A TRIO of successful authors will discuss the importance of a book’s eye-catching front cover at a special event today (Friday).

Susi (SJI) Holliday, Mary Paulson-Ellis and Jackie Baldwin are among the panel at Going Undercovers.

The event is part of the Once Upon A Crime Book Festival and takes place in Haddington’s John Gray Centre.

Susi, who grew up in Haddington, was looking forward to the event.

She said: “I have never actually done the Once Upon a Crime Festival and it is really nice to be asked.

“It should be good fun.

“It is nice to talk to readers and nice to visit libraries.

“I make a bit of money from libraries and get paid when people take books out.

“It adds up over the years and if people cannot afford to buy books they can get them free.

“I really encourage people to use libraries and Haddington have been great and stocked my books from the beginning.

“It is really nice to do something like this and chat to people and be with other authors.”

Susi splits her time between London and East Lothian, where her parents, Alison and Allan, live in Longniddry.

They previously ran Inglis Newsagent and The Plough Tavern in Haddington.

Susi’s latest novel The Hike is published at the beginning of October.

The story tells the tale of two couples who go hiking in the Swiss Alps but only two people return.

The front cover has already been designed and Susi highlighted the importance of having a striking design.

She said: “It is a make or break.

“You go into a shop and a lot of people buy books when they look at a cover.

“You see a pile of books on the table and, if the cover interests you, then you pick it up.

“That can make a difference between books which work or not; there are so many books in front of you.”

The 47-year-old has already started work on her following book.

The writer was hopeful that the new novel would be released next year and said: “The thing is I’m always thinking of my next book, which makes it harder.

“I am already thinking I need to move on and never really have any downtime.

“I have a couple of weeks before edits but I am already thinking of the next book.”

Joining the trio of authors at the event, which begins at 7pm, are Matthew Land from Blackwell’s Booksellers, and Bill Plain, community librarian and Carnegie judge.

To book a place, email haddington.library@eastlothian.gov.uk or telephone 01620 827827.