Long Road to the Circus (by Betsy Bird) 7-Day Cover Reveal: Day One!

Folks, when you’ve your very first middle grade debut coming out, you want to make a big deal out of it. You want to crow and hoot and shoot off a couple sparkling fireworks into the February sky. But as I cannot really do any of that (except the hooting, which I kind of do normally anyway), I figure a cover reveal is the next best thing. Heck, I’m always revealing other people’s middle grade book covers. Why not my own?

But the more I thought about it, the more I figured that a single cover reveal would be insufficient. Because as nuts as it sounds, I actually really like this novel. It’s called Long Road to the Circus (on shelves October 5th, ISBN 9780593303931), illustrated throughout by multiple award winner David Small, and based on a story with ties to my family history, David’s house (sorta), and an ornery ostrich.

This week, I shall do something entirely new. Behold: The piece-by-piece cover reveal! Every day for one week I’m going to reveal an interior illustration from my book that really gives you a taste of what’s to come. And today, Day One, I’m going to be shameless. I’m starting with my heroine, Suzy Bowles, as a baby with a grip of iron.

“Any fool can grip,” Granny spat. “It’s the smart ones that know when to let go.”

Well, there you have it. My name is Suzy Bowles and I’ve never known when to let go a day of my life.

Look for spot art #2 tomorrow!

Filed under: Best Books, Best Books of 2021, Cover Reveal