When I saw the cover of Gabriel Madison's Dayling (which was released yesterday), I couldn't stop staring at those glowing eyes. I had to find out more about the cover, so here's Gabriel to share:"I was going through a phase of reading YA Urban Fantasy books with the face of characters on the covers. I wanted that for Dayling. So when the publisher sent me a form to describe what I wanted the cover to look like. I sent them this: 'I see a teenage girl, with long curly black hair and emerald green eyes, wearing a Pullover Hoodie, with the hood pulled over her head. The girl is glancing to the left, as light comes from the top right corner. The rest of the cover is in black, except for the title.' "I was blown away when I saw the cover. I loved it. I remember opening the e-mail and sitting there for a moment with a silly grin on my face. Even though I described what I wanted the cover to look like, I never thought it would look like that. The girl. The eyes. The title. The way the girl is clutching her Hoodie. Even how the light coming from the top corner of the book is barely visible looked amazing to me. After I stared at the cover for a moment in silence, I pumped my fist in the air a few times from excitement. I know that was a geek move, but I was in a geek mood! "They wanted me to write a tagline for the cover. I wrote one and the publisher wrote one. They basically combined what we both wrote. Actually, the publisher wanted to use a line I wrote in my query letter. So they combined the tag I wrote after seeing the cover, with a line I had in my query to create the tagline: Times were a lot simpler for Haven before she stepped out of the shadows... and into the eternal night. "The cover designer, Traci Markou, did a great job. The only thing that was changed a few times was the tagline. But the cover itself stayed the same. "I loved the cover from the first moment I saw it. I have the cover as my computer Background. I haven't found any hidden meanings, and I think I stared at it for so long when I first opened the e-mail I noticed everything in the cover. It represents different aspects of the story. My main character, Haven, seen on the cover looking straight ahead with sunrays raking across her can represent how for most of Haven's life she had secluded herself from the world and how she now wants to be a part of it. She wants to go from being unseen to seen. "The cover can also represent what she is. In my story there are two types of supernatural beings, Daylings and Nightlings (Daylings turn into Nightlings on their eighteenth birthdays). The light shining on her in the cover represents that she is still a Dayling, because Nightlings can't be out in the sun. So I think the cover represents both parts of Haven's journey... her desire to finally be seen, and her life as a Dayling." Thanks, Gabriel! This is the most author involvement I've heard of -- a form describing what you see as the cover! -- so congratulations. I think it's a striking one. What do you guys think?
Cover Stories
Cover Stories: She's So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott
The fantastic Kieran Scott is here to talk about title changes, taglines and Tiffany blue on the cover of her latest novel, She's So Dead to Us (I've heard her read from it, and in case you're not familiar with her books, Kieran -- who also writes as Kate Brian -- pens a great novel).Here she is: "The story of my cover is all tied up with the story of my title. When I first pitched the idea that eventually became SHE'S SO DEAD TO US, it was titled RETURN TO ORCHARD HILL. In my mind it was a coming-home story wrapped up in a romance. I had all these thoughts of Dawson's Creek-style, sepia-toned images of autumn trees and quaint neighborhoods. It was all very romantic and dreamy. "Unfortunately, my publisher didn't love the title. It sounded too old-fashioned and literary. They wanted something more immediate. Something that would grab the reader, rather than lull them into a state of nostalgia. So I went back to the drawing board. I came up with lists and lists of potential titles. I brainstormed with my agent and I brainstormed with my editor. I even brainstormed with my sister and my best friend. But somehow, we couldn't all get on the same page. There was one title we all liked, but we already knew there were going to be three books, and we couldn't come up with accompanying titles that made sense. We went back and forth about this for weeks, until it was basically do-or-die time. Catalog copy had to be set. Covers had to be made. We were playing with fire. "We wanted something that would evoke the idea of 'you can't go home again,' but we also wanted romance. It seemed impossible to have both. Then, one day, my editor sent me a mock-up that the talented Krista Vossen had put together. It was a light-blue cover with a broken strand of pearls and the title SHE'S SO DEAD TO US. The title had been the brainstorm of someone in marketing, I believe. And a brilliant editorial assistant (ahem, Julia Maguire), had come up with the tagline 'Born with a silver spoon, living with a plastic spork.' I took one look at the package and fell in love with it. The cover, in my opinion, is drop-dead gorgeous. And what female among us is not attracted to that Tiffany blue? The romance angle was, clearly, not present, but at this point I had resigned myself to the fact that I couldn't have it all. I had to hope that when readers opened the book and saw the alternating points of view, they'd see what it was all about. "The first cover I saw had a different font (above, see two earlier versions), but in essence the design remained the same from there on out. When I saw the final version I flipped over the embossed, raised pearls. The whole thing just feels so elegant to me, and you don't find a whole lot of elegant on the YA shelves. Some, but not a lot. "The CODA to all this is that the cover is going to change for the paperback version. It's going to more editorial. I haven't seen the mock-up yet, but once I do, I'll let you know what I think!" Thanks, Kieran! I agree... elegant. And the subtle tweaking of fonts and pearl placements really does make the final cover seem like a more polished version. Can't wait to see the sequel, He's So Not Worth It (another great title)! What do you guys think?
