🤒 Man Flu, The M25 & A Finished Cover!
By D.C. Salmon. ⏱️ Reading Time: 5 minutes
In this post: Surviving the dreaded ‘man flu’, M25 road trip nightmares, the nerve-wracking moment of opening draft two, and why I’m locking myself out of my sales dashboard.
Today’s blog post nearly didn’t happen at all.
You see, I have spent the last few days locked in mortal combat with the dreaded ‘man flu’—or at least, that’s what the women in my life dismissively call it!
On Sunday, I had to make the trek from Peterborough down to Farnham for my son to play roller hockey. It’s normally around a two-hour-and-twenty-minute drive, but when you feel thoroughly under the weather, it may as well have been five. The journey back was even better: a three-hour slog courtesy of accidents, diversions, and the ever-reliable car park known as the M25.
By Monday, I dragged myself into work as usual, but threw in the towel by midday. The next sixteen hours were spent in a blur, shuffling between the sofa and bed while half-watching television. On Tuesday, I braved the office again, bravely enduring accusations of spreading my germs. Fortunately, I have my own office, so I could keep my infectious self safely tucked away out of harm's way.
As Tuesday wore on, however, my spirits received a massive lift: a brand-new email from Peter, my cover designer over at Bespoke Book Covers.
📬 The Dreaded Inbox Click
Because I’d been avoiding screens for a couple of days, my inbox was overflowing. Naturally, I handled all the tedious administrative emails first, deliberately saving Peter’s message until the very end.
Why the hesitation? Pure nerves.
As I mentioned recently, draft one didn’t hit the spot for me. The idea of having to open the new file, only to potentially go back and say, “No, sorry, still not quite there,” filled me with dread. Peter is an absolute professional, but you never enjoy pushing back on creative work.
Eventually, I bit the bullet, clicked on the Dropbox link, and held my breath.
He absolutely nailed it.
The colour palette was spot-on, the atmospheric backdrop worked brilliantly, and the entire composition captured the exact tone of the story. The only hitch on the entire wrap was a glaring typo in the back cover blurb. Fortunately, that was entirely my own doing—and Peter sorted it out with a fresh file that very morning.
So, after weeks of back-and-forth and plenty of anticipation: the cover for Book 3, An Atlantic Shadow, is officially finished!
Even better, with that final front cover artwork in hand, the interior back matter is unblocked. The formatting is now completely locked in, meaning Books 1, 2, and 3 are all set to land in British standard B-format (129 × 198 mm) on classic cream paper.
Now, I can hear you asking: “Well, where is the cover, then?”
You’ll just have to wait a little longer! My newsletter subscribers always get the first, exclusive reveal. The grand unveiling is landing in their inboxes today. If you haven't joined our inner circle yet, you can sign up to Against the Current right here:
👉 Join Against the Current & See the Cover First
(As an added bonus, when you sign up, you’ll also receive Chapter 1 of my upcoming historical WIP, Before the Swastika Flew!)
📵 Stepping Away from the Dashboard
Alongside nursing my cold, I’ve made an important resolution for the month ahead: I am banning myself from obsessive stat-tracking.
I haven’t logged into my Amazon KDP dashboard once this month, so I haven’t the foggiest idea of where my sales currently stand. The only numbers I caught sight of were my blog views while uploading this post.
Why the sudden blackout? Quite simply, it becomes an unhealthy habit. Staring at flatline graphs or waiting for an orange bar to jump when sales or Kindle page reads go quiet for a few days wears you down. It saps your creative energy.
Sales average out over the course of a month regardless of how often you refresh the screen. My time is far better spent focusing on what I can actually control: marketing my backlist and writing the next chapter. So, the dashboard stays locked until the month draws to a close.
🧭 What Lies Ahead?
Looking down the road, there will definitely be a Book 4 in the Newman Adventure series. I started drafting it quite a while back, but it has sat in a drawer untouched for ages. Before I write another word, I’ll need to sit down, re-read the manuscript, and remind myself where on earth Cedric and his team were actually heading! My original ambition was at least five books in the series, but we’ll see how the cards fall.
For now, my sights are firmly set on getting An Atlantic Shadow into your hands, followed by releasing Before the Swastika Flew next year.
It marks a slightly different direction for me—a gritty historical fiction novel set in pre-Nazi Germany in 1932. I am absolutely loving the immersion: researching the period down to the finest detail, from the clothes they wore and the food on their plates to the cars rattling along the streets.
The history and geography are always the most rewarding parts of the writing process for me. You have to get those period details rock-solid to keep the world grounded. If you cut corners, the historical-fiction crowd will pick your work apart, disembowel it, and scrutinise every seam.
Well... provided enough people read it, of course!
💬 Over to You!
Do you ever find yourself obsessively refreshing stats, fitness trackers, or spreadsheets until you have to force yourself to take a break? And fellow readers: how much does historical accuracy matter to you in a period novel? Let me know in the comments below!
📚 What Am I Reading?
Between battling the bug over the weekend and being completely wiped out through to last night, my reading lamp has barely had a look-in for the past few days.
Even so, I’ve managed to push on to page 130 and am just about to dive into Chapter 19. Ben Hope has a proper mystery on his hands with this one. His old friend is dead, and at the moment, the clues simply refuse to add up. What on earth had Oliver got himself tangled up in, and what was he investigating before his untimely demise?
There is clearly serious trouble brewing on the horizon, and Ben knows it. I can't wait to see where this journey takes him next and uncover what Oliver was really onto. I'll keep you posted next week as the conspiracy unravels!
👉 View The Mozart Conspiracy on Amazon
💌 Want More?
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📚 The Newman Adventures
An Irish Mystery A fast-paced historical adventure about stolen treasures, hidden histories, and the cost of obsession. The story that started it all.
An American Treasure The journey continues! Cedric Newman returns in a high-stakes hunt for the lost riches of Mosby's Rangers. Action, mystery, and a new enemy await.
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