When I think how much fun I’ve had with Matthew this year, I almost feel guilty. Almost.

Last winter I picked up my Matthew in the Middle series and began completely rewriting the entire thing. This summer I cranked out astounding weekly word counts. Early in August, I finished the first draft of the final novel.

Since then I’ve been polishing the manuscript of the first novel and formatting it for publication. The formatting is not so much fun, and I’ll probably write more about that later in a post on self-publishing.

But what I’m really loving today is working with artist Ken Raney, of Clash Creative, on the book covers. He asks for my input and listens to my ideas, but he also has a knack for sketching out what I only vaguely envision and describe. Seeing Matthew come alive in his sketches is a real rush.

I’m excited about the possibilities and eager to see the final covers for the Matthew in the Middle series. I hope you’ll see them soon and be just as happy with them.