Cover Stories + Win-It Wednesday: When the Stars Go Blue by Caridad Ferrer
Last week's winner of A.S. King's Please Ignore Vera Dietz is... Lauren! Send me your address, L. This week, I have a copy of a gorgeous new book to give away...
A dancer driven to succeed. A musical prodigy attempting to escape his past. The summer they share. And the moment it all goes wrong.
I first saw Caridad Ferrer's cover for When the Stars Go Blue when I was in Spain, so I have extra love for it. I did a quick story about it back then, but here's a fuller version from Caridad (with spine view, which is my new obsession):
"Since the cover was equal parts dance and drum and bugle corps, I was thinking that at the very least the cover might show a dancer, maybe standing outside or preparing to step from a stage to a football field or something to that effect. Maybe looking from backstage onto the expanse of a field with stadium lights. I did honestly think they'd employ the outdoors, especially with the word 'stars' in the title.
"I gave my publisher was the link to an artist whose work I absolutely adore, Fabian Perez. He's an Argentine artist whose work I discovered in a gallery while on vacation in La Jolla, CA. I fell so in love with it, mostly because his pieces so evoked the spirit of Carmen and of dance and passion. He has an entire Tango series that's magnificent but it was the piece called Flamenco that I kept coming back to, time and again, and that my husband, dear man that he is, bought me as a celebratory gift for having sold the book (there it is, right). So when editor asked for input, I of course sent her a link to that piece as well as several others of Perez's that I admired (oh, to have scads of disposable income...).
"When I first saw the cover, all I could think was that they'd truly taken their inspiration from my favorite piece, because it is so unbelievably evocative of Flamenco. I made noises that set dogs in Australia to howling. And then proceeded to pet my screen for the next several hours. I was honestly just that overwhelmed. There were three stock photos that were combined to create the cover. It was so beautifully done, it appears seamless.
"I was so thunderstruck by its perfection that it was actually my editor who suggested that my name be bigger on the cover. *g*
"I absolutely adore the cover -- especially once I saw the finished version on my author copies. It's a matte finish, which gives the image as a whole some depth and texture that it lacks as a glossy, I think, and rose petals wrap around to the back and I think, my absolute favorite part is on the spine, there's a rose, dead center that almost appears to glow. It's absolutely gorgeous! (I included I shot I took the day I received my author copies-- yeah, I was being a dork!)"
Thanks, Caridad! I think I've said 100 times how much I adore the elegance of this cover -- and the rose on the spine is the icing on the cake.
What do you guys think? One randomly chosen commenter will win the book next week.
