I keep seeing EVERMORE, the first book in Alyson Noel's Immortals series, everywhere! I hear that though it's only been on shelves a week or two, it's already in a second printing. This is definitely on my to-read list. And, Alyson is a member of the GCC, so she's here to share her Cover Story. Here's Alyson:
"I did use some visuals while I wrote. I have this image of a blond girl--this is how I imagined Ever to be. Except Ever has bangs, which are pretty significant in the story. But still, I was drawn to her wistful sadness with a hint of inner strength--that rang very 'Ever' to me!
"And I used this catalogue to decorate the house for a very significant Halloween party 
in EVERMORE--it was so much fun, I wish I could've done it for real!
"However, I had absolutely no visions for the cover! None. Nada. Zilch. Couldn't even imagine what it might look like. I work this way with all of my books! When my editor (the awesome Rose Hilliard) called one day to ask for my input, I didn't want her to know I hadn't given it the slightest thought, so I quickly mentioned some recent covers 
I liked, talked about colors (Purple! I love purple!), and mentioned that the tulips are hugely symbolic so we might want to add a few of those too. Then she took our ideas to the Art Department--et voila--a few weeks later, the EVERMORE cover appeared in my e-mail box and it was love at first sight!
"They used a photo-shopped stock photo. I learned this via one of my favorite YA bloggers who noticed they used the same photo on EVERMORE as they did in that gorgeous NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL cover. But they used the photo in such different ways it didn't really bother me at all. Just like it doesn't really bother me when someone is wearing the same dress as me--there's room for us all!
"When I first saw EVERMORE's cover, I thought: WOW! And then I called my husband into the room and we both stared at the computer screen and said a simultaneous: WOW! Like a chorus. Like we'd been practicing our 'wows' or something. I seriously fell in love with it, and I e-mailed my editor right away to tell her so!
"My editor is awesome to work with, and so far we've collaborated on both the EVERMORE and BLUE MOON covers. I'll be revealing BLUE MOON soon--I'm very excited about it! I did see an original for BLUE MOON, and it changed quite a bit--for the better!
"This brunette is the inspiration for two characters (identical twins) who show up in BLUE MOON. Her choppy bangs, her defiant oddness, her playfulness, really summed it up for me!
"The Art Department takes all suggestions to heart! Every single one of them! And I think they did such a tremendous job with both covers, I can't wait to see what they do with UNTITLED BOOK #3!
"I never saw an original version for EVERMORE, only the end result. Here's how I feel about the cover: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!"
I think it's gorgeous too, and I love the purple and red combo--it really stands out. What do you guys think?