Alex Flinn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beastly (you may have heard of a little movie based upon this book, no?) is here to talk about the evolution of her cover. Take it away, Alex!
"I'm not a very visual person, and I knew the art department would do their thing. I've generally been pleased with my covers.
"I didn't give much input for Beastly. We may have discussed a rose. I have given more input in the past, but they've really always come up with something completely different than what was discussed, so I don't think I really said anything.
"Regarding the original cover, above, I was happy with it. I was a bit concerned about whether the rose would be a turn-off to my usual boy audience, but the black cover seems to make it less feminine. At least, plenty of boys read the book.
"Regarding the movie tie-in cover (right), well, of course, I was excited. I knew it would be the poster art for Beastly. I think it's cool how they found a way to include the Beast's handsome look and his ugly look in the same picture.
"The cover is actually somewhat reminiscent (unintentionally, of course) of the cover of my very first novel, Breathing Underwater (below left), which portrays the two sides of the main character's personality.
"I was really quite pleased with the Beastly cover and had no suggestions. The original cover is a drawing, and the movie tie-in cover is the movie art and features the actors (Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer)."
Thanks, Alex! Note: After we did this interview, the movie poster changed, and so did the tie-in cover. The actual cover on shelves is shown at right.
I really love the original cover -- I think it's lovely and I'm a sucker for black & white & red together. And of course, the movie tie-in will generate lots of interest -- though I think I like the original one better than the new one, I guess the new one has more of a breathless, romantic moment going on. What do you guys think? And have you seen the movie yet?!
PS-Read a full interview with Alex about the book-to-movie process (and what she thinks of the casting) on I Heart Daily.