Cover Stories + Win-It Wednesday: Boy21

This week's W-i-W is a Cover Story too! Matthew Quick is here to talk about the cover of his latest (and incredibly great) novel, and one commenter will win a copy! (US only on this one).

So in honor of a certain basketball tournament (in which my Tarheels are no longer competing, sigh), here's Matthew:

"The idea I pitched for the cover of Boy21 was a shot of Finley and Russ from the neck down. Finley would have been in his team uniform and holding a basketball. Russ would have been in his space costume and holding his makeshift astronaut helmet. I still think that would have been a good cover, but I have to admit that what the designer came up with was much much better. Maybe this is why I am a fiction writer and not a jacket designer!

"When I saw the design, I yelled, 'YES!' Alicia [his wife] came running into my office to see why I was yelling, looked at the image on my computer screen, and said, 'That's so much better than what you pitched them. That cover is amazing! Amazing!' It was a happy day.

"At one point they changed the photo of Russ, who is depicted on the cover. The photo they swapped in featured an older-looking teen who appeared harder and maybe even menacing. It didn't look like Russ at all. I immediately wrote an e-mail explaining why the original photo captured Russ perfectly. The teen on the cover now has an intensity--especially if you look into his eyes--but he also looks a little vulnerable and as if he would be a complex person. Russ is a very complex character, who is troubled, but is also wise and compassionate and intuitive. I believe there was a meeting regarding which photo to use and, happily, everyone at Little, Brown agreed.

[Take a closer look at his face, and those energetic illos, right.]

"I absolutely love this cover. It's perfect for the book. Basketball is mentioned in BOY21--the game provides the framework for the plot--but it's not a basketball book, per say. It's a book about friendship, mental health, and escaping the cycle of poverty; it's about two troubled teens meeting at precisely the right time and benefiting from simple things like conversation and stargazing. The doodles that cover Russ's face seem to represent all of the swirling thoughts that he has in his mind. (Finley has swirling conflicting thoughts too.) Also, both Russ and Finley are hiding behind coping devices--Finley's silence, Russ's obsession with outer space--and the doodles covering Russ's face are symbolic of that. I also appreciate that the cover is mysterious and hard to peg genre-wise. This isn't a book that's easily labeled."

Thanks, Matthew! I also asked Matthew about the fact that his cover features an African-American character from the book, Russ, which interested me especially because of the whitewashing controversies that have happened in the past with book covers. And he pointed me to this interview on Diversity in YA with his editor, Alvina Ling, who says, "...for the upcoming YA novel Boy21 by Matthew Quick, the face of a black teen is featured prominently on the cover. There are two protagonists in the book, one white and one black, and the narrator of the book is white, and yet when two versions of the cover were shown at our jacket meeting, one with a white teen, the other with a black, it was the black teen that was unanimously chosen. I found that heartening."

So, extra cool. What do you guys think of the cover? I loved, loved, loved this book, and you guys will too.  I'll choose a winner from the comments at random next week.

PS-The winner of last week's W-i-W, for The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George, is... Brianna! Send me your address, B (you magazine addict! I love it.)

PPS-Trailer!

Cover Stories: Preloved by Shirley Marr

Today, Shirley Marr is here to share her cover for Preloved. It's such a sweet title, right? And the concepts are as emotional as the final cover (fully pictured below). Here's Shirley:

"I'm a very visual  and 'big picture' person, so with every new novel I start, after I come up with the storyline and title (which I make happen at the same time), I look around for an image which I think best sums up what I am trying to write. Preloved is a vintage-flavoured romantic ghost story with themes of second chances and second hand things. I found this particular image (right) and it contained the theme, motifs (whimsical vintage bike!) and 'feel' I was going for.

"So yes, I make myself an 'unofficial' cover. I don't go as far as putting my own name on it, but the image itself is as influential to me as any notes and research I collect, I will often glance at it for inspiration.

"I didn't have any input into the covers that were created. The cover decisions of my Publisher are very sales and marketing driven. The Marketing Team always give input during meetings in terms of a cover's marketability. The Editorial Team and the designer will provide balance by looking at the cover on a deeper level, in terms of it's relevance and relation to the content. I am happy for the initial designs to be done without me. After all, the teams have years of experience in what works well and I trust them to strike the perfect balance. Plus it's also quite exciting seeing someone else's interpretation of my words. It's like waiting to see your baby being born. I like surprises.

