Win-It We-Thursday: The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life

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Tara Altebrando writes great books. This one? So excellent! I found myself folding pages down to remember certain passages (so, um, the copy you win may be a little dog-eared, as I'm giving away the one I read). But don't let that get you down. The book is so, so much fun. Filled with adventure and action and the kind of self-reflection that hits you smack in the face on those summer-after-senior-year days. Incidentally, I'm reading with Tara (and David Levithan and Andrea Cremer and Anna Waggener!) on Sunday at McNally Jackson in NYC. So, come! Here's your invitation.

Now, to win a copy of Tara's excellent book, which features an all-night scavenger hunt, tell me this: What item from your hometown would you put on a Scavenger Hunt list? For me, I'd include a tablecloth from Allen & Son, my favorite barbecue joint in Chapel Hill--they're those perfect gingham picnic types (I'd totally return it the next day!).

Happy Thursday!

PS-The trailer:

Cover Stories: 52 Reasons to Hate My Father

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Jessica Brody has shared two previous Cover Stories here (for My Life Undecided and The Karma Club). She's back for a GCC tour, telling the tale behind the cover of 52 Reasons to Hate My Father. "I’m terrible at envisioning covers. So no, I didn’t really have an idea in mind. But I knew I wanted it to show the contrast of my main character’s two worlds (spoiled heiress and working girl) which I think they ended up doing really well!

"Honestly, I was surprised when I saw the cover. It was SO different from the light, pastel, girly looks of my other YA book and my publisher had told me they were going to keep with the same look. So when I opened this, I almost thought that they sent me the wrong cover! It was all edgy and kind of punk rock-ish. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it. It took me a few days to really come around to it. My publisher explained that they’d decided to change directions with this book. And go with an edgier look (because the book is a bit older and edgier than my other titles). But once I got over the shock of how different it was, I could finally see how awesome it was! And I’ve loved it ever since!

"It really didn’t change at all. They added a few more 'paparazzi flashes' in the background and the Meg Cabot blurb that we got (SQUEEE!) and that was about it! I guess they felt they got it right the first time!

"Apparently they used a model to shoot a photo for a first version of a cover concept that I never saw. I did get to choose the model, though! My editor sent me photos of about five different girls and asked which one I thought looked the most like Lexi. I was told the original concept was something about a girl in a maid’s uniform, holding a mop, but wearing all sorts of shiny, blingy jewelry.

"But then I guess the marketing and sales department didn’t end up liking the way it came out so they scrapped it and went with this concept instead. Which is really just the reverse of the original concept. In the original, it was Lexi in a work uniform, with heiress accessories. In this version, it’s Lexi in heiress clothes, with work accessories. I can see how this version might play better on the page.

"With the current cover, they didn’t have time to do another photo shoot so they used a stock photo instead. But what’s funny about the whole thing is I actually think this girl (the stock photo) looks more like Lexi than the model I chose! So I guess that worked out!

"When they sent me the cover, I noticed that the girl in the picture was wearing a donut shop hat. I found this odd because in the book, my character never works at a donut shop (she works just about everywhere else though!) But my editor explained that they wanted the heiress to be wearing a hat that distinctly contrasted the 'heiress' look and represented her new working status. They felt that the donut shop worked the best. I agreed so I went into the manuscript (which was still being revised), deleted one of the other jobs and replaced it with a donut shop job. It was a job that only had a few sentences of description so it was easy to replace but I actually ended up liking the donut shop job better than the original."

Thanks, Jessica! I have to admit that I had 100 questions upon first glancing at this cover, so I love hearing the explanations. And I think it's so great that the book reflects the donut job, because as a reader, I really want to see the cover image reflected inside.

What do you guys think of the cover?

PS-Jessica always has amazing trailers. This one? No exception:

Cover Stories: For Darkness Shows the Stars

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Diana Peterfreund tends to have great covers, and when I saw her new one, For Darkness Shows the Stars (a post-Apocalyptic take on Jane Austen's Persuasion, hello!), I fell in love with the starry sky. So I asked her about it, and here she is:

"I always have an idea in mind for my covers, but since I’m not an artist it’s probably best that my publishers ignore me. They did ask me to send inspiration pictures, though. I sent in a lot of pictures of harsh seascapes and rocky cliffs and beaches beneath a sunset/sunrise and a starry sky. Sometimes there were forlorn women standing on these beaches. I think Harper and I were totally on the same page about the direction we wanted to go in, which mostly makes me feel like I’m finally getting a hang of this imagery thing.

"I asked for something very lush and romantic, to fit the feel of the book. Also, because this book has such a distinctive title that bucks the trend of the one-word YA book titles, I asked for a fun font treatment that really highlighted the title.

