Win-It Wednesday: Secret Letters

in

I love the legend of Sherlock Holmes (I was born in London near his, perhaps fictional, offices. Truly!). Leah Scheier's novel, Secret Letters, brings the detective's world to life as she tries to solve a mystery in Victorian London. I have to say, I'm a sucker for this setting, and--superficially--I love the cover. Ah, London! There are a few ways to enter to win, below, so get to it.

Happy Wednesday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Stories: Poser by Marley Gibson

in

I'm always interested in modeling covers since I have the Violet on the Runway series, and Poser by Marley Gibson is way more urban-glam than Violet's cover looks. Here's Marley to talk about her cover: "I wrote this book in 2005 and it was entitled LIFE OF CHAI, as the heroine is named Chai Devareaux.  My agent, Deidre Knight, actually signed me on this book. Sadly, the book didn’t sell, but when The Knight Agency began their digital publishing last year, Deidre immediately suggested this book. I changed the name to POSER (since I love double entendre titles) and that’s when we began looking at the cover. I always imaged there would be a model on the cover, but never one as amazing as this one!

"My agent has a form that authors fill out to share their version of the book cover. Then, the information gets sent out to the graphic designers and they run with it. My original idea for the book was for it to be a a teenage girl with no makeup, ponytail, backpack, looking into a full-length mirror and seeing her glamorous, model self in full hair and makeup looking back at her. Again, I knew I wanted a beautiful girl in a fabulous dress.

"When I first saw my cover: Honestly? I gasped. Truly gasped. The colors popped out and I couldn’t believe my name was actually on this fabulous cover!

"What the designer produced was smarter and better than what I’d envisioned. The model really pops, as do the colors. I did a small survey with some teen readers and 100% of my survey loved the cover and can’t wait to read the book.

"I adore this cover!  The only real 'hidden' thing in the cover is the actual title, POSER. It’s a double meaning that relates to the heroine of the book. It totally represents her life, her challenges, and what’s expected of her from her mother and their relationship."

Thanks, Marley! Poser is $2.99 as an e-book, so check it out.

Cover Stories + Win-It Wednesday: Populazzi + 4 Books

in ,

Elise Allen, who co-wrote Hilary Duff's books (did you know that?) is here for her GCC tour, and she's telling tales about her cover, naturally. "I got very lucky. I loved my cover the first time I saw it.

"While I loved it at first sight, the more I looked at it, the more I had issues. My biggest issue was the model’s lips. In the first draft of the cover, her lips were ginormous. She looked like she had a fish allergy, and had just sucked on a carp. I mentioned that to Harcourt, and they agreed, so the lips were shrunk to normal human size.

"Flush with that tweaking success, I gave the cover to my husband, a trained artist who does graphic design for a living. I asked him to give notes as if it were one of his work projects, and he came up with twenty very specific changes: tweaks in font, in placement of the image… he even comped up a version of what the cover should be, and said he could send the file to Harcourt if that would help. I was elated, and passed all the information to my publisher… who was very kind as they patted me on the head and said (and I’m paraphrasing), 'Sweetie, we did the lip thing. That’s all you get. Settle down now, okay?'

"The cover was shot with a model, and they actually made the Populazzi necklace for the shoot. I’ve been trying to get my hands on it ever since, but alas, to no avail!"

Thanks, Elise! I actually know how you can DIY a necklace like that. Cool, huh?

Now here comes the Win-It Part: To thank everyone for their support with the paperback launch, Elise is doing a giveaway on her blog where commenters can win a pack of five books -- Populazzi plus books from the four authors who blurbed it. Go enter!

PS-Check out the trailer for Populazzi below:

Cover Stories: NARC by Crissa-Jean Chappell

in

Crissa-Jean Chappell's cover for the newly released Narc made me look twice, spin it around and then around again. I don't do that with many covers. It's got that extra something. Here she is to talk about it:

"There’s always that moment when you hit 'save' and step away from the computer. And then it hits you. This collection of scattered files has grown into a book-length manuscript. Of course, you’re daydreaming about the cover. I tried to picture something that would catch the attention of older teens (and because my protagonist is male, I hoped it would appeal to guys, too). I have to give a shout out to the cover designer, Lisa Novak, for her beautiful work.

