I mentioned a while back that I was working on an updated, edited, and generally improved edition of my middle-grade novel The Lighthouse Thief. Well, the wait (and work) is now over, and I’m pleased to present the shiny new cover designed by Ronnell D. Porter (who also designed the cover for “Finding Viola”).

Looking back, I realize I was so eager to move on to new projects that I rushed through some important aspects of the publishing process. I certainly owe all my readers an apology for delivering a product that was less than stellar. And, of course, you all deserve to have it made right.

Next weekend (keep checking back here for the announcement), I will be giving away free Kindle copies. If you haven’t read the book yet and want to, or if you bought a print edition but would like to try the updated version, then download away! For those who already own the Kindle first edition, you should be able to easily contact Amazon to have them update it for you. If you have any problems, just contact me and I will try to sort it out.

And—last but not least—to those people who bought print editions: as print editions are much more expensive to produce than eBooks, I can’t give copies entirely free. However, if you can contact me with your address and a proof of purchase (like a receipt or a picture of your first edition copy), I will be happy to send you a signed second edition copy at half-price ($5).

The limited-time free Kindle deal will go live this weekend—so keep watching for it! It will take a bit longer for me to get paperback copies printed, but I hope to have plenty in stock for the holidays.

(Oh, and to those who might be interested, there have been rumors of a forthcoming hardcover edition as well. Just keep your eyes open.)