Penelope Przekop was the first author to get in touch about Cover Stories, and also, her cover is gorge (all flowy red hair and blue rose and a watery feeling). So, perfect.Aberrations is her debut novel, though she is also the author of Six Sigma for Business Excellence (McGraw-Hill), and I haven't had the chance to read it yet, but I will soon, and then it will likely be up for a Win-It Wednesday contest. Woohoo! She also has a contemplative blog.
Without further ado, I give you Penelope's Cover Story.
"They say that if you can dream it, it can happen, so I pictured my published book every painstaking day. There were day-dreaming moments when I sketched out ideas but knowing that publishers usually design covers, I didn't take what I was doing too much to heart. Once the book was picked up by Greenleaf Book Group, I got more serious about it. I knew that I wanted something meaningful and unique. I wanted it to have intense colors as opposed to muted ones. Lastly, I liked the idea of somehow incorporating The Blue Flower scene/setting as it's one of my favorite parts of the novel.
[MW note: Cannot wait for "blue flower scene." How cool does that sound? I want a blue flower scene of my own!]
"I brainstormed with cover designer Sheila Parr about initial ideas, images, and concepts. We both liked the idea of using some type of blue flower. It seemed unique and would reflect a specific scene in the novel as well as the aberrations of life we all must deal with in some form. As for the hair, we started out thinking about somehow incorporating a braid, which evolved into the hair on the cover. Sheila suggested that a braid may influence folks to think of the book as a young adult novel, which was not the intent. She created numerous designs, which were circulated internally. I was able to see the top five covers, and provide my input. I was lucky because the cover I liked best was also their top choice. It was a fun process and I'm extremely pleased with the outcome. The designer loved Aberrations; she was dedicated to creating a beautiful cover that would inspire people to take a look inside.
"Of the five choices, the one that was ultimately chosen immediately jumped out at me. I loved it! I showed the options to several members of my family without telling them which was my favorite, and they all liked it best, too. My nineteen year old daughter, who is an avid reader, went crazy over it. My mother, who is in her sixties, loved it also. So all generations agreed!
"When my Six Sigma book was published, McGraw-Hill just sent me the cover and said, 'This is it.' It's a different type of book, of course, but I wasn't particularly crazy about it. Based on my experience and what I've heard, publishers are likely all a bit different in how they handle author input to covers. I think it's great to have input but I also counted on Greenleaf to make the best decision in terms of the science behind attracting readers and appropriately representing my novel in the marketplace.
"In the end, I absolutely love the cover! It's both meaningful and unique. The colors are perfect. I like it so much that I hope my next novel cover can mimic the style. I'd love readers to recognize my next book as being mine based on the cover, similar to Stephanie Meyers' covers, as well as other successful authors who have great followings. There has been a tremendous amount of positive feedback regarding the cover. One reviewer said that the novel lives up to the promise of its fantastic cover. I dreamed it and it happened. What a feeling!"
Thanks, Penelope! So, what do you guys think of Penelope's cover? Would you pick up Aberrations?
More Cover Stories soon.
I hope you guys'll all join the discussion about the Violet books throughout August at Readergirlz, where we'll be talking fashion, fame, and finding your true self among all the noise. Body image is a huge part of these books, as I've discussed with book maven Little Willow, and it must be since they deal with the modeling world.Little Willow emailed me to this image, pictured, because it won the National Organization of Women's Love Your Body poster contest this year. And it's beautiful! Had to share. Check out their campaign, which would so not approve of Violet's night with just olives and soda for dinner (she does make mistakes sometimes, but she's a good role model in the end!).
Happy weekend.
PS-Head to Linda Gerber's blog for a big Freebie Friday, including a full set of Violet books! And also read about our big reading on Wednesday (and please come if you're near NYC).