Cover Stories: Problems on Eldora Prime by Sandy Lender
Author Sandy Lender is on a Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour, and she stopped by to talk about the covers of her latest book, Problems on Eldora Prime.The tagline intrigues me: "Some days, you just want the dragon to win." Cool, right? Here's Eldora: "You have probably heard how much authors get frustrated by the cover design that ends up on our books, but I've been lucky with all my books with all three of the publishers I work with. And I love both covers for Problems on Eldora Prime. That's right, the book has two covers. Let me explain that bizarre situation. "You wanted to know if I had an idea for the cover already in mind as I was writing the book and that's a 'no.' I wrote the book as part of a three-day novel writing contest, so all I was thinking about was write, write, write for 72 hours. Marketing and cover stuff wasn't on my mind until after the publishing process was well underway about 12 months later. "My publisher did ask for my input because he and I were working closely together on the project. The input I gave was the background picture (and the back cover copy). See, for my day job, I'm a magazine editor, and I had a friend in the construction industry who'd submitted some pictures for an article in that magazine. One of those pictures was this gorgeous scenery shot of the Rocky Mountains. Something about it triggered the memory of a scene from the foothills of the mountains of Eldora Prime in my mind, so I asked his permission to use the picture for my book. He was delighted...as was my publisher. "The publisher added the silhouette of Khiry (the awesome main character!) and the flying dragon and styled the text. So when I first saw the finished product, I was floored. I loved it. The dragon really stole the show for me. I love dragons, as you can tell from my other books. "Then we ran into problems with print quality once we got into production, which is always heartbreaking. (The same thing happened with an even more recent book of mine called Desecrated Ring from Keith Publications. The artist had to revamp the fairy ring on the front cover at the last minute because of quality issues, but the second version is still awesome, see above. These artists are far more talented at this stuff than I could hope to be.) "This is why Problems on Eldora Prime has two covers. The eBook format has the original cover (above) because it shows up just fine in all the electronic formats. The paperback format has the new cover (right), without Khiry or the dragon, because we had to do a fast-n-furious redo at the last minute during production. So I guess you could say the cover DID change a bit from the original version I saw...if you're looking at the right version. No matter which cover you're looking at, it captures the mood and eeriness of Eldora Prime. I couldn't have found a better image for that planet than what my friend took of the Rocky Mountains. "Thank you for letting me share the experience with your visitors. If anyone has questions about the process, I'll be checking in to answer them!" Thanks, Sandy! I have to say that I really like the dragon silhouette flying in the sky, and I wish that had somehow stayed in the second version. But I'm glad both covers have a place, and I think the lighter colors on the second cover work well. If anyone has questions for Sandy, she'll drop in to answer them. Happy Monday!
Cover Stories + Win-It Wednesday: Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
Last week's winner of Pull by B.A. Binns is... Yasmine! Send me your address, Y. A.S. King is the awesome author of TheDust of 100 Dogs (remember its amazing cover?) and the new Please Ignore Vera Dietz, which I flew through recently and just a-dored.
What else do I adore? This new cover. Let's hear about it from A.S. (and remember to comment for a shot at winning the book!):
"I never have any ideas for covers, which, if I think about it, is kinda weird because I'm a really visual person and I went to art school and I do most of my promotional graphic design myself. But NEVER do I think about covers. I just draw a blank or something. I think cover artists are geniuses, so maybe I just know I'm out of my league in that department.
"I do not believe I was asked for input this time around. The art department at Knopf was one of the deciding factors when PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ was at auction. No, not the biggest factor for choosing Knopf, but one little deciding factor because their books are BEAUTIFUL. Absolutely gorgeous. And as a book design geek (and I am one) this kind of stuff matters to me.
"The cover they sent me at first was nothing like the final version you see here now. There were elements I loved about the first try. There were elements I disliked. The people at Knopf were very kind to give it a second shot after hearing my concerns. The final cover is NOTHING like the first try. I'm sorry I can't share the first try here, but having worked in art departments in my life, I am protective of the unused artwork. Genius does take more than one try sometimes.
"When I saw the final cover for PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ I screamed. I absolutely loved it. I'd just finished reading a paperback of The Perks of Being a Wallflower (left) and it was a similar color green and I just loved the color. And the purple type for my name! YES! And the ZIPPO. I especially loved how the designer messed with that title font and made it all smoky. It's just so original and amazing! (Oohh! And check out the picture of the yellow spine with shiny purple, below. This is my first hardcover, so I was extra thrilled when I discovered that the book sans-jacket, is purple and yellow. I actually screamed again. This was a two-scream book.)
