Category: News

  • Why I Love My Book Cover

    Why I Love My Book Cover

    Back in early August, Counterpoint gave me the go-ahead to share the cover for THE LILAC PEOPLE. I’ve been in love with this cover for many months now, ever since I first saw it. It was designed by Farjana Yasmin and she did a fantastic job. I’m honored and grateful for all the care and detail she provided.

    So here it is, the cover for THE LILAC PEOPLE in all its glory:

    In an oil painting-like motif, a white young man stands with his back to the viewer. He's dressed in a brown flat-cap, a white work shirt, dark-colored trousers, and striped suspenders. Above him is a sky full of clouds, variously colored in off-white, a light orange or dark tan color, and lilac. A hint of a few birds fly in the far distance. The young man stands in a wheat field, his hands suggesting that they're grazing over the wheat. A newspaper texture is over the wheat field. Across the entire design is "THE LILAC PEOPLE" and "MILO TODD" in dark, bold font, presented jaggedly down the whole cover. The words "a novel" are between the title and the author's name in a delicate, lilac cursive.

    In 1932 Berlin, Bertie, a trans man, and his friends spend carefree nights at the Eldorado Club, the epicenter of Berlin’s thriving queer community. An employee of the renowned Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science, Bertie works to improve queer rights in Germany and beyond, but everything changes when Hitler rises to power. The institute is raided, the Eldorado is shuttered, and queer people are rounded up. Bertie barely escapes with his girlfriend, Sofie, to a nearby farm. There, they take on the identities of an elderly couple and live for more than a decade in isolation.

    In the final days of the war, with their freedom in sight, Bertie and Sofie find a young trans man collapsed on their property, still dressed in Holocaust prison clothes. They vow to protect him—not from the Nazis, but from the Allied forces who are arresting queer prisoners while liberating the rest of the country. Ironically, as the Allies’ vise grip closes on Bertie and his family, their only salvation becomes fleeing to the United States.

    Brimming with hope, resilience, and the enduring power of community, The Lilac People tells an extraordinary story inspired by real events and recovers an occluded moment of trans history.

    What I love about this cover:

    The cover is striking within itself. Even if you have no idea what the book is about, I feel it’s a cover that will get someone to stop browsing and at least read the description. What more could an author want?

    The oil painting-esque motif. The cover merges the sense of historical time and place of a photograph with the originality of a design, producing something wholly unique.

    The lilac clouds. They’re easy to spot, yet not overpowering. I love the balance and control of their usage. (Relatedly, I love the use and balance of color in the entire cover.) The lilac clouds are also a descriptive quality from the book itself, which is a wonderful touch.

    The hint of birds in the background. Easy to miss if you’re not staring obsessively at the cover as I have, and I like that about it. A wonderful subtlety of meaning.

    The newspaper texture on the bottom half. It brings added depth to the visual and ties in directly with the book. How? I mean, you’ll just have to read the book to find out.

    The font. It’s a bold, modern font that I feel pushes against the historical content in a wonderful way, suggesting that, yes, a lot of what’s happening in the book resonates with trans people of today. The jagged placement of the words also suggests difficulties amidst an otherwise deceptively pastoral backdrop.

    There’s more to it than meets the eye. I said earlier that the cover is striking within itself, but as you read, you realize there’s so much more to the cover than just a pretty face. Many details are in play that make more sense (or perhaps you realize for the first time) as you go further into the book. I feel that tactic gives its own generous nod to the book’s themes.

    But also–and perhaps most importantly to me–when someone starts reading the book, they may have one interpretation of the cover, only to have a different interpretation once they finish reading. I don’t want to spoil anything, so that’s all I can say for now.

    I also want to give a shoutout to tracy danes, who did the interior design for the book. While quoting text from or sharing pictures of the inside of an ARC is forbidden the world over–NEVER do that, folks–I want everyone to know that this book’s aesthetic is awesome both inside and out. I’m so grateful to everyone at Counterpoint and the love they’ve shown THE LILAC PEOPLE, which will publish on 4/29/25.

