Sorry it's grainy! Watch the video and comment below by next Weds for a chance to win Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick (which is exceedingly excellent). Happy Wednesday! PS-This trailer (way more exciting than my vlog) should get you sufficiently psyched for the book:
Win-It Wednesday
Win-It Wednesday: 12 Days of Sockmas!
Last week's winner of Stalker Girl by Rosemary Graham is... Katie! Send me your address, K.
This week, I'm glomming on to the I Heart Daily and Sock It To Me 12 Days of Sockmas contest. Go here for all the details, and if you already get the newsletter, you're automatically entered! Follow IHD on Twitter or Like IHD on Facebook for more chances to win. These socks are seriously cute (I have a mustache pair!).
Win-It Wednesday + Cover Stories: Stalker Girl by Rosemary Graham
The winner of last week's copy of Nightshade by Andrea Cremer is... Ariel Wilson! Send me your address, A!Rosemary Graham's Stalker Girl intrigued me instantly. I wouldn't quite use the "s" word about myself, but it wasn't far off at certain low points in my life, relationships-wise. Anyway, this isn't about me. It's about that compelling cover (and how you can win a copy of the book!).
Here's Rosemary:
"There were three versions of the cover prior to the final one. Or maybe I should call it the final final one because the very first cover I was presented with was deemed 'final' (right). I absolutely loved this first one from the moment I saw it even though it didn't actually make sense in terms the Stalker Girl plot. I loved how it suggested a New York skyline. I loved the knowing look in the girl's eye and a really loved her dress.
"Two months after this cover was presented to me as final, my editor wrote to say that sales and marketing people were having second thoughts. They felt that the girl looking right into the camera was wrong for the story, that there needed to be a sense of people being watched without knowing it. 
They also felt strongly that there should be a couple in the camera lens because in the story the stalker is stalking her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend. I completely understood and accepted the reasons for the change. However, I was not happy with the new image (left).
"For one thing, I felt like the urban feel of the first was lost. That couple might have been walking along Fifth Avenue, in front of Central Park, but there was nothing to strongly indicate an urban setting. Also? As a friend of mine said, it was 'a bit hair swingy.' Also? The girl was wearing a bright pink shirt and since my second novel's hardback cover had been very, very pink, I was hoping to avoid pinkness and the whole chick lit question this time around.
"My editor and the art department were very receptive to my concerns but there was a limited budget, which ruled out a photo shoot. They'd have to work with stock images. The next version had the urban feel, but I felt strongly that the models were wrong for the book (right).
"They looked too old and too groomed. While my editor was still supportive, it was clear that we were running out of time and options. They were going to give it one more try. Then my editor sent the last option. I clicked on the attachment with a bit of trepidation. I was thrilled and relieved to find the existing cover. Everything was there: the urban feel, the right-aged characters, a sense of voyeurism.
"I love the cover, and so appreciate the care that went into designing it."
Thanks, Rosemary! I think the final cover has a real crispness to it that the other options lack, and I agree that the protagonists look the right age in the final, too. Glad everyone kept trying!
What do you guys think of the cover, and the earlier versions? Each commenter will be entered to win a copy of the book.
PS-There's a great trailer too! Rosemary says, "To create the trailer for Stalker Girl, I must have looked at hundreds of images of New York on Flickr. The images I used--all Creative Commons licensed--really capture the mood of stalker girl. I feel like any one of them could also be used to create an evocative a cover for Stalker Girl."
Win-It Wednesday: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
The winner of last week's contest for Rosebush by Michele Jaffe is... Sarah, who was reading Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. Send me your address, S!
This week's prize: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. Oh, how I love this cover (and its origin story), and now you know this: The book is fantastic, too! It's smart and well-paced and full of rich history. So, you know, you want to read it.
I have one lovely hardcover to give away, so if you'd like to enter to win it, leave a comment sharing your six-word memoir for the past week. (I love this game.)
Mine would be: Instead of working out, ate Cheetos. I really need to get back to yoga.
Tell me yours and you're entered! I'll pick a winner next week.
Happy Wednesday!
Win-It Wednesday: Rosebush by Michele Jaffe
Last week's winner of When the Stars Go Blue by Caridad Ferrer is... Em from Love YA Lit! Send me your address, Em.This week, I'm giving away an ARC of Rosebush (read a review from Forever Young Adult) by Michele Jaffe of Bad Kitty fame. I met her at a wedding last year (there's us with the gorgeous Dixie-bride, below right) and she is witty and fun and lovely all at once! Delightful. As are her books.
Easy question this week, but one I'm always wondering about: What are you reading? Right now! What book(s) are you in the middle of? I'm reading Room by Emma Donahughe (my first non-YA in a while), and I'm riv-et-ed.
