I’m thrilled to share the spiffy cover of HER MAJESTY’S LEAGUE OF REMARKABLE YOUNG LADIES! I chose 21 April – World Day of Creativity and Innovation for my cover reveal date in honour of my hero’s strong innovative streak and inventing aspirations. If you read to the bottom of this post, you’ll be rewarded with an extra treat – a book trailer!
I love-love-LOVE it. The colours, the elements, the gorgeous little scroll with my name on it (Gulp! I’m not teary – you are!), even the pug’s adorable curlicue tail.
With such a long title, I knew typography would feature, but wow! The fonts and layout of the words suit the story perfectly. The cover hints at several key elements of the book: the London setting, Queen Victoria Herself, eighty percent of the League of young lady spies, the customized tools of espionage, the troublesome Royal Pug, and the mysterious lone magpie.
Introducing the League…
From left to right, West African agent Stella Davies wears gold. The Most Honourable Celeste Lemieux, a Canadian, is dressed in green. Winifred Weatherby is the English young lady in crimson, and Chinese-born Euphemia Lee is the agent in blue. Each girl holds a tool that hints at her role or specialization in the league. Can you guess what they might do?
Designer Extraordinaire
How lucky am I to have a cover created by Micaela Alcaino, the winner of the Book Designer of the Year at the 2022 British Book Awards!
Micaela is a London-based, Aussie-born star of the UK literary scene. She was included in Bookseller’s list of 150 most influential people in publishing.
Wait, there’s more!
I’m so excited to include a short video book trailer. You’ll immediately notice the acronym, STEM, which in education circles stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. (Some people, including me, lean towards STEM’s quirky cousin, STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, ARTS, and Mathematics.)
You may remember that the early manuscript for this book won the TIMES/Chicken House/IET 150 Prize for a children’s book that promotes STEM, especially portraying girls and women in engineering. The IET, or Institution of Engineering Technology commemorated their 150th anniversary in 2021, and the IET 150 Prize was part of their celebrations. How cool to be at the other end of that wonderful, life-changing opportunity. Many, many thanks to the IET!
Love It? Preorders Are Open!
The book will be released in the UK on 3 August 2023, and later in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and – fingers crossed – also in the US. Stay tuned for news of releases in territories beyond the UK. In the meantime, you can preorder from Amazon UK, Waterstones, or your local Indie!
Thanks for the support, everyone! I’ve loved sharing this journey with you.
Alison D. Stegert 
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