I wish this photo did justice to how exquisite this book really is. It could be the colour scheme (my favourite colour is red) but I think this is the most beautiful Candlewick edition yet. And in 27 days, it will be in bookstores everywhere! There’ll be a blog tour happening that week, involving some of my favourite YA book bloggers. And I’ve also begun planning a launch party in Kingston, so if you’re local, I hope you’ll plan to pop in on Saturday, March 3 for food, festivities, and general frippery.

Finally, here’s the bit of the cover that I always have trouble visualizing, even after seeing an electronic version of the cover: what the spine looks like, lined up with the others.

So, what do you think?

The shoot took place in New York. The severe black gown is part of Mary’s uniform as a housemaid at Buckingham Palace. Her hairstyle is equally plain, to suit her assignment.

Oh, that vexing apron. Aprons are meant, in theory, to protect your dress from the muck and filth of housework (open fires, stone-flagged floors…). Yet white aprons show every bit of dirt and wear, so they’re incredibly difficult to keep clean and crisp. Yes, Mary finds this annoying.

The model is photographed against a white backdrop.

Afterwards, her image is placed into context: this time, it’s a drawing room at the Palace.

From these images, to this:

And that’s the cover story! What do you think?

Those of you with an editorial eye will now be wondering, “The Traitor and the Tunnel” or ” The Traitor in the Tunnel”? Why are you so inconsistent, Ying? Don’t you know the title of your own book? In fact, there are two slightly different titles. I originally chose “and” because I wanted the title to allude to different traitors and different tunnels, and that’s what we did at Walker Books for the UK edition. But the fine editors at Candlewick Press felt that “in” sounded better – faster, snappier, cleaner. And once it was pointed out to me, I agreed. So the North American edition is The Traitor in the Tunnel. Did you think it was possible to agonize this much over a simple conjunction or preposition?

I also wanted to share with you an absolutely lovely review of Traitor by Niranjana Iyer of Brown Paper. Iyer says, “The richness of detail, the intelligent writing, the intricate plots, and superbly-drawn characters elevate this series miles above most YA offerings on the shelves today; I’m delighted to hear this trilogy now has a fourth installment in store for its many devotees.” Thank you so much, Nina!

The full jacket is here. You can click on the image to read the official description.

So, what do you think? (And thank you, Becky, for the tip-off!)

Los Crimenes del Big Ben

To me, it looks like a film poster but apart from the title font, I can’t quite explain why. And the title, translated, is The Big Ben Crimes – Another Mystery for Detective Mary Quinn. What do you think?

The audiobook editions of A Spy in the House and The Body at the Tower are now on sale! They’re performed by Justine Eyre, who has an absolutely beautiful voice.

And finally! The French edition of the second Mary Quinn novel, The Agency: Le meurtre de l’horloge, will also be published in February. I was wondering what they’d call it.

I think The Clock Murder works very nicely indeed. And I thoroughly approve of the orange. What do you think?

On Tuesday, I finished the first full draft of the third MQ novel, The Traitor and the Tunnel. (*weak cheer*) Consequently, my brain most resembles a smallish bowl of cooling tapioca. Today I’ll confine myself to announcing that yesterday was the official pub date for the French edition of A Spy in the House. Here’s the cover:

As you can see, they’ve changed the title to The Jade Pendant. I like that the series is still called The Agency, and not L’agence. What do you think?

This cover, like the first, was designed by Caroline Lawrence at Candlewick. When she commissioned a photo shoot for Spy‘s cover, she photographed a second outfit for this novel, too. Caroline read both novels carefully and based both cover scenes – and the model’s outfits – on scenes from the books.

There’s been some discussion in the YA blogosphere about the way MQ looks – whether or not the model is an accurate choice. Without getting too spoiler-ish, I want to confirm that the model, Amber Ahlquist, definitely could be Mary Quinn. (Those of you who’ve read Spy know what I mean, right? If you want more info, email me!) Candlewick’s attention to detail here is amazing: they got MQ right and their stylist is an expert in Victorian costume. They went all out, friends, and I love them for  it.

Here are some shots from the second half of the cover shoot. I’ve been sitting on these for MONTHS (8, to be precise) and am so excited finally to share them with you!

As before, the talent in New York consisted of:

Crystal Thompson, wardrobe stylist (and I’ll say it again: she works on 30 Rock and Gossip Girl!)

Souraya Hamdi, makeup artist (also of 30 Rock)

Scott Nobles, photographer

David Gardiner, photographer’s assistant

I still find it strange that all these people I’ve never met have worked so hard on my books. It’s a humbling and glorious feeling, and I’m so grateful to them all.

This week in reviews:

Librarian Jennifer Hendzlik had low expectations but concludes, “Mary is a strong female lead that could stand head to head with any of Tamora Pierce’s fierce woman characters and the twists, turns and yes, even a love interest will keep readers engaged on many levels. I was expecting ok and I got wow instead.”

Reviewing for the Guelph Mercury, YA novelist Jean Mills says, “readers will love the intrigue and hints of romance in this mystery set in nineteenth-century London, where privileged young ladies wore lace and poured tea, while their less-fortunate counterparts struggled to survive. Marriage proposals, pickpockets, tea parties and pirates — A Spy in the House delivers a rollicking read.”

As a result, I’d no idea what to expect at my first book club meeting as an author. What can I tell you?

First, that it may be all about the food. Seriously: 8 women. Snacks for, ooh, 16? It was heaven.

Second, that they had all read Spy (or did a great job pretending) and had tons of questions. And they asked me things I’d never thought about – for example, what’s the backstory on the primary agent whose territory Mary Quinn treads on? My brilliant answer: “Um, I haven’t thought about her much.” I think I’d better get on that.

Third, I totally cracked: I’m not supposed to reveal the Candlewick cover for The Body at the Tower yet, because it’s not quite ready. (Soon, soon.) But I brought an ARC and flashed it around shamelessly. The bookclubbers were very kind and humoured my delirious babbling about the story behind the cover. Thanks, ladies.

I had such a great time, thanks to Jennifer O’Donnell who invited me, and Marcia Irving who hosted. It was terrific to meet all of you and I hope you keep in touch! (And thank you very much for the lovely bottle of wine! You really shouldn’t have, but I’m secretly very glad you did.)

This week in reviews:

Bookseller Ben McNally says Spy is “accomplished and believable. Mary Quinn and her supporting cast are developed with care and craft, and the plot is polished and quick.” Notes from a Book Addict, at BookLounge

The charmingly named NerdGirl is “on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book”!

And Ria at Tea and Tomes says the characters are “wonderfully real” and the period detail “made the story just that much more believable”.

This week, I can finally share some wonderful news from my UK publisher, Walker Books. In September, Walker will publish the second Agency novel, The Body at the Tower, with a redesigned cover:

from Walker Books, September 2010

But I just recently had confirmation that they’ll be reissuing A Spy in the House at the same time, with a matching redesigned cover. What do you think of it?

to be re-released in September 2010!

Me? I think it’s perfect.

In other news, YA historical novelist Marie-Louise Jensen highlights Spy at An Awfully Big Blog Adventure, calling it her “favourite unexpected read of last year” (it came out in the UK last April).

Flashlight Worthy and Steph Su combined forces to recommend Spy on their list of YA Novels Featuring Women from Another Era (it’s #2 on the list!).

And GAL Novelty spotlighted my recent blog tour with praise so effervescently shy-making that I can’t possibly repeat it myself. (But I’m not above linking to it, oh no…)

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and support, friends and readers!