"Here's a weird one. Do you remember last time I was here on Cover Stories and I told you that the Flux designer had no idea that I had a thing for red boots, but red boots ended up on my cover for THE DUST OF 100 DOGS? So, the other night, I was reading in my hometown to a room full of my friends, family, teachers and other hometown people. The question of VERA's cover came up and my good friends were so surprised that I hadn't suggested or mentioned the Zippo lighter because, and I quote, 'Amy, you were the only person in high school who had her own Zippo lighter.' And it's true. And it was exactly like the one on the cover. I still have it. But thank the gods I no longer smoke.
"The photo is a stock image, I believe. I think it is the PERFECT thing to put on the front of this book. I think it totally captures the feeling and is not obscure (though it could seem it at first glance) because Charlie's Zippo is mentioned in the very first paragraph of the book, so I think that helps draw in the reader early-on. I also think it captures the intended 14+ age group for the book."
Thanks, A.S. Ahhh! I totally noticed Charlie's Zippo in the beginning, and that was VERY satisfying as a reader because I like to feel that the cover is TRUE somehow, you know? Anyway, like I said, this book is an edgy, emotional journey and I can't get it out of my head. So you should want to win it, and you have a chance to do that right here in the comments. Just tell me what you think of the cover, and you're entered!
Good luck!
PS-Just for fun, go see a pic of A.S. King in her awkward years on Before You Were Hot. She cracks me up!
Cover Stories: Freefall by Mindi Scott
Mindi Scott's debut, Freefall, has already garnered some impressive praise. The New York Journal of Books says, "In a genre overloaded with bubble-gum-pink teendom and paranormal dark fantasy full of fangs and fur, Mindi Scott's debut novel Freefall stands out as fresh, realistic, young adult fiction... sure to be one of the best contemporary young adult books of the year."Very cool. And the cover? It's stark and mysterious. Here's Mindi to share the story: "The day I saw my cover for the first time, I kept my Twitter followers in the loop. But I was secretive about it, so they had no idea that that's what I was doing. "After hearing a rumor that I might be seeing the cover art, I tweeted this: 'Something cool(ish) might happen today, but it probably won't. I should really unplug the internet so I stop checking my email!' "A little more than an hour later, my editor sent an email with the subject line 'COVER!!' In her note, she mentioned that at the meeting for the sales, publishing, and marketing team, there were literal sharp intakes of breath around the room when the cover art for Freefall was revealed. "While preparing myself for what I was about to view, I posted this on Twitter: 'Heart is racing.' "I clicked to download the attachment and held my breath while I waited. And then, this appeared on my screen: "I stared at it. "I thought: I love it! "I thought: It's gorgeous! "I thought: But... what does it mean? "You see, before seeing the cover, I really didn't know quite how this book was going to be marketed. I mean, I knew that Pulse was comparing Freefall to Jason Myers's novel, Exit Here, right. (I like to say that my book is "Diet Exit Here" or "Exit Here Lite.") I knew they were hoping Freefall would have appeal for girls and for guys. I also knew that they were intending to go with a 'mood piece' for the cover and that the characters would not likely be depicted. "So, I stared at my screen, at this darkness and beautiful broken pieces and thought, What does this awesomeness have to do with being in a band and taking an interpersonal communications class and trying not to be a screw up and falling in love? Connecting with people will bust you up? What?! "I exchanged emails with my agent, telling him that I loved it, but I didn't quite understand it. He gave me his take. I forwarded the cover art to one or two or maybe three sworn-to-secrecy friends. We talked it through. There were a couple of different interpretations. I quickly decided, though, that it didn't matter if I understood what my cover meant because I was totally, one hundred percent IN LOVE with it. "Having come to that conclusion, I tweeted this: 'The cool-ish thing happened, and it was everything I'd hoped for. It was even cooler than cool-ish! [/deliberately not telling yet!]'. "A short time later, my editor emailed asking if I had any ideas for the missing tag line and I said: Oh, gosh. Not off the top of my head, no! I'm not actually sure what we're saying this story is about at this point. :-) "She responded with: You know, I keep using your line from the book that says Seth was the last person to see his best friend Isaac alive, and the first to find him dead. But that's a little long for a tag line on the cover... that's definitely the hook we're going with, though. "And THAT is when it finally clicked for me. I had to be hit over the head with the meaning, but I got there eventually. "So here is the final cover along with the tag line that Alyson from Aladdin came up with: Thanks, Mindi! I agree that it's an arresting cover, and "Sometimes the edge is closer than you think" sounds like a great movie tagline to me! I really like the clear blue playing off the black in both the ice and the type. What do you guys think?
