Dear Friends. My debut novel, However Far Away, will be officially released on August 6th and I’m thrilled to share the cover with you. Huge thanks to House of Anansi for taking the book design in a direction that I am delighted with, but not at all what I had imagined.

Thank you to Greg Tabor for the overall book and cover design and to Don Bishop for the artwork. The book opens with the lead male protagonist on a morning run beside the ocean in Kitsilano, Vancouver, and the cover image offers some clues as to his character and the novel’s themes: the inscrutable facial features; the old-school headphones as a means to enjoy music and perhaps also to shut out the world; and the faded, slightly transparent, block colours that do not entirely cover the background.

Of course, the fantastic blurb from Omar El Akkad is a wonderful addition over the image; what a generous gift! Thank you Omar.

If you would like to receive However Far Away as soon as it becomes available, you can pre-order it now. Pre-orders help to build interest in the book and get more copies onto store shelves. I would recommend ordering it from your local independent bookstore or from Indigo if you are in Canada.

In the US it is available on the Barnes and Noble website. It’s also available in other markets (Waterstones in the UK) but it may take a little longer for you to receive it.

There will be a book celebration event in Toronto in early August, but I do not have all the details yet. As always, thank you for your love and support.

Rajinderpal Pal