"Honestly, when I first saw my cover, right, I was very surprised! It looked and felt completely different to what I had imagined. I was thinking it would be more 'indie' looking, but it was very 'chick lit.' And very pink!

"My editor Maryann Ballantyne (who is the most patient woman in the world) wanted to hear my honest opinion, so I told her the truth. It didn't help that my last novel cover (for Fury) was very gothic and dark looking so I kinda had very firm ideas about what I was and I wasn't. I told her I wasn't sure 'pink' was very 'me.'

"The next thing I knew, Maryann had gotten straight onto the designer, Gayna Murphy, to let her know about the cover! And in a matter of hours, Gayna had responded with a new cover treatment. Gayna changed the colour of the cover from pink to orange (left).

"I decided to take a few days to mull things over. When I revisited the original cover, I couldn't help but really see how pretty and delicate the whole thing was. I think my initial reaction was due more to the expectations I had in my head rather than the cover not being suitable. I basically had a completely different image in my head the nine or so months I took writing the novel. Once I got over that, the more I looked at the proposed cover, the more I became used to it and the more I fell in love with it.

"I completely love the cover now. I think the image captures my heroine perfectly, with the ball dress and sneakers. It's reflective of the prettiness and also the edginess and cheekiness, which I think is totally me. It wasn't until I received the actual physical copy in the post that I full understood what Gayna was trying to do. The cover is so unbelievably beautiful in the flesh - printed on matt paper, it is all sepia tones and saturated pinks - like an old tinted vintage print. Which is exactly what the novel is about - ghosts of the past and nostalgia. I love how the necklace that plays a major part in the novel is on the cover in a very subtle way. And I love how the sunspots add that touch of whimsy. Walker Books MD - Sarah Foster - is really big on getting all of the designers to read the entire book they are working on. And it really shows.

"The lesson I have learnt - just because I have a concept I feel is right for the book, doesn't mean someone else can't come up with something as perfect too. I can't thank Gayna enough.

"And you know what, I reckon I can fully 'do' pink!

"Without further ado, I present to you my final cover:

"And here are all of the other proposed covers! The yellow cover with the girl with the paper umbrella was the second choice. Without giving away any spoilers, I can say that Gayna has done her research and I really like all of them. For some reason I really love the one with the cassette tapes! But I think that the right cover was chosen. What do you think?

"Thank you so much Melissa for having me on your blog!"

Thanks, Shirley! I absolutely agree that the final cover is best, though you have SO MANY great concepts here. Still, tulle and Converse? I'm in. Seriously. You had me at tulle.

What do you guys think?

Cover Stories: Buried, a Goth Girl Mystery

Linda Joy Singleton has been here to share her Cover Story for Dead Girl Walking, and she's back to talk about her latest novel, Buried: A Goth Girl Mystery: "For this cover, I actually thought they would show more of a Goth girl. I wanted something with a girl in dark flowy clothes, netting, piercings combined with a mysterious setting.

"Flux usually asks me for suggestions and I did a search on Goth girls and sent some of my favorites in as examples. I wanted something beautiful, edgy and mysterious.

"When I first saw the cover, it was a surprise, not what I visualized but dramatic and mysterious. I liked it! I think early on they looked at my suggestions, then did their own thing. I trust them to be the professionals and to know what's best in a cover. I always ask myself is my adult taste the same as a teen? I'm not sure if it is, so I'm glad to have professional making the final decision. I'm pretty sure it was a stock photo with some artistic tweaking to get the full mysterious look.

"The cover shows a goth girl in a frame, which represents my heroine being pushed into a tight corner and trying to break out from how society expects her to behave, yet also caring about her family. The look of shock could represent the moment she finds a dark secret buried in a grave."

Thanks, Linda! I think I've gotten so used to close-up covers that this one takes me a moment to process. It almost has an adult novel feel to it. I do think the mystery comes through, and there's no doubt that it says supernatural. What do you guys think?

