Hard to believe, but it’s been 25 years since the publication of The Princess and the launch of the Bride Quest. I thought that was something to celebrate!

I’m creating new commemorative editions of all six books in the Bride Quest series – even though only The Princess pubished in 1998. It was released in August actually. There will be a new hardcover edition of each book and a new mass market paperback edition of each book. These new print editions will be available at retailers in November.

Here are all four print editions: from left, the original mass market edition, the 25th anniversary commemorative mass market edition with new cover art, the currently available trade paperback edition, and the 25th anniversary commemorative hard cover edition at right.

The two new editions be available in my next Kickstarter campaign, running from May 16 to 27. You’ll be able to order the books there and get them either signed or personalized, as well as some goodies available only at Kickstarter as part of the festivities. The new editions will be available at retailers in November – the pre-order links for the two new editions of The Princess are below..

Follow me on Kickstarter right here.

Let’s have a look at the books first.

Here’s the pretty new cover illustration of Luc and Brianna:

This is the cover image for the new mass market edition. The size is slightly different from the original mass market. I ordered a copy already and here’s a pic of it alongside the original. It was a bit of a dingy day.

The new editions are also printed on creme paper instead of groundwood – the groundwood used in the original mass market edition changes color with age and isn’t quite as thick. I like the creme much better.

And here are the backs:

The new hardcover editions are really pretty. They have a dust jacket similar to the current trade paperback – but with the new seal for the anniversary editions. But instead of a plain case, these books are case-laminated, which means there will be an illustration on the actual book cover. The idea is to evoke those stepback covers we knew and loved. You get BOTH covers with the hardcover

Here’s a digital mock-up of the hardcover with the dust jacket:

What you can’t see here is that the outside back cover is different from the trade paperback. This edition has review quotes on the back instead of the cover copy. The cover copy is on the inside front flap.

Here’s a mock-up of the book once the dust jacket is removed:

And here’s a photograph of the actual book, because I ordered a copy to check it out myself. In this picture, I’ve removed the front of the dust jacket and you can see the case laminate. The illustration continues around the back without type – there’s just the bar code on the back.

The commemorative print editions will include a new letter from me and the hardcover edition will include the Bride Quest family trees. They’d be too small to read in the mass market edition, but you can download them free right here and print them out.

The trade paperback and the ebook editions will remain as they are.

Here’s a better look at that new seal, which I think is just beautiful.

There will be similar new editions of the other five books, but you’ll have to wait until the Kickstarter campaign to see them. 🙂

There also will be a new bonus epilogue to catch up with the family called Christmas at Tullymullagh, which will be included in the new print editions of The Heiress. I haven’t quite decided how to deliver that in ebook, but there’s a lot of time before November to get it straightened out. 🙂

You can also pre-order the new editions for November delivery from your favorite retailers.

Order the 25th anniversary commemorative hard cover edition of The Princess for November 20 publication:

Order the 25th anniversary commemorative mass market paperback of The Princess for November 20 publication: