I was excited to get the first draft of my next book cover “Talking To Animals.” Although the sub-title is certain to change, I love the cover design, I think it perfectly captures the spirit and intention of the book. The subtitle will hopefully read something like “A New And Wiser Understanding Of Animals.”

This is the first book cover in awhile that isn’t one of my photographs, and I think it’s a good decision on the publisher’s part. The dog’s face is striking and the bold design captures the eye, more directly, I think, that a photograph of mine. I know little of what makes books covers work, but I am excited about this one. It works.

I’ve often had my photos in my books, but as my new publisher pointed out, photos don’t really affect sales. I will put up a special photo page so readers of the books can see the characters they are reading about, as I did with Frieda in “Second Chance Dog.”

As always, I share the process of putting together a book, Simon and Schuster controls the cover, and they may choose to change it, and if so, I’ll post that as well. The book is scheduled for publication in April of 2017, about a year from now. It’s a long time to wait, and this is the longest space between books I’ve had in my book career. I’ve always published a book a year.

That, also, is good to change. People never had the chance to miss my books, and it is good sometimes to build up expectations. Publishing has changed quite a bit in recent years, and this is my first book with Simon and Schuster, my new publisher.

It was my decision to leave Random House, but I will be honest about it, I was nearly pushed overboard. It happens to mid-list writers, I was lucky to be offered a new contract by Simon and Schuster right away. I am one of the lucky ones, and I could not have survived the process as a writer without the blog and you very good people who read it.

Maria is extraordinarily supportive of my work, as I am of hers, and that makes such a difference. She has pulled me out of a lot of black holes and dog days. It’s a bit early for congratulatory messages to myself, but I love this book, it is the culmination of 15 years of living with animals and learning how to communicate with them. It is a personal book, the story of one man’s very spiritual experience with a number of different animals.

I am happy writing on my blog, that is my creative home now, my living memoir. But it will be good to have a book out again as well. I do miss the book tour, and my previous publisher has abandoned them, my new one believes in them. So you might be seeing my ugly face as I move around the country next Spring. It is always good to get out there and meet readers. A year is a long way, but it takes about that long for a publisher to really market a book. Not like the Internet.

Anyway, I was eager to share the cover with you. I am a lot more open than some authors, and I’ll stick to that. You have the right to see the process as it unfolds. I am working day and night this week to finish the book, just a couple of days away.