This came in the mail today:



It's a beautiful cover. It's got great motion and it conveys an old-time feel while still feeling contemporary, which is exactly what I tried to do with the prose. I'm so pleased with this. So much so that I had to put the cover on another book to see what it will look like:



This is a book I'll be proud to sit next to at a book signing. Thank you, Jay Colvin (jacket design guy), Jaclyn Sinquett (jacket art woman) and Seth Holbrook (wicked excellent photographer).

Now I know I'm not the only author who does this, so I will share. I put the mock book on the shelf to see what it will look like next to other books:



See how nicely Bug Boy plays with others? Sorry for the low-res pic, so I'll credit the books keeping Bug Boy company:

Don't You Know There's a War On? by Avi
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Tracking Trash by Loree Griffin Burns
The Adventures of Michael MacInnes by Jeff Carney
Summerland by Michael Chabon
Frindle by Andrew Clements
When It Happens by Susane Colasanti
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DeCamillo
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DeCamillo
I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle
The City of Ember (books 1 and 2) by Jeanne DuPrau
Stuck in the 70s by D.L. Garfinkle
Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Reilly Giff
Soul Enchilada by David MacInnis Gill
and a little slice of
The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower by Lisa Graff

I also received a copy of FSG's fall catalog (that's spelled 'catalogue' if you're from England). I made page 7:



Now please excuse me while I go stare adoringly at my new stuff some more!