returning to ‘A Quest for Clemency’, I’m hoping it will be ready in a few days’ time. I’ve really enjoyed researching, writing and even editing this novel. I hope to write a bit more once it’s published about the research I’ve done for it, which has involved two of my pet topics: the history of computers, and secret codes. The novel also starts with a train journey, which gave me the excuse to look up old train routes in East Anglia. I’m not quite sure where my fascination with disused train routes originated. It might be partly because our house is built on the land where a station once stood, or a long time before that, when I grew up near the Tay Rail Bridge and watched all the famous steam trains going past.