"I was thrilled when my editor at Flux asked me for suggestions (in the publishing world, this isn’t always the case). I sent pictures of book covers and movie posters that shared the themes of mystery and 'going undercover.'

"When the email popped on my cell phone, I was driving to work (I waited until I could pull over to check it out. And that’s a good thing because I was so emotional, I almost bounced off the roof). It’s a big deal, looking at the cover for the first time. That’s when everything starts to feel real.

"My editor, Brian Farrey-Latz, sent two covers—the one we picked and a second, more traditional cover with a boy’s face. Although I loved both, I felt it was important to avoid showing too much of the main character’s appearance. For one thing, readers often prefer to imagine the characters on their own. And the conflict in NARC revolves around dual identities. So the doubling effect on the cover is perfect for Aaron, the boy who believes that everybody at school wears a mask….including himself.

"The lonely swings are so perfect. It’s like he’s waiting for someone to sit next to him. The playground is like a symbol of leaving childhood behind… but you’re not quite ready for the responsibilities of being a grown up. Aaron is forced into taking on a very grown up job (working for the police). At the same time, he is not out of high school yet. He wants to go to parties and meet girls. In other words, he wants be liked. But it isn’t easy when you’re pretending to be something that you’re not."

Thanks, Crissa! I've seen swings (one example with a Cover Story is Jessica Warman's Between), but this one has the loneliest feel of all, and the double image requires some contemplation, I think--in a very good way.

What do you guys think of this cover?

Check out the trailer here:

Cover Stories: The Sisters 8 Finale!

in
Lauren Baratz-Logsted has been here many times sharing Cover Stories, and now the final book in her Sisters 8 series (which she writes with her husband and daughter) is out! You can read the Cover Story for the first two books here.

Take it away, Lauren!

"On August 7, the ninth and final volume in The Sisters 8 was published. The Sisters 8 is a series for young readers, that I created with my husband and daughter, about octuplet girls whose parents go missing one New Year's Eve.

"From the time we sold the first book to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, I was curious about what the cover would look like. Perhaps more than any area of books I can think of, series for children are defined in the public mind over a long period of time by the packaging. Can you imagine Harry Potter or Junie B. Jones with a different style artwork on the cover? Try switching the two styles in your mind. Does your head hurt yet? So, as perhaps you can imagine, I was nervous.

"All I can say is, the day HMH decided to go with Lisa K. Weber to do the cover and interior illustrations, it was a great day for me. It's as though, with each cover (see a few at right), she's captured everything that I hope is special about the books.

"Take this latest cover, for instance. All eight sisters are depicted but since there are no cats on the cover - the sisters each have a cat and one has always had a cover op in the past - I imagine young readers will wonder about that! Annie, the oldest octuplet, is making a chess move against a boy - a boy? on a TSE cover? - and wherever they are, it's snowing outside; which is odd since, when last we saw the sisters at the end of Book 8, it was August. Hmm...

"So much gorgeous artwork to look at, so much to think about...

"Not to mention, the amazing job HMH's own Carol Chu has done throughout the series with the design and lettering. Honestly, I could not be happier. And that's really saying something because, 25 books into my career, I have by no means loved all my covers. In fact...

"But that's another cover story for another day."

Thanks, Lauren! I've made no secret of the fact that I think the illustrations in this series are adorable and so cute, with an edge. What do you guys think?

Read more of Lauren's Cover Stories (for Crazy Beautiful, for The Twin's Daughter, and for The Education of Bet and Marcia's Madness (another Sisters 8 book).

Win-It Wednesday: Every Day by David Levithan

in

I am reading this book, which is one of the reasons why the rest of my life is getting chaotic. I cannot put it down! Every day, "A" jumps into another person's life, another person's body... and has to live in their world. But when he meets Rhiannon, he falls hard, and he has to see her again. And again. But each time as a new person. It sounds kooky, but it's so well done and compelling! Yes, totally Quantum Leap-ish, but with more heart.

Also, I've been humming Buddy Holly and Fleetwood Mac songs all week. And I thought Unbreak My Heart gave me an earworm!

Enter with a comment, bonus for a tweet. Happy Wednesday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway