Win-It Wednesday: Teen Fiction Cafe

The winner of last week's contest for All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab is... Theresa W.! Send me your address, T. This week, I'm over at Teen Fiction Cafe celebrating three years with the my fellow author-bloggers Alyson Noel, Amanda Ashby, Erica Orloff, Jessica Burkhart, Kay Cassidy, Kelly Parra, Lauren Baratz-Logsted, Linda Gerber, Sara Hantz, Stephanie Kuehnert, Wendy Toliver and Sara Zarr (click on their names to read their TFC posts and enter their contests). For the third anniversary of TFC, we've all been blogging about being a writer and what it means and how it's hard but also awesome. So go check out all the posts (there are many prizes to be won, including a signed copy of Lovestruck Summer!). I would say Happy Wednesday, but I'm feeling sad for Corey Haim's friends and family. RIP, CH. (License to Drive and Lost Boys will be in heavy rotation around the world this week, I bet. Great movies.)

Win-It Wednesday + Cover Stories: All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab

*Update! Travis reminded me that I forgot to pick last week's Copper Sun/Incarceron winner (and did you hear that Fox picked up the film rights to Incarceron?!). Anyway, the winner is JenP! Send me your address, J. Now back to Anna J.*The lovely Anna Jarzab is here to talk about her novel's cover. All Unquiet Things, which The Compulsive Reader called "[A] complex, smart, and disquieting debut." Plus, Anna's giving a copy of her book to one lucky commenter, whom I'll choose at random next week (announced on Weds as usual). Take it away, Anna! "It surprises me now, considering how obsessively I thought of this book, how little I thought about what the cover might look like. I had dinner with my editor and my agent a few months after we sold All Unquiet Things and my editor asked, 'So do you have any ideas about what you might like to see on the cover?' I was totally stumped, so I blurted out the only thing that came to mind: matryoshka dolls. One is crucial to the plot and they've always seemed sort of an apt metaphor for people and mysteries. I don't know whether or not the art department at Delacorte found that suggestion helpful, but they didn't go with it, which was fine because then I used it as a theme for my website, which has worked out pretty nicely. "I got my cover in January 2009 and was totally stunned by it. I mean, absolutely, positively, 100% in awe of how elegant and captivating it is. I had absolutely no input except '!!!!!'. I didn't even try to play it cool. The cover never changed from the comp I saw, which was just fine with me. "The cover photo was shot specifically for the book by the brilliant Eva Kolenko (who according to her blog just did some shots for a Rubio's commercial, which is pretty much the coolest thing ever; as all Californians know, Rubio's is delicious). The model's name is Lauren, and a couple of months ago I heard from her lovely mother, who dropped me a line to tell me that was her daughter on the cover. I was excited and asked her to see if Lauren could write a little something about her experience being a cover model for the book. You can read the full thing here on my website, but here's a snippet: Lauren: "It all started with an email from a casting agency asking me if I was interested in a photo shoot for the cover of a book...I pictured myself - hair blowing from the oversized fan behind the photographer, fake eyelashes, colorful wardrobe - I would be like a celebrity...However, when my mom received an email from the photographer that said, 'Lauren will be playing dead, and will probably be getting a little muddy. Just wanted to give you a heads up on that,' my celebrity hopes vanished... "First they had me lay down on a hill of prickly grass. I was a tough girl, I could handle it. It was wet and scratchy, but I tried to focus on appearing dead. The next spot was on top of some thick roots near a tree. This time it was muddy, and the designer dirtied my shirt with grass and dirt beforehand for effect. The roots dug into my back, but I had to appear relaxed, you know, being dead and all. It was still freezing cold, but, of course--perfect timing--the glare from the sun was in my eyes while I had to stare directly into the camera. Eva was great, always encouraging me and trying to get the best shot possible... "When we were done shooting, Eva showed me some of the pictures on her laptop. When I saw them, I was so excited. It was worth being uncomfortable for an hour... This experience was amazing! I would not trade it for anything. It was so cool to go to Borders and see my face (actually half of it) on the shelf. I felt so honored. I couldn't help but tell the good news to an employee there. He surprisingly was quite impressed." Back to Anna: "What a trooper! I'm the whiniest person ever, so I probably would've been like, "Why is it so COLD?" in about five seconds. But the photo is amazing, and I think Lauren is a perfect Carly--also, perfectly dead-looking. By the way, you may only be able to see half of Lauren's face on the hardcover, but the audio book has a fuller photo, right (they had to use it because of sizing). "There are so many things I love about the cover. I love how incredibly green the grass is, and how transfixingly blue Carly's eyes are. I love how she's staring at you, like she's daring you to find out what happened to her, or she's trying to draw you in--also helped by the half-beckoning way her arm is positioned. I love the horizontal lines of the cover, with the way the photo is trimmed and Carly's arm. I also like that Carly's hand is what's in focus, and everything else is slightly out of focus, like she's offering to take your hand and guide you into this world. Am I thinking too much about this? Maybe. But I've stared at it a long time. "Anyway, I absolutely love the cover and am so grateful to the design department at Delacorte and Eva and Lauren and my editor who surely had a lot to do with this. It's such a beautiful package, and perfectly captures the essence of the book I wrote. I couldn't be happier." I found the cover to be really mesmerizing, which is why I had to ask Anna to join us for Cover Stories! And that full-face audio book cover? SO MUCH CREEPIER!! I love that Lauren the model got to share her story too! (I loved doing that with Molly, the Violet books' cover model.) So what do you guys think of this cover? Drawn in? Comment below and you're entered to win a copy of the book! Oh, and here's the trailer:

Double Win-It Wednesday: Copper Sun and Incarceron

There's still time to enter last week's contest over at Tera Lynn Childs's blog (it ends 2/28). And this week, because I missed a week, I'm giving away two books. The first is Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper. We've been discussing it all month long at readergirlz (see the discussion questions in the top right corner to get a taste of the themes you'll encounter in this amazing, award-winning historical novel). The second is an ARC of Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. It's a fantasy about a prison with many levels--metal forests, old cities, huge wilderness. And, of course, our hero wants to escape. Well, here's the trailer: One winner will get both books. I kind of like the idea of mixing genres like this in a book collection. Just comment below and say hi -- I'm a pushover this week. If you have a blog, tell me what you blog about. I'll visit! Happy Wednesday!

Win-It Wednesday: Tera Lynn Childs' Olympic-Sized Contest

The winner of last week's Year of the Horse contest is... Ah Yuan! Thanks, everyone, for the really great discussion about that cover (go back and read the comments if you haven't -- good stuff!). Send me your address, AY!This week, I'm over at Tera Lynn Childs' blog, celebrating the winter Olympics and her Oh. My. Gods. series! Enter to win over there (this is my Win-It Wednesday -- it counts because I say so, even if it is a little bit of a lazy move on my part). PRIZES (1) copy of Oh. My. Gods. by TLC (1) copy of Goddess Boot Camp by TLC (1) copy of LOVESTRUCK SUMMER by Moi Plus, Tera's got giveaways every day, so check out all her posts during the 2010 Games. I am loving the Olympics! Did you guys see the speed skating insanity?! I got to talk to J.R. Celski last week for I Heart Daily, so I'm a new fan of our bronze medal winner! Happy Wednesday!

