Writer in Residence

Cover Reveal for SECRETS OF THE SANDS!

By Alisha Sevigny

How fun is this, that I get to reveal my cover on Open Book! 

Let’s face it, we all judge books by their covers. That’s why I’m so lucky that the first cover of my middle-grade adventure series is absolutely EPIC!

Seriously, check this lovely out...

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The lovely people at Dundurn Press commissioned this beautiful piece of art from the exceptionally talented Queenie Chan, a local Toronto illustrator. She completely captured the feel of the novel and I am so so thrilled with it.

I’ve actually been lucky enough to love ALL my covers. When KCP Loft sent me the stunning cover of SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS, it looked exactly as I pictured it...

summer cosntellations

And bears a pretty uncanny resemblance to our family cottage...

cottage

Highly coincidentally, the cover artist for SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS, the brilliant Emma Dolan, also did the gorgeous cover for KISSING FROGS, my very first book, which is a re-telling of THE FROG PRINCE fairy-tale, with an environmental angle.

kissing frogs

Even the US cover from Swoon Romance was cute:

kissing frogs (2)

And last but not least - my first translation! The German cover of SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS, by Ravensburger, is magical (and the title really rolls off the tongue ;)

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I am incredibly fortunate that I have loved each of my book covers. It’s so amazing to see your book come to life with visuals, and is definitely one of the more exciting parts of the publishing process! I can't wait to see what Queenie comes up with for the second book in the series, but for now, I'll just keep drooling over THE LOST SCROLL OF THE PHYSICIAN.

Here's a synopsis of THE LOST SCROLL...

In her search for answers, Sesha must find a priceless scroll for the pharaoh.

It has been an entire moon since the fire—since Sesha and her little brother Ky lost their mother and father and found themselves orphans on the streets of Thebes. Having only narrowly escaped the blaze with their own lives, the siblings struggle to survive, charming snakes and stealing goods from distracted vendors. In an unfortunate brush with the law, Sesha is forced to reveal their lineage as the children of the late royal physician, returning them to the palace and their once home. But Sesha knows the gods were not to blame for her parents’ deaths—someone betrayed them, perhaps even the Pharaoh himself.

Sesha’s father was working on transcribing a papyrus with far-reaching consequences for Egypt—and the rest of the world. The only remaining scrolls of the Great Imhotep, the documents have the power to shift the sands of an approaching war with the neighbouring kingdom of Hyksos; clear or condemn the royal family in the murder of her parents; and save her brother from a looming—a potentially fatal—illness. Vowing to the gods to discover the truth, Sesha engages in a clandestine search for the hidden scrolls. But she’s not alone.

As the only girl enrolled in studies at the temple, safety is a mirage that constantly has Sesha looking over her shoulder. Among conspiracy at court, treachery at the temple, famine in the fields, and whispers of war, Sesha puts her father’s snake charming lessons to use in taming the nest of royal vipers. Using her knowledge of reading and writing, her talent for healing, her quick thinking, and the help of her fellow scribes and a certain princess, Sesha may just find the sacred text before it falls into the wrong hands—and time runs out to cure her brother.

Full of intrigue and adventure, Sevigny’s middle-grade debut is sure to do for ancient history what Riordan has done for mythology—ignite passionate readers of all ages.

The views expressed in the Writer-in-Residence blogs are those held by the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Open Book.


Alisha Sevigny is the author of YA novels, Summer Constellations, (winner of CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens 2018), and Kissing Frogs. Her historical adventure series, Secrets of the Sands, launches January 2020 with The Lost Scroll of the Physician. She holds a degree in professional writing and sociology from the University of Victoria, is a film school graduate, former literary agent, hot yoga lover and avid traveller. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she lives in Toronto with her family. You can follow her on social media @alishasevigny.

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