Seeing the printed hardcovers for the first time! The cover is a photo of a custom woodcut by artist Martin Tomsky.
It’s a SURPRISE book release: A 10th anniversary hardcover illustrated special edition of The Accidental Alchemist!
It’s been 10 years since The Accidental Alchemist was published. Yes, 10 years! And no, I have no idea where the time has gone. To celebrate this anniversary of a book I started writing while undergoing chemo for stupid cancer, I wanted to create something truly meaningful.
I'm now more than a decade cancer-free (hooray!) but one of my takeaways from cancer was to live life to the fullest. To me, that doesn't mean doing it all, but it does mean valuing my family and friends, not rushing through life too quickly, exploring the world through both books and travel — and also taking time to celebrate.
It was such fun to work with my artist mom, Sue Parman, to create original artwork of the Accidental Alchemist characters for the novel’s interior. The finished book has 7 of her original illustrations.
A list of the book’s illustrations, along with one of the pieces of character art by Sue Parman.
Two more of the line art illustrations by Sue Parman.
With my mom, surrounded by some of her artwork.
But it wasn’t just my mom I worked with.
The gorgeous cover artwork is by woodcut artist Martin Tomsky, who I discovered last year at a Christmas market at the British Library, where I bought two small pieces of his art. When I started working on this project, I knew his style was exactly what I wanted for the cover.
Two of Martin Tomsky’s pieces of art I bought at the British Library’s Christmas Market in 2024.
Martin Tomsky’s “The Accidental Alchemist” woodcut that serves as the book cover of the 10th Anniversary Special Edition. The original hangs in my writing nook.
Title page of the special edition, with a detail of the alchemical artwork by Martin Tomsky.
The reason I think of The Accidental Alchemist as my “cancer book” isn’t simply because I started writing while I was going through a full year of cancer treatments. It’s because the characters truly grew from that experience.
Chemotherapy was my own Elixir of Life at the time, so my subconscious created alchemist Zoe Faust, who accidentally discovered the Elixir of Life. As for Dorian the gargoyle sleuth… Well, he had nothing to do with cancer, but I’ve always loved gargoyles because they’re filled with mystery, so Dorian was just for me. He ended up being my own humor therapy (so was reading Victoria Laurie’s ghost hunter cozy mysteries during chemo, which I highly recommend if you’re going through a tough time). Nobody was more surprised than I was by how much Dorian sprang to life and made so many people love him.
So yes, this is a cancer story with a happy ending!
That’s more of my mom’s art behind me!
The novel itself is the original text, but now it’s packaged in a beautiful hardcover illustrated edition. It’s something I created for myself, but I hope you’ll enjoy it as well.
If you haven’t read the book where it all began, here’s a teaser to The Accidental Alchemist:
Meet the most enchanting crime-solving team around: an alchemist with centuries of secrets and a gargoyle chef who can’t resist a puzzle.
When alchemist Zoe Faust discovers a living gargoyle in her moving boxes, her fresh start in Portland takes an unexpected turn. Dorian’s not just alive—he’s a gourmet chef, aspiring detective, and he’s slowly turning back to stone. The only cure lies hidden in an ancient book that’s attracting the wrong kind of attention. When a baffling crime strikes close to home, Zoe and Dorian discover that solving mysteries together might be exactly what they both need.
Celebrate a decade of magical mysteries with me, with this 10th Anniversary Illustrated Special Edition that features original artwork and bonus recipes from Dorian’s kitchen.