Cover Stories + Win-It Wednesday: Year of the Horse by Justin Allen

The winner of last week's contest for a signed copy of Lisa McMann's GONE is... Mitzy! Send me your address, M.This week, author Justin Allen is here to share his epic Cover Story for Year of the Horse, and to give away a signed copy of the book! Read on, and give us your thoughts below--then you're entered! Here's Justin: "What many readers don't realize about cover designs is just how little input authors officially get. Heck, most times we don't even get final say in the book's title. Really! That's true! By contract, the cover and title are both part of the marketing of a book, meaning that final say goes with the publisher. Authors get to cast their two cents in, and I suppose you could cry and stamp your feet if you REALLY hated something. But the design is mostly out of your hands. More often than not, that's probably for the best... "The story behind the cover of my latest novel, Year of the Horse, is sort of unusual. Overlook Press went through 5 - count 'em, FIVE! - completely different cover designs over the course of a year, searching for exactly the right image to hopefully make the book just leap off the shelves. Did they succeed? Time will tell. "A lot of what goes into cover design is determined by whose eye your publisher is hoping to catch. This is the first cover design for my book, right. It is all my fault, I'm afraid (see, maybe authors SHOULDN'T get too much say.) Overlook asked me what I had in mind, and I described a gunfight in front of a saloon. They took this image from an old painting. It is exactly what I asked for, from the title (pay attention to that title!) to the scene, to the coloring... Does it suck? Oh, Lord! "Fortunately, in their infinite wisdom, Overlook saw that the book just COULD NOT stay like that! So, they hired an artist to fashion a cover image depicting the main characters. Now this is more like it! Depicted are the protagonist, Lu (he's the boy on the right), and his friends Jack Straw (the gunfighter at center), and Sadie (the girl on the left). As the drawing was coming together I made lots of observations. For instance, I mentioned that Jack wears a blue coat (it originally came out gray). I also thought it was odd that Lu was carrying a stick of dynamite, but that didn't actually bother me much. And to me Lu and Sadie looked a bit young - in the book she's 16, and he's 15 - though again this was not really a huge deal to me. I also asked whether Sadie's hair couldn't look more blond. All in all, the artist did a pretty great job, I'd say. Unfortunately, a new problem crept up on us - The Title. "Imagine you're looking for a book, but want to find out more information about it before you buy. What do you do? Me, I google it. You too? Small world! Now, just imagine what happens if you google "Justin Allen The American." Do you think you'd get anything OTHER than my book? Go ahead, try it. We can wait. That's right, millions of unrelated hits. So another change had to be made. A NEW TITLE! We wanted something that would stand out just enough - without sounding completely made up - something that would refer to the main character's Chinese heritage, and hopefully add just hint of mystery. I suggested Year of the Horse. I suspect any number of you have seen the problem that was to follow. That's right, NO HORSE!!! You have a book called Year of the Horse, without a horse on the cover. Aiyeee! So, back to the old drawing board. "Once again, a completely new cover idea was hatched. Saints be praised! Right? Right? There's the horse, right on top of that canyon. This is a fine image - and astonishingly, Barnes and Noble still features this image on their website, despite the fact that this is NOT what the book looks like. What's most astonishing about THAT fact is that Barnes and Noble is one of the reasons that this is NOT the cover of the book. For whatever reason, Barnes and Noble did not like this cover. In fact, they hated it. Maybe they didn't like the canyon, or the fact that the cover is mostly black. Maybe they were just having a bad day. I don't know. But I do know that they really hated this cover. I bet most of you out there didn't realize that bookstores have a say in all this, too... I know I didn't realize that. So why does Barnes and Noble feature the cover they hated on their website? I'll bet that even they don't know the answer to that! "So, at long last we get to the actual cover. Horse? Check. Nice and bright? Heck fire, it's yellow! Pretty girl with vampire? Not so much, but I guess you can't have everything. "Do I like the final cover? You know, I really do. I have a poster-size image of it - one I used at some readings out west this winter - framed and on the wall next to my desk at home. I like that the horse is galloping, with streamers of dust behind him. I like the type-face and the teaser at the top. I like that the rider could be ANY of the characters, even Sadie. And I like the fact that the title is featured much more strongly than my name. I have always figured that a book, once bought, belongs to the reader. It's her imagination that will fill in the world, give life to the characters, and power to the words. The writer is no longer important at that point. It's the reader! "Are there things I don't like about the cover? Well, let me put it this way. There are aspects of the book that this cover doesn't show. For instance, large parts of the book are actually fantastical in nature. It features sorcerers, fire-demons, a were-coyote, magical bullets, the headless horseman, and even the devil himself. But just imagine a book cover that included all of that! I'm not sure it'd be on my wall. "One last thing that has occurred to me about this cover, in the wake of Bloomsbury's white-washing fiasco of the past few weeks, is to note that the rider on my cover is race-less and sex-less. And you'll note that I LIKED that the rider could be ANY of the characters in the book, from the African-American Henry Jesus to the white Sadie MacLemore. I'm not sure what this has to tell us about covers, book sellers or book buyers, but I think it is at least interesting. "I'd love to know what you all think about the cover. I bet Overlook would as well (This isn't rocket science, we can all learn more!). And if you have ANY pull at all with Barnes and Noble, and can somehow get them to switch to the actual cover of my book, 'Please! for the love of all that's holy, do so now!'" Oh man, Justin makes me LAUGH! I really like his observation about how, on the final cover, the character could be anyone. How freeing! And I actually do think I like it best--there's action in the cover, but also a calm stillness to it because of the shadows. Which cover do you like best? Leave your thoughts below and you're entered to win a signed copy of the book of 1000 covers, Year of the Horse.

Win-It Wednesday: GONE by Lisa McMann (Signed!)