Win-It Wednesday + Cover Stories: Pull by B.A. Binns
Last week's winner of Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John is... Zaneta! Send me your address, Z.This week, B.A. Binns is here to talk about the cover of her new release, PULL, and to give one commenter a copy of the book! Here's B.A.: "My publisher, WestSide Books, did something many publishers shy away from these days. They not only bought a young adult book featuring an African American couple, they also put a picture of the hero on the cover. Because PULL revolves around the boy, and is told completely from his POV, the decision was made early on that the book would have a teenaged male spotlighted on the cover. They showed me a selection of models. I picked out a picture of a really cute guy with curly hair and a huge smile. "They picked the David that now dominates the cover of PULL. And when I saw what the art department put together, I realized they had my hero's essence, and by now I feel that is the face of David Albacore. While I wasn't given cover art approval, they did run things past me and my editor assured me that if I really hated things they would make changes. It took me ten seconds to realize I wouldn't change a thing. They had captured the essence of what I wanted potential readers to feel when they see that cover. "They and I both know the cover is a risk. There is the fear that some young people will turn away from the book just because of the face on the cover. But this book has a universal theme: that we have to make our own choices about our futures, even if others--adults--think we are wrong. David and Yolanda, the heroine, happen to be Black. But mostly, they happen to be teens, and each has something the other needs to survive the traumas in their lives. David narrates the book, we see the world and the girl entirely through his eyes. "To me, this cover reveals a young man who could be anyone with the weight of the world on his shoulders and life-altering decisions to make. And I hope that teens, both female and male, will take a chance, open that cover, and let the story and his choices speak to them." Thanks, B.A.! I've been staring at this cover, and it makes me wonder what is going on in David's world. I think it does its job, and I love the colors and the sun on David's face--it almost looks like a movie poster. I'm also interested to hear what you guys think about the issues that Barbara mentioned--that this cover is a risk. I'm sad about that, but I know she's right. Thoughts on this cover or on the lack of diversity/boys on YA covers in general? One commenter will win a copy of the book, courtesy of B.A.! PS-Check out the trailer for PULL:
Cover Stories: 7 at Unabashedly Bookish
Over at the bn.com blog... click through to read the full stories.The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted. "My publisher did not ask for input before beginning work, but once they started coming up with covers--and there must have been over 20 iterations before the final cover was settled upon--my opinion was solicited every step of the way." Read more... Sleepless by Cyn Balog. "I had always hoped that the moon would play into my book a little, because I am just a sucker for the moon (my first name means 'belonging to the moon')..." Read more... Hungry For Your Love, edited by Lori Perkins. "Hungry for Your Love started as an ebook at Ravenous Romance. When I sold my short story 'Inhuman Resources' I never thought it would end up in a physical book store. Nonetheless, trends catch on quickly and within months this anthology about zombie love sold to St. Martin's Press. Suddenly zombies were big!" Read more... Creative Girl by Katharine Sise. "When I first saw my finished cover, I actually got very choked up! There was something about seeing the cover that made the book feel very real and tangible. I could suddenly picture it on the shelf, instead of as a solitary project that I'd been working on for a year and a half from my living room couch next to my dog." Read more... Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst. "This cover is a painting of a real person. She emailed me several months ago and said that she was the artist's model. I love knowing that there's a real person that looks like Lily out in the world!" Read more... Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean. "Romances have a really particular look--you know what I'm talking about... the ravishing (sometimes ravished) beauty, the handsome gentleman, and the famous clinch. Now, some people don't like the idea of a clinch... but I love them. They tell me that the book in my hands is a broad, sweeping love story, and that it's going to end with a happily ever after that will leave me sighing and wanting more." Read more... The Doggy Divas by Lauren Brown. "I was adamant that the cover not look too young as can be the case when writing about tweens and animals. We decided it needed to look sophisticated yet fun -- no easy feat. There's a fine line between going totally, over the top girly and keeping it 'cool' for lack of a better word." Read more...
