A couple of weeks ago I noticed lots of girls-in-grass covers (my own included) and I mentioned fellow Contemps author Lisa Schroeder's latest, The Day Before, of which Booklist says: "Readers will find plenty of appeal factors in this outing... delivers a punch at the novel's end." (I love an end punch.)
Now she's here to share her Cover Story! Take it away, Lisa:
"I don't think about covers much, mostly because I've learned that it's not good to get attached to anything since who knows what you'll end up with. However, I really thought the cover would be a beach scene of some kind.
"I was surprised, because there wasn't a grain of sand to be found. I thought it was pretty, but I wasn't sure that it conveyed what the book is about. Although, more and more, I'm not sure that's a cover's purpose, necessarily.
"I e-mailed my editor and asked if they'd tried any beach scenes, and she said they had, but none of them had the impact they were looking for. Part of it was they had a hard time finding an image of a girl on the beach who could pull off the right spunk and tone of Amber, the main character. They felt like the girl on the cover captured Amber's personality and the mood of the book. I e-mailed a few friends, and they all thought the cover was beautiful and a couple of them said the grass reminded them of sandy dunes on the East coast. I'm a West coast gal, so beaches here look different.
"It's a stock photo, and I think it's pretty, and it does convey the tone of the book. Amber's life is about to turn upside down, so it seems fitting that the girl on the cover is pictured upside down. I love the look in her eyes, and I'm guessing that may have been what attracted the designer to this image when selecting it. And the fact that it's partially covered with grass is like she's trying to hide, almost, from the world around her, which is appropriate for the story."
Thanks, Lisa! I can totally see the East Coast sandy-dunes thing, and the intensity of her gaze is noted, too. This one's up soon in my to-be-read pile, so I'll know more of whether I feel like it fits the story after I read it, but I do think the cover is lovely.
What do you guys think?