Rock the Drop: 4/12/12

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Guys, this is happening again and it's THE MOST FUN DAY EVER. Seriously.

Once again, readergirlz and Figment are going to ROCK THE DROP in honor of Support Teen Lit Day, 4/12/12. Here’s how you can get involved:

* Snag the above banner, created by the uber-talented David Ostow and add it to your blog and social networks, linking back to this post to share the love. Proclaim that you will ROCK THE DROP!
* Print a copy of the bookplate, right, and insert it into (or affix it to the front of) a book (or 20!) to drop on April 12th. Leave the book(s) in a public spot (park bench, bus seat, cafeteria table). Lucky finders will see that the book is part of ROCK THE DROP!
*Plan to snap a photo of your dropped book and post it at the readergirlz facebook page. Then tweet the drop at #rockthedrop with all the other lovers of YA books.
I bet we can get #rockthedrop trending. What will you drop?

Cover Stories + Win-It Wednesday: Boy21

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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

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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?

NYC Teen Author Festival 2012

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Just a reminder that the NYC Teen Author Festival starts on Monday! Full info, with schedule and exciting details, on the Facebook page.

There are a bunch of great events with incredible authors. Here are mine!

Monday, March 26 (Mulberry Street Branch of the NYPL, 10 Jersey Street b/w Mulberry and Lafayette, 6-8):

Plotting Dangerously: Doing What it Takes to Find the Story

Coe Booth Jen Calonita Paul Griffin Deborah Heiligman Melissa Kantor Morgan Matson Kieran Scott Melissa Walker

moderator: David Levithan

And on Thursday morning 3/29, I'm at the Brooklyn Public Library with an incredible lineup:

Brooklyn Public Library, central branch, Grand Army Plaza Kate Ellison Gayle Forman Melissa Kantor Barry Lyga Michael Northrop Matthue Roth Victoria Schwab Melissa Walker

Sunday April 1: Our No-Foolin’ Mega-Signing at Books of Wonder, 1-4, with 60+ authors!  I sign at 3:15pm.

Hope you can come to something!

Go, go, go!

Win-It Wednesday: The Difference Between You and Me

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The winner of The List by Siobhan Vivian is… Edna! Congrats--send me your address, E. (The book is way good.) This week, I'm giving away an ARC of The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George (one of my favorite YA authors, for real). This is Madeleine's second book (I loved her first, Looks), and it delivers. You will truly care for her characters.

To enter to win, tell me this: Do you read print magazines? Subscribe to any? Which ones? I still love a magazine, but I know it's a dying form. I get a ton delivered, and I always get excited when I stumble upon a pile of magazines (like this one at my accountant's office).

Good luck! I'll pick a random commenter next week.

Cover Stories: Buried, a Goth Girl Mystery

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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?

Win-It Wednesday: The List by Siobhan Vivian

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Oh, Wednesday, I always seem to miss you. Hi, Thursday! Last week's winner of PG Kain's Commercial Breaks is... Alicia Marie! Send me your address, AM. This week, I'm giving away an advance copy of Siobhan Vivian's The List. It's out April 1st, and it's already racked up three starred reviews (and counting...). I am reading it right now and I can hardly get to my laptop to do this post. Riveting, people. And smart and interesting and truthful and complicated.

To enter to win, tell me this: Do you re-read books? If so, what's the last book you re-read? I'm just curious.

I'll choose a winner at random next Wednesday. Good luck!

PS-That Cover Girl did a fascinating interview with Siobhan about the cover and it says a lot about what's inside as well.

 

Cover Stories: And Then Things Fall Apart

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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?