Diana Rodriguez Wallach has a fast-releasing trilogy of stories coming out this fall, and each has a different cover. Here's the story of #1, and the full-series cover:
"I told my publisher that I really wanted a mirror in all of my covers. I wanted that to be the element that tied the series together visually.
"My release is a little different from your average book. Reflecting Emmy is the first short story in my Mirror, Mirror trilogy. Each of my short stories—Reflecting Emmy, Nara Gazing, and Shattering GiGi—will be released individually as ebooks in September, October, and November, respectively. Then they will be compiled together to create the Mirror, Mirror trilogy, with an additional short story prequel and bonus material, to be released in December.
"So if you add it all together, that’s a whopping FOUR differen
t covers for this series. I’ve included the covers for the first story, Reflecting Emmy (left), and for the trilogy as a whole, Mirror, Mirror (right). You can see both include reflections in mirrors, which I love. And the reason for the element is simple. Emmy is a secret agent who judges her targets by their reflections in her magical mirror. If a target has no reflection, then she’s deemed a vapid, narcissistic soul and she’ll get sucked into the mirror for all eternity. So, the mirror is key.
"In addition to my suggesting the visual mirror element, my publisher asked for a physical description of my characters. Rather than type out the details—long brown hair, brown eyes, olive skin, etc.—I imagined myself a casting director and selected the cast for my movie. I sent my publisher images of Vanessa Hudgens and Molly Quinn (the daughter on Castle):
"I think visually, Vanessa Hudgens is the perfect for Emmy. She’s olive skinned with wild dark hair that gives off a Mediterranean look. In my stories, Emmy is Greek and a decedent of the Greek goddess Nemesis, so the look fits her perfectly. Additionally, Nara, the shallow, narcissistic girl whom Emmy is targeting, is a strawberry blond beauty just like the actress Molly Quinn. If you look at the covers for Reflecting Emmy and Mirror, Mirror, you can really see how the art department applied those descriptions. I think they nailed it.
"For me, the most exciting part of seeing a new cover is just seeing my name on the book. Part of me still can’t believe it’s real, that I wrote this, and that someone is going to publish it. So once I got over that giddy spell, I have to admit I was thrilled with both covers.
"My only concern for Mirror, Mirror was that I thought the model might look a bit old to be a teenager, but then when I considered the lipstick element, I thought that gave it good high-school vibe.
"The only change I made after seeing the finished product, was adding YA Author Tera Lynn Child’s blurb to the cover of Reflecting Emmy. I thought that she gave a great quote and that it might attract the eye of some readers or reviewers, which is what we’re all hoping for in the end.
"I like that in the Reflecting Emmy cover, the mirror looks small and rounded, like it could be a compact mirror. This ties in perfectly with the book. Emmy’s weapon of choice is a tiny antique silver mirror she keeps in her purse to trap Narcissistic souls; and the mirror in this cover almost looks like it could be a silver compact. Perfect."
Thanks, Diana! Love the celebrity image inspirations.