The winner of last week's Fashion Swag Bag + Fallen by Lauren Kate is... Lasha! Her unsung book was Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors, which is now on my list too! Send me your address, L.This week's contest is for a copy of Lisa McMann's about-to-be-released GONE. I was lucky enough to grab a drink with Lisa when she was in NYC this week, and let me just say, the girl rules. Also, I missed my subway stop on the ride home, because I was reading the SIGNED copy of GONE she gave me for Win-It Wednesday. It's that riveting! So, to win your very own copy of GONE, just comment below and tell me which author blogs you read and love (besides this one, naturally, which you always, always read, right? Haha.). I'm curious -- and I'm feeling like traveling around the blogosphere a bit. Oh, and +1 if you visit the lovely Nadine-Stella's Starry Night blog -- where she asked 21 Questions of me! Happy Wednesday! PS-More to win: A Valentine's Day contest over at Simple Life and Reading where you can win Lovestruck Summer and Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott! Sweet.

Win-It Wednesday: Fashion Week Swag + FALLEN by Lauren Kate

The winner of last week's copy of Bad Blood by Mari Mancusi is... Jill of the O.W.L.! Send me your address, J.So maybe you remember that I was in Rio for Fashion Week (gah!). Well, I brought home a ton of SWAG and I just can't keep it all -- I'm not trying to be a hoarder. So... I'm going to box it all up and ship it to one randomly chosen commenter, along with a copy of FALLEN by Lauren Kate (we are book people, after all): There's some crazy stuff in this mix -- bags, jewelry, Nivea products -- I think the best things are the various little notebooks from Brazilian designers. All yours if you win! To enter, just leave a comment below and tell me your favorite "Unsung YA" book of 2009. You might have seen my list, which you may use for inspiration if you'd like! (Thanks, Kelly at YAnnabe, for starting this great meme.) +1 if you tweet/blog/facebook/whatever about this contest -- just note that in your comment. Happy Wednesday!

Win-It Wednesday: Bad Blood by Mari Mancusi

Last week's winner of Hold Still by Nina LaCour (amazing book!) is... Janessa! For a writing challenge, she suggested, "the 'All Star' label on the back of Converse Chucks, a painting from the Renaissance, a large box filled with empty asthma inhalers and pairs of scissors." Intriguing! If anyone uses this prompt, let me know. I may try a bunch of them myself. Send me your address, J. Thanks to everyone for the great ideas.This week, I'm giving away a copy of Mari Mancusi's new release, Bad Blood. It's book #4 in the Blood Coven series (remember her EPIC Cover Story?) To enter to win the book, tell me below what your favorite series from the last year was, meaning one that has more than one book in it... (I'm guessing there will be a lot of Hunger Games picks! I still haven't read it. I know--SHAME!) I think my favorite series right now is E. Lockhart's Ruby series, the latest of which is A Treasure Map of Boys. I just love Ruby and her adventures. Actually, tonight at readergirlz, we're chatting LIVE with E. at 6pm PST/9pm EST about her book The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (also a classic, and a Printz winner!). Come, come! Oh, and I'm going to a release party for Carolyn Mackler's Tangled (100 pages in and so involved!) tonight at 5:30pm, before the chat. If you're in the NYC area, you should totally come. There will be heart-shaped cookies. I mean, come on. Okay, anyway, comment below to enter to win Bad Blood. And Happy Wednesday!
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Win-It Wednesday: Enter Last Week's

The giveaway for Hold Still by Nina LaCour is going for another week... enter to win.I'm in Rio! Wheee! (Did I mention that?) Happy Wednesday!

Win-It Wednesday: Hold Still by Nina LaCour

The winner of How to Steal a Car by Pete Hautman is... Esther! Send me your address, E. Thanks to everyone for telling me about all the gifts--I love hearing about other people's hauls and present ideas.This Win-It Wednesday is going to stretch out over two weeks, because I'm going to Brazil next week (Rio Fashion Week!! Eeee!) and I won't be around to blog much. But trust me, this book is worth waiting for two weeks. Nina LaCour's Hold Still is one of the most realistic books about dealing with a friend's suicide that's ever been written. Okay, that I've read at least. I just adore, adore, adore her writing and her characterizations -- they ring so true! Here are some reviews from out there in the blogosphere: S. Krishna's Books, Reading Rants! and Frenetic Reader. To enter, comment below and make up a crazy writing prompt for me. I just found out that Aimee Bender's website has an awesome writing exercise each month (so cool! This month's is: "One page that contains a broken gadget of some sort and a dancer."). I'm starting a new book soon, so I need to be playing around a bit! Thanks! I'll pick a winner at random on Weds, 1/20. PS-Don't forget the readergirlz chat TONIGHT at 6pm PST/9pm EST with Beth Kephart! And the next author in residence will be Elizabeth Scott, who's asking for vlog suggestions now (go give her ideas and you'll be entered to win books!).