PS-One favor? Tweet or Facebook this. It is INCREDIBLE and every organization that needs books should know about it... "Amazing! Help @Readergirlz donate 125,000 great books to low-income teens http://su.pr/2bQ3Cz (Pls RT!) #novelgift"
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 + 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!
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:
Win-It Wednesday + Cover Stories: Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John
Last week's winner of I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison is... Genevieve! Send me your address, G. (BTW, the final vote count on US vs. UK cover was 22 to 5, with the UK's graphic design crushing the US's photo version!).
This week, Antony John (whose first novel, Busted: Confessions of an Accidental Player shares a cover model with Siobhan Vivian's second book) is here to talk about his upcoming release (next week!) Five Flavors of Dumb. It has an epic cover, as far as I'm concerned, and I'm also reading it and loooving the book. So, you know, you really want to win this one. Read the Cover Story and weigh in to enter.
Here's Antony!
"Believe it or not, as I was writing DUMB I didn't have a clue what the cover would look like. I'm sure that's quite unusual, but I simply couldn't imagine a design that would capture the essence and attitude of the novel without looking seriously weird. I mean, the book touches on everything from deafness to rock 'n' roll to family relationships to college funds to secret crushes to self-identity and, uh... chess. What cover could possibly hope to encompass all of that, right? So I just gave up thinking about it altogether. Looking back, it was kind of nice not to have to worry about the cover as well as every other aspect of the novel.
"Of course, the flip side of having ZERO input is that I had no clue what the finished cover would look like. My editor, Liz Waniewski, emailed it to me last November, just as friends were arriving, so I got to open it in front of them. Trust me: I wasn't the only one who used a really good expletive to describe it. Then I forwarded it to my wife (even though I wasn't supposed to; I just couldn't resist, you know?) and she wrote back within about seven seconds with a similarly giddy response. Seriously, it was just one of those 'THEY NAILED IT!' moments that you dream about as an author.
"My editor then asked if there were any changes I'd like (uh, no), or perhaps minor tweaks (uh... no), or alterations to the font style (uh, let me think about this...NO!). I really wanted to seem engaged and critical, but all I think was, 'Please don't change this cover.' Thankfully, all the sales and marketing people liked it too (as did booksellers), so the whole thing was wrapped up in record time. I owe the designer, Kristin Smith, big time!
"I have since discovered that Kristin's approach was similarly unconventional. Apparently, she usually prepares several different 'comps,' but with DUMB, she knew she wanted to evoke the grunge feel of the book through a split-image of band and narrator, so she went all-out on the one design. I know she spent days looking through stock photos until she found the photo of the girl, who conveys Piper's attitude and vibe perfectly. Thankfully, the art director, editor, and publisher all loved her original comp (see below left), and so she was able to dedicate more time to tweaking the lighting, colors, position of the band, font, poster effect, and so on until she arrived at the finished version (below right).
"I've had almost a year to look at the cover now, and I still adore it. Piper looks so cool and in control--an anchor for all this chaos. Plus, on the finished cover, the title is debossed, which gives it the appearance of a stamp, as though you're about to enter a club. Finally, several people have commented that it looks like a movie poster; and let's be honest, who wouldn't want to have a movie poster on the front of their book? But most of all, I just love the cover's irresistible vibe."
Thanks, Antony! Movie poster: Yes. "Anchor for all this chaos": Yes. This cover RULES. I like the cover tweaks, too--from yellows/greens to pinks/grays. (And it's always good to make the author's name stand out more, which it does on the second version.) You can almost feel the light and the sound, but Piper sits cool and collected among it. L-O-V-E.
What do you guys think? Comment below to be entered to win a copy of the book!
PS-Everyone who "likes" Antony's new Facebook author page automatically gets entered into another contest to win not only a signed copy of DUMB, but also a copy of WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON signed by both John Green and David Levithan. So get liking!
Win-It Wednesday: I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison
It was so nice to read the comments about all that you guys are doing to make the world a better place -- it definitely put me in a "the world is mostly good" kinda mood, so thank you! The winner of last week's copy of Denise Jaden's Losing Faith is... Samantha R! Send me your address, S.This week, I have a lovely new hardback copy of Cora Harrison's I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend up for grabs. Can we ever get enough of Jane Austen's world? I think not.
I have the US edition, shown on the right (click the image to see the full image in a larger format). My simple question is: US or UK cover? I'm usually opinionated about this type of thing, but I'm torn here. I like all the little illustrated doodads on the UK cover -- flowers, bird, hearts, bow -- but the US cover has that regency romance feel, which I'm starting to fall for.
What do you think? Comment below and you're entered! Happy Wednesday!