Cover Story + Win-It Wednesday: Specials by Scott Westerfeld

The winner of last week's copy of the signed copy of Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen is... Cyndi! And the winner of the TESS skincare kit is... Paradox! Email me your addresses so I can send out your prizes. And thanks, everyone, for the youtube links. I got no work done last week, so, mission accomplished! This week, however, I have a new book idea that my agent is into and I'm psyched. Now, because of my political interlude on Monday, I neglected the Cover Story for this week. I therefore have a brief "cover story" to share about Scott Westerfeld's Specials! This one involves me telling the story, because I just so happened to be at a friend's barbecue in Brooklyn this summer where I saw an acquaintance named Katerena Alkhimova, whom I knew was a model. We started talking about how she saw her photo on the cover of a YA book recently, and I was intrigued! "Which one?" I asked. "A science fiction one," she said. "What was it called?!" I asked. "It had a one-word title," she said. "And they put tattoos on my face." I had just finished Uglies and Pretties, the first two books in the four-book Uglies "trilogy," so I knew it was Specials! Then I made her turn her head and I could just see the cover. It was so cool! Here's what Katerena, who's originally from Russia, says: "The shoot was very easy and fast. We only had to do that one picture which did not take even two hours to make. It was three years ago though, so it is hard to remember particular details." I got to tell her that her character is both painfully gorgeous and devastatingly evil. I think she liked that. When I saw Scott Westerfeld later, I asked him if he'd mine me posting this story, and he graciously said that would be fine. I just wish I'd snapped a photo of bbq Katerena, but here are some other shots of her so you can see what she looks like in non-science-fiction situations (two modeling shots and one casual): So that's that. And don't you want to win my autographed copy of this book?! Full disclosure: I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I've read Uglies and Pretties, and it's a great series, so I feel confident recommending Specials, and I can't wait to read it. How do you enter? Tell me about someone cool you met recently. Could be an unexpected new friend, a fascinating co-worker or someone who's been on a book cover. Haha! I really love meeting people and hearing their stories--and everyone has something interesting to share. Can't wait to hear your comments. PS-Win a copy of Violet on the Runway at author Carmen Rodrigues's blog! PPS-Elizabeth Scott always has great contests, and I love the question she asks this week, so go enter to win books there too!