In spite of my still being largely on holidays, January has been a busy month for me. Just the way I like it, really.

There’s been lots happening with my forthcoming titles. Earlier in the month, Virginia, my editor at Walker Books sent me through a new, slightly revised cover for my verse novel, Pearl Verses the World. I loved the old cover but adore the new one, tweaked slightly to really highlight the delightful Pearl. Pearl will be released in May, and I can’t wait! Check out the beautiful cover:

I also saw another round of roughs for my picture book with Koala Books, Constantine and Aristotle (though there is some talk now of changing the title). The wonderful Ben Wood is doing an outstanding job of the illustrations and I’m looking forward to seeing them finished.

And, of course, work continues on a project close to my heart, the picture book I am doing with my brother in law David. Snowy’s Christmas will be published by Random House in November, and David has finished the pencil sketches. They are just delightful.

I was also busy with Aussiereviews in January, adding forty new reviews. I also started a blog to complement the site, The Aussie Reviews Blog. This was to take the place of the Yahoo Group I had set up through which to send website updates. The use of a blog is quicker and easier, and seems to have been well received. If you wish to be alerted about updates to Aussiereviews, you can sign up to the blog.

I have also geared up my promotional efforts for the year because promoting oneself and ones books is essential for any author. I had my author site, sallymurphy.net updated, with details of my newest books and forthcoming books, and some broken links fixed. I also decided it was time to update my author photo which was about five years old. The new one is on the right, and makes me look five years older than the last one did (lol), but I like it. And I have joined in some blog tour groups, so that I can both host and participate in some blog tours. Tomorrow I’ll be hosting author Random Noble and later in the month I hope to go on a blog tour of my own. I also started a yahoo group for Australian authors who want to participate in blog tours, which is just gearing up. If you’re interested in joining in, the group is called Aussie Blog Tours and is open to any Aussie author who has a blog.

So that’s my January news. February is promising to be a big month too, so keep your eyes on this page for more news.