Hello Friends and Readers!

Today, I have another exciting announcement...this time with a pop surprise twist!  This is the big giant announcement I've been hinting at over the past week or so on Facebook.

 Here's the deal. For the last few months, I've been going back and forth with Viking (my fine American publisher) over the best cover for the American release of my new novel, "The Signature of All Things." Frankly, my editors and I have reached an impasse. Though we each individually know exactly which cover we personally like the best, we have not been able to agree as to which cover YOU, the readers, might like the best. Viking and I finally decided to take this question out in public, for an open vote by the readers themselves...since the readers are, of course, the only ones who actually know what "the readers" will like.  This is pretty incredible, because it has never been done before in publishing history.

Here are your three beautiful and delicious choices:

And here's what's going to happen next. You don't need to vote right now. (In fact, you can't. This page is just for looking.) But in exactly one day, I'm going to post an app on my Facebook page ( Facebook/GilbertLiz) with these three covers and a "click-to-vote" button. But before that vote officially begins, I wanted to give you folks a chance to study these images for a day in privacy, before things go all loud and messy on the Web. So take a close look at these choices, and really think about which cover you like the best. And then get thee to my Facebook page tomorrow and make your voice heard!

To refresh your memory as to what the book is about, so you can better choose the perfect cover, here's a synopsis:

Elizabeth Gilbert's first novel in twelve years is an extraordinary story of botany, exploration and desire, spanning across much of the 19th century. The novel follows the fortunes of the brilliant Alma Whittaker (daughter of a bold and charismatic botanical explorer) as she comes into her own, within the world of plants and science. Exquisitely researched and told at a galloping pace, this ambitious novel soars across the globe-from London, to Peru, to Philadelphia, to Tahiti, to Amsterdam and beyond. As Alma's careful studies of moss take her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, the man she loves draws her in the opposite direction-into the realm of the spiritual, the divine and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose is a Utopian artist. But what unites this couple is a shared passion for knowing-a desperate need to understand the workings of this world, and the mechanism behind of all life.  

The Signature of All Things is a big novel, about a big century. It is written in the bold, questing spirit of that singular time. Alma Whittaker is a witness to history, as well as maker of history herself. She stands on the cusp of the modern, with one foot still in the Enlightened Age, and she is certain to be loved by readers across the world.

So which shall it be, dear ones? Which shall it be? You be the judge!

Also, can you do me a favor? Can you pass this email around to your friends for their opinions, and -once the vote goes public on Facebook - can you encourage a lot of other people to chime in and vote?   I have no idea how this is going to end. Nobody's ever done this before. It's awesome. I'm surrendering.

One more thing - here's a video I made for you! You will notice that I am wearing basically the exact same sweater as in the last video I made for you, several months ago. I didn't realize that till just now. Please purchase lots of my books so I can buy a new color and style of sweater.