Cover Stories: And Then Things Fall Apart

Arlaina Tibensky's debut novel sounds like something I need on top of my pile. ("Sylvia Plath and an old typewriter usher an angsty virgin through the worst summer of her freaking life.") Also, the cover spoke to me. So I spoke to Arlaina about it. Here she is:

"I had this fantasy that the cover of And Then Things Fall Apart was going to be a newer, updated version of a classic The Bell Jar cover, like the one with the creepy letters and the rose, or the Victoria Lucas (Sylvia’s pen name) with the dark purple letters, or even the cool one with the spirals. Like one of those, but 'updated, for the youth of today!' (See right.)

"I mentioned my 'Updated, for the youth of today!' idea to my editor… and we never spoke of it again.

"At first first first, I thought the cover was a little too cute. But too cute or not I fell in love, immediately, with the typewriter. The BLUE TYPEWRITER. And my huge ego loved that my name was right there in the middle. I was also happy there were no bodies on it, no anonymous 'teens' acting 'quirky' in stripped tights and pink hair.

"My editor just emailed it to me and said, 'There it is, isn’t it GREAT?!” and I let it sit a little while and then came to agree with her. As I did on most everything she said. It didn't change one iota. They had some placeholder copy at the top that used to say 'Snappy sassy copy here…' That became 'You think you’ve got it all…'

"It is totally a stock photo! I saw it on an image search on typewriters I was doing for my blog. A friend of mine was reading Good Housekeeping magazine and saw the stock photo in the back for some kind of advice column and assumed it was my book getting reviewed! Until she read the column, of course.

"I adore my cover. I love that it’s white, I love that it is a little mysterious. I love that it appeals to a wide variety of readers and also a very specific reader. The book is about so many things; literature, writing, self-examination, virginity, betrayal, love. I think that the image Jessica Handler (the designer!) came up with was really inspired and really represents the book in a way I could never have imagined.

"What’s so crazy is that the typewriter on the cover really resonated with me for some reason. I always was very into it and had a real connection with it from the minute I saw it. So… I’m getting ready for the launch party and asked my husband to get some of my vintage typewriters out of storage to bring to Books of Wonder. He brought back two, a brown number and-- are you sitting down?-- THE VERY SAME TYPEWRITER from the cover. Black and red ink, blue case. Do you have goosebumps? What are the odds?"

Thanks, Arlaina! Love it, love the coincidence (fate?), love the colors on the cover and love the sound of the insides. Always the most important part, of course.

What do you guys think?

Cover Stories: Commercial Breaks

P.G. Kain is hilarious and very good at Words With Friends, I'll have you know. He also has a great website. His latest middle grade novel is out this week, and he's here to share the story behind that bubbly cover:"I really wanted the cover to convey the fact that this series is about the world of commercial castings. This is a very specific world. It's not exactly modeling, where you need to be beautiful and it's not exactly acting, where you need to be talented. Someone once told me that to be in commercials all you need is a face. That's true as you see very few amoeba or protozoa selling soft drinks on TV. "I first imagined a cover that showed a photo of the pristine perfect world of the commercial in the center with a sun-drenched set and a tween model with an even sunnier smile.  But then the edges of the cover would be hand drawn in pencil and extend beyond the frame of photo to reveal  all of the people, cameras, riggings, etc. that were focused on making the on-set scene look 'natural.'

"[As far as involvement with the design], I was never asked to fill out one of those forms I know other authors get but I sent over many images and talked with my first editor about some ideas. The concept of using a type of collage with Polaroids was developed in house and I sent over images to expand on that idea (below):

"My editor was very generous in showing me drafts. I really scrutinized the cover. It's not about being a diva or making demands it's about being serious about your brand and your business. I ghosted for a best-selling women's fiction author for a very long time and I learned a lot about covers and sales. Often a writer can't recover from a bad cover. Of course, with books for young readers you are always playing a guessing game and working on hunches and experience since no one in the room is really part of the demographic toward which you are marketing. I think that balance of opinion, instinct and experience makes it very difficult to navigate. I don't always do it well. If I did, I would be making a lot more money working at the UN. I always try to watch a clip of Barbra Streisand talking about the making of Yentl and that seems to help as much as I imagine any prescription medication would.

