The Mountains of Instead

Championing fiction as an escape from pandemics, politics and bad TV.

FYA Photo-a-day: 13, 14, 15.

Favourite reading spot


When the weather is nice, I like to take a cup of coffee and my book and wonder down to the end of my street where there is a nice bench and a handy wall and the sea. And don't think for a minute I don't know how lucky I am...

Best Cover


I couldn't choose.  But at the moment I like these.  In fact, a lot of the covers that I like involve red, black and white.  You can find ten of my favourites here.

Worst Cover


I mean, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.  Just before the release of the final book in this series, I was sent the first five and challenged by a publicist to read and review them in two weeks.  I did.  But I didn't bloody read them in public.  Everything about this cover is wrong; the colours, the composition and most of all the MASSIVE FACES.  I hate faces on covers - I feel like it robs me of the chance to see the characters in my head as I learn what they look like.  But, in this case, that is beside the point as it is shit on a hundred different levels.  Since release, the VA books have all had cover re-designs and now look a lot more palatable.  Which is good, as they are actually a lot of fun and now you can have fun reading them in front of people, too.



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