"I was super excited when I saw the image. After eight books, I’m a bit of a pragmatist about covers. The job of a cover is primarily to make the reader pick it up – and this cover is swoonworthy and gorgeous. A secondary goal is to communicate to the desired audience what kind of book it is. We’re very thoroughly trained to respond to particular cover cues: illustrations are children’s books, photos are young adult books, a man and a woman is a romance, a shadowy figure is a thriller…

"I think this cover says that the book is going to be lush, romantic, and otherworldly, and that fits the story perfectly. And I went gaga for the title treatment!

"When I first saw the comp (the early, unphotoshopped version) the girl had some rather wild makeup and hair, which didn’t fit my homespun farmgirl heroine. So they warned me in advance they were planning on toning that down, probably to pre-empt my 'holy eyeshadow, Batman!' comment. They also hadn’t decided completely on the font/color for the title. One of the things I asked for was to incorporate some dawn colors, perhaps down at the base of the cliff where her eyes are focused, to indicate the whole 'post-apocalyptic' nature. I love that they ended up using those colors on the amazing ombre effect on the title. It’s like the words are on fire.

"It’s two stock photos: one of the girl, and one of the stars. I’ve been in contact with the star photographer, whose work is amazing. (I’ve seen the work of the other photographer online, but we haven’t communicated.)

"I may be in the minority on this, but I tend to prefer covers with stock photography to the ones that have been photo shoots. I think sometimes designers have more to choose from if they aren’t constrained by whatever they manage to get in photo sessions. The downside of stock usage is that you may be one of many who ends up with a particular image/model/shoot on your cover, but so far, that hasn’t happened with this model. (Fingers crossed!)

"This is my favorite cover yet. I think it’s highly metaphorical – obviously my heroine doesn’t have glowing blue skin with galaxies shining through her body and starlight in her hair, but the stars are such an important motif in the book that I love the way they are incorporated into the images. She looks sad, but she looks strong, and that’s Elliot. As to whether I think it’s an illustration of any scene – I’ve spent enough hours gazing on this cover that I’ve gone there, too. I see my heroine Elliot standing at the top of the Very Important Cliff in my story and looking down onto the beach where her Lost Love is building a ship to take him away from her forever. At other times, I think it’s meant to be a nod to another scene in my book, where Elliot ventures into an underground cavern filled with stars. She actually wears a black dress in that scene, so maybe that’s closer. (In passing, I love the unusual construction of her dress – it says 'futuristic' to me.)"

Thanks, Diana! This is a cover that I've seen on shelves and been drawn to, so I think it works. Any thoughts from you guys?

Win-It Wednesday: iPod and Nook!

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Last week's winner of The Secret Tree is... Lauren G! Send me your address, L. I have two giveaways to tell you about this week: 1. One for my book and an iPod nano (just share your broken-hearted playlist on Spotify)!

2. For Sarah Mlynowski's latest (so hilarious and heartwarming) and a Nook! List up to 10 things you did, and shouldn't have... (not here, on Facebook). here are my five:

1. Watched that scary movie. Can't sleep! 2. Facebook-stalked the guy who broke my heart, uh, 10 years ago 3. Stopped by the Marc Jacobs sample sale "just to look" 4. Started "Friday Night Lights." Now I'm SO SAD it's over! 5. Left before my manicure was dry. EVERY TIME!

Click below to enter. Happy Wednesday! (Yeah, I know it's Thursday, but we'll pretend, okay? I'm behind.)

Cover Stories: Timepiece by Myra McEntire

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I have long been a fan of Myra McEntire's gorgeous cover for Hourglass, below, and now that Timepiece is hitting shelves, I'm taken aback again by the movement and wonder of these covers. Here's Myra to share her perspective: "I loved the Hourglass cover so much (below right), and I hoped my publisher would stick with that photographer. There was an original image I didn’t think did the story justice, and when I expressed my concerns, they listened.

"Once we’d worked out some kinks, I was blown away by the cover they showed me. When I saw it on the book, actually held it in my hands, it was even more beautiful than I thought!

"The cover was shot by the girl in the picture! Her name is Lissy Elle, and you can check out her work here (prepare to lose yourself for a few hours!)."

Thanks, Myra! I love knowing that these are self-portraits by the photographer-model--even cooler. What do you guys think?

Win-It Wednesday: The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford

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Thanks for weighing in on my glasses options! I'll show my pick soon. The randomly chosen winner of a signed copy of Unbreak My Heart is... Julie Fitch! Send me your address, JF. This week, I have a signed ARC of Natalie Standiford's awesome The Secret Tree. It's a middle grade novel by the hilarious and fun author of How to Say Goodbye in Robot (a favorite of mine). I read it, I loved it. Such a sweet summer mystery filled with friendship!

I may try to write a middle grade story one day (those are the books for kids like 8-12ish, as I understand it?), so to win this book, tell me what your favorite middle grade novel is, or just one you've loved recently. I want a reading list. Go!

I'll choose a winning commenter at random next week.

Happy Wednesday!