"When I saw the original cover (right) I thought it was unique. They had gone through many changes and two photo shoots for the cover so I know there was a lot of effort involved. My editor assured me that everyone was in agreement that it was a wonderful cover. As an author, when you see the final image you have to get 100% behind it. Writers have to spend so much of their time marketing and selling their book. It just won't work if you don't have complete confidence in your cover. If you are struggling you can either print out stickers to go over the design and risk the threat of being arrested at a  BN or work with a good therapist. I didn't need to do either of these options. I admit I wasn't crazy about the first cover but I was able to get 100% behind it.

"Then I got an email saying they were making some changes and going with an illustrated cover. In tween books we live in a world where the illustrated and photographic compete like Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. (Am I dating myself here?) The change to illustrative was a surprise but in many ways it created more possibilities. This happened pretty close to the pub date. I sent over some ideas for illustrators and they chose someone who has a style very similar to some of the artists I suggested. My editor sent me a sketch and I suggested adding a few more 'on set' details and the result was the makeup mirror on the left of the final cover which I think really gives visual context to the iconography.

"When I saw the new cover (full jacket below) I thought it was cute and that it would totally appeal to my audience. I know this is called Cover Stories but perhaps there should be a spin-off called Spinal Tales; because as much as we talk about covers, spines do a lot of the actual work of getting a reader to pluck you off the shelf. I love the spine of this book. I think it totally catches your eye and looks like the character is peeking around the corner. It reminds me Conrad Hall discussing Rosemary's Baby in Visions of Light where he talks about setting up a shot so that the audience needs to peer into the frame. I think this spine does that and it's a clever, well-executed but very simple design. My three greatest fears are swans, kosher gefilte fish and fonts. The designer did a wonderful job with the fonts mixing two seemingly disparate ones into a composition that is completely cohesive. It's like working with prints. Some people can mix them together beautifully others can't. She can. I can't.

"As much as spines are important so is the idea of scalability. So much of our sales effort happens online where the cover is represented in postage stamp size. I think this cover really works well any size as the two very large white studio lights create an eye-catching element at any size. I have not seen it in the opposite direction but when the cover is blown up on a Times Square billboard I'll be sure to write an addendum.

"I also love the illustration. It's very current but also has a vintage feel. It reminds me of the opening sequences of 'Bewitched' and 'I Dream of Jeannie.' At the end of the day, I love the cover. Early in the morning and in the middle afternoon I love the cover. From about 2:35 pm to 2:37 pm I am in very strong like with the cover but then by 2:38 I am back in love."

Thanks, P.G.! I am fascinated by the stages of this cover--photo shoots to illustrations. I actually think the photo looks a little dated, and I'm glad the final illo has such charm and cheek to it. I have to admit to not always loving illustrated covers, but I think it works really well for middle grade novels, and you're right, this one is totally Bewitched/Jeannie! Also, spine: YES. Her face will totally stand out.

What do you guys think?

Cover Stories: The Mockingbirds and The Rivals

The amazing Daisy Whitney's here with a new Cover Story! "I only vaguely had a cover idea in mind for The Rivals, and it was similar to what I had originally envisioned for The Mockingbirds (read that Cover Story) -- something akin to the hardback cover of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, i.e. something that just screamed "girl at boarding school." And what I've learned as a reader is that I very much prefer books with strong girls on the cover -- like Frankie, or like the cover of Where She Went (read that Cover Story), or What I Saw and How I Lied.

"The cover change (from the Mockingbirds hardback and The Rivals arc, below) came about through a conversation I had with my editor about a year ago about the type of covers I like and so on. She really wants her authors to love their covers, so when she learned that I had liked the hardcover, but would have preferred a photographic cover, she asked me to send her my favorite covers and that they would consider a redo for the paperback and the hardcover of The Rivals.

 

"Fortunately, my editor shepherded many many versions of changes to get to the current design, and wisely waited til she had these versions to show me. She did tell me they had tried for a photographic look with a girl in front and perhaps some other people behind her to convey the sense of the group aspect of the secret society, but they didn't look right.

