First, last week's winners: Kasey won Stealing Death by Janet Lee Carey, and Latisha won Delacroix Academy by Inara Scott! Send me addresses, K and L...
This week, Jennifer Solow is here with her new novel, The Aristobrats, out next week. It's got a perfectly preppy cover with gorgeous blues, greens and a grosgrain ribbon!
A lot of thought went into this cover, so here's Jennifer to share the story (comment for a chance to win the book -- three winners will be chosen next week!):
"It starts something like this: The email arrives in your Inbox. The subject line: The Cover. I love it! What do you think? There's a PDF attachment. You try and breathe, practice mindful meditation, give up all unrealistic expectations, keep an open mind. You say to yourself, I will be positive. I will not react like a crazy person. I will not do the Diva Dance (clutch phone, march around living room, wave color printouts in air, sweat).
"Needless to say, I never listen to my own advice!
"The best book covers I think look effortless, like they just sort of burst out from the story and landed there on the bookshelf. I adore the cover of this book and its breezy, effortless look. Diva Dance notwithstanding, I was amazed and delighted at how dedicated my publisher was to getting to a solution we all loved. Effortless? Don't think so. Worth it? Absolutely.
"The Aristobrats is about four close friends who've been waiting their whole lives for eighth grade. It's finally their big year and they're determined to set a good example for the underpopular. With main characters who are undyingly loyal and, hello...nice, it's a kind of anti-Clique book in my mind. (Mean girls are so two-thousand-and-late!) The uber-preppy world of their story was inspired by my own experience at prep school: Madras plaid, Tiffany lockets, grosgrain ribbon watchbands, L.L. Bean Blucher moccasins, wool duffel coats. I felt like there was something in that world of preppiness that would make for a unique and appealing cover.
"Getting the style pitch-perfect was as crucial to the cover as it was to the characters in the story. But while these details were part of my own DNA, they were practically impossible for anyone else to truly understand. I knew it was my responsibility to show the cover design team what I meant. I needed to create a visual vocabulary.
"I pulled images from everywhere. Colors. Patterns. People. I used Polyvore to make collages and reached out to the prep-experts like Jill from Tickled Pink and Green and The Preppy Princess for ideas. I sent the designers all the preppiness I could find. Soon things started coming together.
"One of the things I love about the final cover is that it has a classic, timeless style without feeling like a prep cliche. I also love that the book itself, with the ribbon around it, seems like a wrapped gift or one of those pretty writing journals I always pick up in line at the bookstore as an impulse-buy. I was delighted when the 2011 Lilly Pulitzer notepads (left) came out a few weeks ago. I felt like we were spot-on.
"Now how are we feeling about the photos of the girls? Breathe, Jennifer. Breathe."
Thanks, Jennifer! I am a huge fan of inspiration boards, and you totally did it up! (Jenny Han had a great one for The Summer I Turned Pretty, too.) I also am a fan of the girls on the cover. Nice picks! What do you guys think of this cover?
Take the Quiz (Which Aristobrat Are You?), find Jennifer on Facebook, and watch the trailer:
jennifer solow