Book illustrator Manuela Pentangelo has just received a printed copy of Sascha Martin's Christmas Eve, and is proudly showing it off. It's not a proof copy. She ordered it through Amazon Italy and they sent it to her, post haste, even though it wasn't officially available. That's magic worthy of Mary-Alice Cooper herself ... if you believe in fairy dust 😊

Manuela used an iPad to film the video in portrait mode, as I did in this video, so she had space free on the left and filled it with images from the book, close-ups of the cover and visual tributes to Klaus, who's a key figure in the story.

Two books Manuela highlights at the end of the video are Sascha Martin's Pitchy Witch and Sascha Martin's Zombie Dust.

Both the eBook and paperback versions of Sascha Martin's Christmas Eve include a preview of , an ambitious tale we'd originally planned to release in installments.

Pitchy Witch still awaits Manuela's full attention but the story's a gem. You can read it here, the complete story minus cover design, illustrations and frills ... but it does include a flying broom, a witch of sorts and a dedicated, no, determined, mascot.

Sascha Martin's Zombie Dust, the second book Manuela highlights, is our very next project. The story's ready for illustration. From the teaser image at the end of Christmas Eve, you'll get a sense of what you might expect from Sascha Martin's Zombie Dust.

Meanwhile, grab your own copy of Sascha Martin's Christmas Eve - here's a Universal Book Link that includes Bookshop, Booktopia, IndieBound and other outlets where the paperback is available (ISBN: 9780995418394).