"[When I first saw my cover, I felt] total happiness!! I swear! These covers are exactly what I had envisioned all along -- strong (and, let's be honest, good-looking) faces on both books looking straight at the reader. For The Mockingbirds, I love that the girl is looking right at the reader, that she isn't hidden or ashamed, and I have to say I think the red lipstick is a fantastic, subtle, feminist statement about the book's underlying 'message' -- that speaking up is worth it. I also loved the type for the title, and I think the birds -- right-side up on The Mockingbirds, and upside-down on The Rivals -- are great! I love too that the birds are cartoonish, because that's how they're described in the book. I sound like a broken record, but I truly love the redesign so much. I keep telling my editor. I am sure she is tired of hearing it! But these covers make me happy!

 

"I just received my author's copies of the hardcover of The Rivals and I noticed the boy has stubble! (Which doesn't mean anything in the book, it was just an observation). But seriously, what I love most about The Mockingbirds redo is that the girl is strong and bold. What I love most about The Rivals is that the cover is the 'opposite' of The Mockingbirds, because the story in The Rivals is about the other side of the secret society. The reverse symmetry between the covers captures the stories to me and I like that they have a hip, retro feel in the yearbook look of them."

Thanks, Daisy! I actually really like the original designs when I look at them, but I think the new ones are more eyecatching. Love the immediacy of the scribbled titles, red lips, blue eyes--those details really draw me in.

What do you guys think?

Cover Stories: Fracture

Megan Miranda's Fracture cover is wintry and haunting (oh, and the book inside got a starred PW review, too!). Here she is to talk about how her debut cover came to be: "I had a very vague idea for the cover: a girl on the other side of the ice, looking out. But I am also, admittedly, not gifted in the art department. We discussed the idea I had, and they gave another idea as well: a girl, in a red coat, standing on the ice—with maybe a crack running through the surface. I loved that one, as well. I believe they toyed with both these ideas, but found that such a literal interpretation, while accurate to the scene and very relevant to the plot, didn’t quite represent the feel of the story inside. So they went in a different direction to capture the mood. And did they ever.

"Honest truth? When I first saw my cover, I jumped out of my chair. Then I unplugged my laptop and ran down the street to my friend’s house to show her. I adored it. It’s a concept I never would’ve come up with—but I can’t imagine a cover more perfect for the book.

"My editor asked for my thoughts, and I sent back a rather incoherent email, basically saying HOLY CRAP, YES, or, you know, something along those lines. I feel very, very fortunate. Even though they were trying to capture a mood, there are many things that are literal on the cover: the tag-line is taken directly from the book; the girl on the front looks shockingly like I pictured Delaney; and she’s wearing that red coat, which essentially saves her life. I had zero suggestions.

"I didn’t see any of the earlier concepts, and I’m glad. I’m not the most visual person (other than being able to say yes, I like it, or no, I don’t). There were some tweaks to the cover after I saw the concept, and there were a few final tweaks after the cover reveal as well (removing some of the ice from the lake).

"In the end: I love it. I find it haunting and beautiful at the same time, and I think it’s a little different than a lot of covers in the genre out there. I love the way they set up Delaney and her reflection. There’s something off about it, and I think that really captures the feel of the book: that she is back, but something is a little off. There was the Delaney that used to be, and the Delaney that remains. Which Delaney do her friends and family want to see? Which one does she want to be? What happened to the old one?

"Falcon Lake plays such a key role in the story, not only in the initial scenes when she’s trapped under the ice for 11 minutes, but in many scenes that follow. I always thought the girl on the cover was being pensive, which feels right. But some people thought she was dead, which was interesting to me since I didn’t pick up on that. But….that’s very relevant to the book as well: what makes someone alive?

"I’m really thrilled with how everything turned out."

Thanks, Megan! I love the detail in the cover--each time I look I notice something more. It reminds me a little bit of the If I Stay paperback (I guess that's the girl-at-bottom thing) but also feels wholly unique and lovely.

What do you guys think?

