I’m thrilled there’s been so much interest in my recent posts about who should grace the cover of my upcoming book, Mr. Knightley in His Own Words (see The Mr. Knightley Pageant here on my own blog, and then my related post, Cover Prototypes at Austen Variations). I hope that translates into just as much interest in the book behind the cover as well!

Unfortunately, even after tons of reader input (added to my own protracted deliberations), no clear winner emerged. Most people had a personal favorite Mr. Knightley, but not all the same one! In fact, it was pretty much a 40/40/20 % split. That meant whoever I chose (Jeremy Northam, Jonny Lee Miller, or Mark Strong), I wouldn’t be able to make everybody happy. *sigh*

So, to delay the impossible choice as long as possible, I decided not to decide, to just move on to the next step. Procrastination: a very sensible way to proceed, right? I decided to produce artwork for both of the frontrunners – Jeremy Northam’s Knightley as well as Jonny Lee Miller’s – based on the inspiration of these two cover prototypes. I told myself that most likely one painting would turn out obviously better than the other, making my final decision easy. Brilliant plan! The extra work of doing two paintings instead of one would be worth it in the end.

I should have known better; nothing about this book has been easy. In any case, I did a portrait of each guy… No clear winner. In fact, I wasn’t really satisfied with either one. So I did another… Then I went back to work on the first one a little more… Thought I had decided… but just to be sure… I did one more for good measure.

Ding, ding, ding! Finally, after four tries, I declared a winner! Decision made. Image files sent to my graphic designer. It’s done. *phew*

So who gets the cover, you’re asking – Northam or Miller? Sorry. You’ll have to wait and see! Keep your eyes open for a cover-reveal post next month. I hope most of you will be satisfied in the end. (I’m working on a consolation prize, though, for if you’re favorite doesn’t win.) Truly, I wish I could publish the book with a variety of covers for you to choose from, but that just isn’t feasible.

Mr. Knightley in His Own Words should be out sometime in September. (For more about the book and sneak-peek excerpts, visit this page). Maybe you’ll want to reread Emma in the meantime, or re-watch one or more of the film adaptations to get yourself in the mood before then. Oh, but perhaps Emma isn’t your favorite Austen novel! Nowhere near it, you say? Then let me leave you with a comment I received from one of my beta readers:

I loved this book…You did something I did not think was possible. You made me like the Emma-Knightley love story. I never cared for Emma; it was my least-liked Austen book. But you fixed it! 🙂

What a gratifying compliment! With this novel, I hope to give raging Emma fans more of what they love. And for the rest, I hope to improve your opinion of the story by closer acquaintance with its leading man. Mr. Knightley is a worthy hero who deserves to have his story told – all of it and in His Own Words!

[NOTE: To be clear, what you see here are cover prototypes only, composed using images from Emma film adaptations. I put these together for inspiration purposes only. The final cover will feature an artist’s rendition, not these images.]

Mr. Knightley, a sensible man about seven or eight-and-thirty, was not only a very old and intimate friend of the family, but particularly connected with it as the elder brother of Isabella’s husband. He lived about a mile from Highbury, was a frequent visitor, and always welcome… (Emma, chapter 1)