A Knife Bookmark

So I was fiddling around this morning thinking about the novel and Halloween. Last night, I realized I should have geared up to promote the novel during October. Spooky month, you know, for a murderous novel. The three grannies each have a preferred weapon. Surely I could make a bookmark out of one of those. A knife bookmark, perhaps.

But what material to use? I could form the knife with wire then paper mache the body. Seemed like that would be too fat. I could roll out paper clay really thin–I’d done that for some scenes I created once. But the results were delicate, too fragile for a bookmark. If I had a 3D printer I could 3D print it, but I didn’t have a 3D printer. Paper seemed like an easy answer. But how to make it interesting?

So, I watched a few YouTube videos on origami, steady following the moves. Until I lost track of what they’d done so far. I decided that was too complicated for me. But I woke up this morning believing I could take what I’d seen and create my own bookmark. A knife bookmark made from paper.

I did. The form was easy. But it didn’t settle the interesting part. The videos had painted the paper. That looked cheap to me. I thought about Mod-podging some handmade paper to make it stiff, but handmade paper is expensive. Then I had an inspiration. I don’t know where it came from. But, looking back, it seems inevitable.

It’s made from the words of the novel. I had to single space the type and remove all the paragraphing and decrease the font. Otherwise, too much white space would show through. It took several tries for me to learn all of that. But eventually I did. And it’s flat.

I’m happy with it.

Oh, and I got a new review while I was in Scotland. From Southern Literary Review. Check it out. This is my favorite part:

A deep love of New Orleans’ past, along with an acceptance of supernatural folklore, allow this novel to feel believable. Other reviewers have expressed similar sentiments about this novel being a love letter to New Orleans, and I agree. The city comes alive and exists in the novel as a constant underlying character. Readers may also find evidence of the author’s dry wit throughout the tale.

I’m happy with that too!