Initially, as with many of my covers, I started with the typography.

Big Swiss’s big personality lends itself to a confident design layout. You can go big with the type, filling the page. Given that this novel is brimming with personality, that’s exactly what I wanted to do.

Beyond the type, however, finding the right illustrations felt paramount to this cover.

The work of artists Kissi Ussuki and Laura Callaghan caught my eye for their ability to illustrate characters with personality. I felt their illustrations succeeded in expressing connection – that feeling of sitting giddy in bed thinking about your crush.

Was I showing too much of the characters, though? And was this route exciting enough? This book does exactly what it says on the tin – it’s a book about two women who fall in love. But perhaps there was a more playful way to convey this?

Artists like Michael Craig Martin were also of interest to me due to their ability to let you peek into someone’s life through a curation of possessions. An object of Greta’s could lend itself to an expression of her love.

Greta’s headphones, for example, nod to her initial infatuation with Big Swiss and the start of their love affair.

But perhaps this was too odd and too specific a reference to understand if you had not yet read the book.

‘Too hot, too cold, just right.’

A conversation with the book’s editor lead me to a particular scene. In a chance encounter, Greta and Big Swiss meet in a dog park. Greta recognises the voice she’s been listening to: it’s her, it’s Big Swiss! This scene, represented by their dogs, was exactly what I was looking for – delivering on humour and the brilliant oddities of this novel, but ultimately focusing on the characters’ connection.

I ended up illustrating the scene myself.

Big Swiss’s dog is unfazed, while Greta’s dog’s tongue is jutting straight out in an undeterred and desperate attempt to connect.