Beautiful Covers and Behind-the-Scenes Design

The Piano Tuner's Song Kickstarter prelaunch is up and more about the ARC.

Let me introduce to you a book that is extremely close to my heart, which I’ve brought to life in a hand-crafted special edition. I’ve detailed the design inspiration below, and also some information about what Kickstarter is, for those who don’t know, but first, meet The Piano Tuner’s Song Luxe Collector’s Edition…

(I’ve ended up doing a whole host of links, if you want to geek out or do a bit of armchair tourism related to the book!)

The Piano Tuner’s Song: Gothic Fantasy Romance Luxe Edition

A beguiling standalone where music becomes colour, slow-burn becomes ache, and the discord beneath the melody waits in the shadows.

follow the campaign here

A master piano tuner who sees music as colour.

A woman who’s spent her life forcing her colours away.

When they meet in the French mountains, the connection is instant, dangerous and impossible…

Because he’s been missing, presumed dead, for five years.

The Story

Violette Romèu fled Paris when her synaesthesia broke through every wall she built against it. Returning to her childhood mountian village, she means to live quietly… the way other people do.

Then she meets Rémy Rabasten, a master tuner for the Paris Opera. A man who sees colours too, who looks at her as if he knows her completely, and whose presence is impossible to ignore.

A man who vanished years ago.

Seduced by his world of sublime music, ancient sanctuaries and melodies composed to undo souls, Violette glimpses what Rémy is part of… and what lies in wait.

The diabolical force that rent creation when the first discordant note was struck wants him, and only the gift Violette has spent a lifetime burying stands in its way.

The Piano Tuner’s Song is inspired by French folklore, The Phantom of the Opera and ancient musical esoterica.

Spice level: low steam, max chemistry and tension.

Reading tone: similar to A Discovery of Witches.

It’s Close to My Heart Because…

This is my first published book, and it’s been an extraordinary journey to get it here.

The story began in the South of France, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, where I found myself returning again and again. The mountains there have a particular quality. There’s something magical about the wild slopes and the half-dreamed villages, the chateau fortresses high on peaks and the thermal waters gushing from the earth. The area has a strong musical tradition of troubadours and poetry. In fact, the very concept of the modern novel was born in there.

Then came the musical aspect, and with it, the colour. The book grew from a fascination of the beauty music holds, of how notes themselves carry hue, how some people see music literally as colour, and how the old esoteric traditions thought of the cosmos itself as music. The more I researched, the more I became fascinated by Pythagorean tuning, Robert Fludd’s diagrams, the mystical compositions of Erik Satie. The deeper I went, the more I wanted to write this story.

Violette and Rémy arrived almost by themselves and refused to be anyone else. I’ve spent a lot of time with them, and I’m proud of who they became.

This is a book that wouldn’t let me go. And now I have the opportunity, with you, to make it the way I always imagined.

The Covers, the Design and the Inspiration

With The Piano Tuner’s Song collector’s edition, I’ve strived to create a piece of art in the design and format of the book itself, inspired by the story.

The design is rooted in the esoteric revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which found its visual voice in the bold, symbolic linework of Pamela Colman Smith, amongst others. It flowered in fin-de-siècle Paris through Art Nouveau, opera and theatre, and Satie’s mystical compositions. The revival also reached back into the older traditions of sacred ornament expressed here in the haloed icons and geometric patterns. It was a moment when music, art and ancient knowledge drew together as one. The Piano Tuner’s Song embodies that confluence, bringing it into a contemporary yet evocative setting.

The lineage of the revival leads back to the alchemical plates of Robert Fludd, the ancient philosophy of Pythagoras and Plato, and the idea that music is the substance of creation itself, all of which inspired the black and antique gold design.

The additional complementary modern illustration brings warmth and colour to the page, as colour in the story brings emotion and expression.

There are many lovely details to the design and format such as sprayed edges, foiling, a ribbon bookmark and plenty more. Find out more and support here.

If you would like to support the prelaunch, find out more, and receive updates as the project progresses, click here and then click the Notify Me On Launch button, which is basically a follow.

What is Kickstarter, Anyway?

Kickstarter is a platform where creative projects come to life through community support. Instead of traditional sales, creators share their ideas and invite people to back them before they’re made. Supporters can pledge money to help bring a project into existence, often receiving rewards like exclusive editions, content and merch. It’s a way to be part of something from the beginning, backing new work and your favourite creators.

The ARC (Advanced Reader Copy)

Last week I put out feelers as to whether anyone would be interested in ARC reading the story. As it was my first book out, and I wasn’t used to publishing, I didn’t know what I was doing in that regard and it only went out to a few people.

Well, I got a great response, so it looks like I will be going ahead with sending out the ARC. When, is the question. It’s not going to be long, but I have to find a moment to fit it in somewhere after I’ve updated the existing format. So we’re looking like within the next month or two.

It’s likely you’ll receive the existing edition to ARC and review (as the special ed won’t be ready), and then once your review in, I’ll send you the eBook special edition as a thank you.

Please pop your name on this form if you are interested.

For those of you who don’t know, ARC means ‘Advance Reader Copy’, which involves reading a free copy and reviewing, ideally on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Not so much ‘advanced’ in this instance, but it’s the same principle.

With love, until next time!

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This collection starts on 1st May…