Who is Alexandra? A sneak preview...

Alexandra has recently moved to Scotland and desperately wishes she had her old life back. She is twelve years old with no friends, a creepy next-door neighbour and has made enemies with the notorious school bullies. The only positive thing since moving to the tiny village of Strathblane is that she’s closer to her dream of spotting a real-life golden eagle.

I should also mention that she is the protagonist of my fiction novel The Golden Feather, in case you wondered if she was a real person. She may be real inside my head, but she is most definitely an imaginary character!

When discussing the book cover with the wonderful illustrator Nick Dalley, he asked plenty of questions about her appearance and character, as well as the outline of the story, so he could plan his design. I have always held a clear picture in my head of how Alexandra looked and felt whilst writing the book, and I wondered what Nick would produce from my descriptions. Would it be different to the picture inside my head?

Happily, I can say he did an incredible job and it feels like he has plucked her straight out of my head! As you can see from the illustration of Alexandra on the right, Nick has cleverly concealed her face, yet managed to capture the very essence of her. Readers can still imagine their own Alexandra but she is recognisable for her long curly brown hair, which is often wild and free just like in the illustration, and her action pose represents the leap of faith that she has to take in the story. Her journey leads her to a magical animal kingdom, led by a golden eagle named Solas, and when the human world collides with theirs, Alexandra risks everything to save a life.

I hope you enjoyed getting a sneaky peek at part of the book cover, I know I'm super excited to show you the finished book... coming very soon!