As a debut author, coming up with a cover for a book that I have been working on for years is like putting a star on top of the Christmas tree. It’s beyond exciting. All the hard work has been done, and now it’s time to create a face to the novel. But how do you convey the atmosphere of the world the reader will inhabit with just one image? It seems such a daunting ask, but the cover journey of Seven Days in Tokyo could not have gone more swimmingly.

When my editor, Marissa, presented me with several directions even before editing came underway, I knew it would have to be a street scene in Shimokitazawa. A beguiling neighbourhood in Tokyo, Shimokitazawa is where the two main characters, Louie and Landon, live their own world of empty streets, charming coffee shops and lazy, grey days. I consider it the third character in the story, so to capture the mood of this neighborhood can not be overstated.

I shared with Marissa many photographs I took of Shimokitazawa when I visited Tokyo years ago. One particular photo, however, stood out to us, and it wasn’t long before Unbound’s art director, Mark Ecob, created a mock-up based on this picture. Mark’s prototype was so evocative that, to the select few I showed it to, could well have been the cover.

There was much more to be done, however, and I was thrilled when Unbound tapped illustrator Shiori Fujioka to execute the concept. Her portfolio of tranquil Tokyo street scenes with soft, chalky colours captured the mood we were looking for. Being a Tokyo resident, we hoped that she could provide an authenticity only a local can give. A couple of months later, Shiori came up with a version that was very nearly on point that it needed only one more round of tweaks and improvements.

At the end of summer, we’d pretty much finished editing the book and the manuscript was now with the proofreader. I was travelling in northern Italy, on a local train that negotiated the side of Lake Iseo. Mobile signal in these parts were spotty, but as we inched our way through little villages, I noticed an email from Unbound’s commissioning editor, Aliya. The final version of the cover had come through.

I clicked to download the attachment. With only one bar of signal, it felt like the longest download of my life. I couldn’t contain myself. I would look out the window and the serene lake was the exact opposite of what I was feeling. After what seemed like forever, the image finally came up on the screen of my phone.

The joy was indescribable. I was, at the same time, full of gratitude that I was working with a team who shared my vision. Not only did we have a cover that we loved, the entire process went so effortlessly and everything felt right. And to see the final cover at such an unlikely but marvellous location made it so unforgettable. It’s a culmination of a dream. I think it was at that moment when I truly felt that my transformation from writer to published author was, in fact, real.