William Morrow released Mercy House on February 11. For this edition of Beginning to End, Spine follows Mercy House from author all the way through to publicity and marketing, stopping along the way to talk to Dillon’s agent and editor, as well as the book’s designer. For our last piece, publicist Jes Lyons.

When Alisha Gorder arrived at the end of Hard Mouth, Amanda Goldblatt’s debut adventure novel about a woman struggling to face her father’s slow dying, she “immediately texted [Counterpoint Press] editor Jenny Alton in all caps, and with more crying emojis than words. I was devastated by the ending,” she told Spine. “And also that the book was over.”

Beginning to End is a series from Spine following a book from acquisition to publication. For our first "season," we're following Light from Other Stars, about a young astronaut hopeful and an invention that alters time. The novel is author Erika Swyler's second, following her much-lauded 2015 debut, The Book of Speculation. Bloomsbury will publish the book in May, and the publicity team — Senior Publicist Lauren Hill, Senior Marketing Manager Nicole Jarvis, and Digital and Trade Marketing Director Laura Keefe — is already at work generating buzz. Keefe spoke to Spine about their efforts.