Cover Stories: The Jade Notebook

The lovely Laura Resau has a new book out! The Jade Notebook is the third in her beautiful series about Zeeta (read her Cover Story for The Indigo Notebook). Kirkus Reviews says, "In this third in a series of novels focusing on Zeeta and her wanderlust-stricken mother, readers are immersed in the details of a lovingly described coastal town in Mexico and an action-filled mystery surrounding the poaching of ancient sea turtles that make their home there...  a graceful conclusion to Zeeta’s story."

Here's Laura to tell the tale of the cover:

"I'm happy and honored to be back on your blog, Melissa--I could spend all day reading these fascinating cover stories!

"The Jade Notebook is the third and final book in the travel-adventure-themed Notebooks series, each of which is set in a different country. The series went through a few different cover looks over the past few years.  If you're curious, you can read the story behind the hardcover look of the first in the series, The Indigo Notebook, here. For that cover, my publisher, Delacorte, did a photo shoot of an open, vintage-style suitcase containing items that evoked each different setting, below. (The Indigo Notebook is set in the Andes of Ecuador, The Ruby Notebook in southern France, and The Jade Notebook in a small Mexican beach town.)

"After the publication of The Indigo Notebook with the suitcase cover (above), Delacorte decided to change the look of the paperback and subsequent books in the series. My understanding is that the influential bookstores pushed for this, believing that a photo of a pretty girl on the cover would increase sales. With the new cover look—back views of a girl with a gorgeous background, right--Delacorte wanted to project a sense of romance and fun in a seductive setting.

"I do think that the new cover look achieves this, but I have to admit, I did appreciate that the suitcase-themed covers clearly evoked the idea of travel, which is central to the series. Still, the backgrounds in the new look do suggest exotic locales. For me, the final cover of The Jade Notebook -- a girl swimming in crystal, blue-green waters – evokes an almost visceral reaction of 'I want to go there!' It's so sensual--I can almost feel the tropical water, taste the salt.  he color of the sunlit water feels delicious to me… especially now, in mid-February, when I'm longing for the beach! And I was really happy that they photo-shopped sea turtles in the image, since they're  essential to the plot. I also think the font is lovely--eye-catching and whimsical—and suits the story well.

"The only aspects of the final Jade cover that I wasn't happy about were: 1) I wish the girl's skin and hair were darker to more accurately reflect Zeeta's appearance. (In response, Delacorte said they did the best they could using stock photos.)  2) It would've been nice to somehow suggest more mystery, danger, and adventure since there's actually a lot more to the story than sweet romance in a beautiful natural setting.

"Overall, though, I'm happy with the cover, and appreciate the work that the designers went through to come up with appealing images.  You can read more about the book here. You can see photos of the setting for the book on my blog, here and here.  I’m doing a book give-away this week, so feel free to swing by my blog and enter. Thanks for reading!"

Thanks, Laura! I do think the suitcase covers are charming, but I understand the appeal of the new ones too (see all three, above). They're almost more arresting at first glance, which is really important. (Though I do love the idea of pouring over the original covers and seeing all the little items in the suitcase.)

What do you guys think?

PS-Remember to visit Laura's blog for the giveaway this week.

Cover Stories: Paper Covers Rock

Publisher's Weekly named Jenny Hubbard's debut a Flying Start last spring, and summarized the novel thusly:

"Set in the early 1980s, Paper Covers Rock is structured as the journal of 16-year-old Alex No Middle Name Stromm, who is holding onto some secrets about the recent drowning death of one of his classmates."

The title and cover caught my attention, and here's Jenny to explain that gazing boy from Paper Covers Rock:

"I didn’t envision a cover while I was writing, but after I found out it was going to be published, I envisioned a black-and-white photograph of three boys in silhouette on a rock, their backs to the viewer.

"All I said [to my publisher] was, 'Please don’t put a face on my narrator.'

"The cover that is currently on the book is not the first one that was designed for the book. The first one caused me to burst into tears--truly. It was entirely wrong, both in mood and character depiction. What the reader would have seen was a free-spirited, smiling, skater-dude boy in mid-jump over water.

"When I explained why the first cover wasn’t right, they scrapped it immediately, and the designer went back to the drawing board. My editor asked me what I would like to see, and I gave her some ideas, none of which included a face on my narrator. One idea suggested by my agent I liked very much: a graphic design that hinted toward the journal aspect of the book. I liked that because it was, I guess, less literal.

