Book 4 officially has a name: Return to Illur.

Yesterday, I was anxious all day waiting for the paperback proof to arrive. It is very different to look at a cover and interior pages on a computer screen than to actually hold the book in your hands. There is something amazing about finally having a physical copy.

I am also always worried the cover will print too dark or too light. What you see on the computer is never exactly the same as what you get in print. So, until the proof arrives, I never really know if everything will look right.

Finally, that evening, Amazon told me the delivery was 10 stops away. I stared at the little cartoon Amazon truck until it finally got here. I could not possibly do anything else.

Unceremoniously tearing into the box isn’t pretty, but it is very satisfying. As soon as I got the book out, I had to run and get the other paperbacks. Return to Illur is the last book in the Divine Land of Illur series, so it has to be compared. It needs to feel like it belongs with the others.

I analyzed the cover and looked through the interior pages, but it was just as important to lay all four books together. There are a couple of very minor changes to make to the cover, but I am SO pleased with it. My cover designer, Michael, never disappoints! It is exactly what I wanted to show the readers, and I cannot wait until they are able to connect what was written to what they see on the outside.

Now I need to read it all again. Pretty sure I don’t have enough fingers to count how many times that makes. This paperback proof will be my last full proofread before the book moves closer to publication. I will look for any typos, but I’m really just trying to catch formatting errors. For now, though, I am going to enjoy the fact that Return to Illur is a real book sitting in my hands.