  • 8 Ways You Can Support THE LILAC PEOPLE

    8 Ways You Can Support THE LILAC PEOPLE

    BIG NEWS! Preorders are already available for THE LILAC PEOPLE! (I’m surprised, too.) The best part of preorders starting so early is there’s more chance to get some momentum going. With that in mind, I’m hoping you can help me out by doing any of these nine things to support my debut about trans fascism:

    1. Preorder THE LILAC PEOPLE

    For better or for worse, this is the most helpful thing a reader can do to support a book. The publishing industry is a business at the end of the day, and money talks loudly. If a book is selling well, the given publisher may put in more marketing efforts, pick the author up for another book, etc. Also, since an author’s future book publications are dependent on the sales of their past book(s), good book sales also help secure the given author’s future career as a writer.

    Preorders are especially important because they not only create momentum (the earlier the preorders start coming in, the better), but all preorder sales accumulate and count toward the book’s official first week on the market. This is high-and-above a book’s best chance to get onto a given “bestsellers” list (that is based on actual sales). So in order of buying importance, it goes 1) preorders, 2) buying on the day of the release, 3) buying within the first week of the release, and 4) buying at any other time.

    1. Request THE LILAC PEOPLE from your local library/ies

    If you don’t see it listed yet, please request it. If you see it already listed, please request a hold on it. This matters because libraries buy books based on the interest level they’re receiving. Likewise, this puts a given book on their radar. This in turn ups the chances they’ll recommend the book to a given patron, as well as mention the book on library- and bookstore-specific sites such as Edelweiss, which are key ways such entities spread the word about given books and get them on each other’s radar.

    1. Request THE LILAC PEOPLE from your local independent bookstore(s)

    Not unlike libraries, it’s helpful to ask if a given bookstore has a copy of the book. Even if you don’t intend to purchase it, it helps get the book on the bookstore’s radar, and they will likely buy copy/ies if they get multiple inquiries about the book. (And again, they may also in turn get the book on other bookstores’ radars through such sites as Edelweiss.) Also, just like librarians, it ups the chances that the booksellers will recommend the book to patrons.

    1. Suggest THE LILAC PEOPLE for personal/local/town/city book clubs

    Even if the book doesn’t get picked as the next read, it still gets it on people’s radar. If the book does get picked, that additionally provides opportunity for me to engage in a discussion, whether virtually or in person.

    1. Mention THE LILAC PEOPLE to relevant professors and teachers

    They might purchase the book as part of their class curriculum and/or get the college/university/learning center to have me come in for a discussion. For literature and creative writing classes, this book is great for studies on narrative style, ethical/accurate historical fiction, and expressions of trauma. On the history side, it’s great for discussing WWII, the Holocaust, the Weimar Republic, German and US history, trans history, queer history, and historical erasure. For gender studies, political science, and social science classes, it’s great for discussing book bans/burnings, fascism, propaganda, marginalization, identity, community, and current political climates.

    1. Add THE LILAC PEOPLE to your Goodreads to-read list

    Please add the book to your Goodreads to-read list. The more people who add it to their to-read list, the more the algorithms pick up on it, and the more it’ll be suggested to fellow readers.

    1. Rate THE LILAC PEOPLE on Goodreads and/or Amazon

    After you get your hands on the book, please rate it if you enjoyed it. Yes, you all know how I feel about the toxicity of numerical book rating systems, especially when they’re poorly regulated. However, they unfortunately still stand as something that can help get a book noticed.

    The earlier you can rate the book, the better. The first week of a book’s launch is particularly helpful, even more on the first day. If enough reviews come in on the first day and/or week, it’ll get picked up by Amazon’s algorithms. (Ever wonder why saboteurs jump in to 1-star a book the moment the book’s rating system opens? Yeah.)

    Relatedly, this book can probably use all the love it can get. Let’s be honest. I’m a trans author…who wrote a trans book…about trans fascism. We already know there are likely going to be attempts to tank my book’s rating. Any 5-star reviews to help counteract that—and, even better, get ahead of it—are greatly appreciated.

    1. Boost THE LILAC PEOPLE on social media

    Again, getting the book on people’s radars is very helpful. It can be as simple as a screenshot of the book cover and saying “Can’t wait to read!” or whatever strikes your fancy. Feel free to @todd_milo (on Instagram) and #TheLilacPeople.

    1. Tell your friends and loved ones about THE LILAC PEOPLE

    I’m on repeat here, I know. Publishers (and authors) are often still mystified as to what actually gets a book to become a bestseller and what doesn’t…with one exception. Word of mouth stands as the best way to get a book noticed. People tell people tell people. This has been a key component of “successful” books for years. So please, tell people about the book. You’ll help make a big difference.

    Thank you for considering any of the above ways to support me and my debut!