Cover Stories: You Are Not Here by Samantha Schutz
"The cover for my first book, I Don't Want to Be Crazy (left), is made up entirely of the title. There's no image. I had a really hard time when I first saw it. It just wasn't what I imagined it would be. I always assumed it would be a photo of a girl. So, it took me awhile to get used to the type-only treatment. But I've grown to really like the cover--especially because if it's facing out on a shelf, you can't miss it! It's very unique. "So, when I thought about what the cover might be for You Are Not Here, I was really hoping for a photograph. As I wrote, I envisioned a photo of a gravestone (maybe the title of the book would look like it'd been etched into the stone) with a really bright blue sky and deep/emerald grass. I didn't want the cover to look creepy or paranormal (although, that may have been hard to do if we used a cemetery image). You Are Not Here is love story (although, unrequited and impossible to maintain) so even though death is a central image, I still wanted the cover to be beautiful. Also, since You Are Not Here is set in the same neighborhood I grew up in, I had a very distinct images in my head of what everything looked like. I wrote a blog post about this. "I mentioned my ideas to my editor and printed out some stock photos that I found. Although I am not sure if he actually asked for it. I hoped that they would take my idea, but wasn't holding my breath. By day, I am a children's book editor and when it comes to decisions like this, I have to remind myself that I am the WRITER in this situation, not the editor. And that means I don't always know what's best--because I am just too close to the work. "When I saw my first cover, I LOVED IT! My editor planned to do a photo shoot, but the designer came across a great stock image. They did a rough mock-up of it and sent it to me [the image shows a girl lying in the grass, as Samantha's main character does in the cemetery]. But only a few weeks later, my editor saw the cover for Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. They were just too similar. So that cover got scrapped. "When I saw the second cover, I was really bummed. It was good, but not great. The stock image they had chosen was nice enough [another girl-in-grass, but differently placed]--and I liked how most of the image was grass--but nothing about it stood out. It was also hard to tell what the girl in the photo was feeling. She looked peaceful. Like she was sleeping. And that didn't really fit with the book--Annaleah, the main character is terribly depressed. I spoke with my agent about my concerns (which he shared) and he spoke to my editor. Weeks later I got a new cover (the final)--which I LOVE! It's very striking. And I think it conveys the feel of the book well. "As an editor it is SO hard not to make notes about nerdy things like leading (the amount space in-between the lines), fonts, colors, etc. I did send excessive notes, but they were mostly ignored. And that's ok. In the end, I had to realize that adding an extra space between lines (or other subtle things like that) would not make my book sell a single more copy. "I really, truly love my final cover. I am so glad that the designer took another stab at it--and that she was able to think outside the box and get away from the cover needing to be of a girl or a cemetery. "I think the cover relates to the story perfectly. It's a beautiful image, but also sad. I'd like to think that's how people will describe You Are Not Here. Thank you, Samantha! I adore this cover, and I recently saw a cover that reminded me of it--the new cover of the Flowers in the Attic + Petals on the Wind combo book (right)... but I think Samantha's is much prettier! What do you guys think? PS-Check out Samantha's website for a PHOTO CONTEST, excerpts from her books, and more!
Cover Reveal: Small Town Sinners!
I was going to do this on Monday but then I saw the cover on someone else's blog (and on amazon!) I realized you can't keep a new cover under wraps... yay! Cover Story coming soon. For now, have a glance: Here's the official description: Lacey Anne Byer is a perennial good girl and lifelong member of the House of Enlightenment, the Evangelical church in her small town. With her driver's license in hand and the chance to try out for a lead role in Hell House, her church's annual haunted house of sin, Lacey's junior year is looking promising. But when a cute new stranger comes to town, something begins to stir inside her. Ty Davis doesn't know the sweet, shy Lacey Anne Byer everyone else does. With Ty, Lacey could reinvent herself. As her feelings for him make Lacey test her boundaries, events surrounding Hell House make her question her religion. Does falling in love mean falling out of faith?