"What the designer definitely got right the second time around was the mood of the book. The boy on the cover looks troubled. There’s a mystery in his face. And I like how the green (his innocence) is behind him. That’s fitting.

"They hired a model, as is often the case for the novels published by Delacorte Press (an imprint of Random House). I do not know this young man’s name, but he lives in or near NYC. He’s certainly more attractive than the Alex I’ve imagined. Of course, the boy on the cover isn’t even necessarily Alex, but I would imagine that most readers connect him to the protagonist on the inside pages.

"I didn’t notice, until later, that the boy’s tie is undone, as if he’s trying to get free of something that is strangling him. I really like that.

"I think the cover works. When I asked why they went with 'the face on the narrator,' my editor explained that they needed a cover to appeal to teenaged girls, as teenaged girls are the primary audience for young-adult fiction. Random House knows much more about how to sell a book than I do. I deferred to their experience and judgment. And, come to find out, the cover does indeed appeal to girls! It would be interesting to see, when the novel appears in paperback, a different cover--maybe something along the lines of what my agent suggested--to see what kind of reader might be drawn to it. I’ve had people, adults and teens alike, tell me that the current cover is off-putting because it seems to advertise a romance novel."

Thanks, Jenny! I actually like the cover a lot. It made me think of A Separate Peace by John Knowles, which is a good thing in my book.

What do you guys think?

Cover Stories: Dragonswood

Janet Lee Carey has been here before to talk about her cover for Stealing Death. Now she's back with a stunning new novel, Dragonswood. Here's her Cover Story:

"My cover ideas changed as I was writing Dragonswood. I often have a movie going in my head as I’m writing, so every once in a while I’d stop the movie to a still shot and think, 'Hey that would make a great cover.' Some images had to do with Tess’s fire-sight. I envisioned Tess staring into the fire entranced by the vision of a man swinging his sword, or of a fairy woman riding dragonback in the golden flames.

"I tossed a few ideas around with my editor, Kathy Dawson, at Dial Books for Young Readers. Along with the fire-sight images, we discussed a cover related to the early action scenes showing Tess and her friends’ escape from the witch hunter disguised as lepers. I pictured a bedraggled and muddy Tess dressed in a dark-hooded leper’s robe. Much later Kathy Dawson and I discussed the kind of medieval gown Tess would wear -- the colors, the fabric -- by then I realized we weren’t going with the fire-sight or the leper’s robe idea. I didn’t mind Tess wearing a gown since she does later in the book; still I remember asking, 'Will Tess have a knife in her hand?' Kathy paused a moment, then said, 'I think you will be surprised by the direction this cover is going in, Janet.'

"When I saw the cover, I was stunned by its beauty. I remember my hands began to tingle. It was so completely different from anything I’d had in mind, and at the same time, so surreal and gorgeous. I loved the contrast of light and dark, the iridescent title, the bright water and gown against the dark forest, looming clouds, and the surrounding dragon scales. The designers took a complete U turn from where I was going with the cover. They formed a fresh idea evoking the heart of the story that takes Tess from bondage to liberty. The leap on the cover expresses her triumph.

"We talked a bit about changing the gown color, but ended up going with the original white. Really I was so happy with what I saw; I didn’t want to mess with it.

"Have you ever had a flying dream? The Dragonswood cover reminds me of my favorite kind of flying dream where I’m dancing in the sky; doing pirouettes, leaps, and flips, moving fluidly using the pressure of the thermals around me. It’s a truly magical dream and I always wake up from it feeling joyful.

"The cover also helped me discover a concise description of the novel – something I often find frustratingly hard to do. After staring at the book in my hands a long while I thought. One Girl. Bound By Fate. Breaks Free. Those words show up in a number of places now and became integral to designing our Dragonswood Book Trailer. (By the way that’s my voice in the background and my husband strumming the Turkish saz.)"

Thanks, Janet! There has been a lot of talk about there being many Girls in Gowns on covers this year, but I think Dragonswood stands out with movement and a sense of purpose. Plus, the sweetness of the gown makes it seem lie more than pure show. Also, the scales on the edge of the book add a nice texture and evocation. Thoughts?