Bonus Cover Stories: The Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins

I'm thrilled to have Mitali Perkins tell her latest Cover Story for Secret Keeper, a book I cannot wait to read! (Too many good books is a nice problem, I know, but I still wish I had more hours in the day for the to-read pile). Here's Mitali!"When it comes to art, I'm in the appreciator rather than the creator category. My publisher asked me for input, and I told her that there were a glut of covers set in India with girls peeking over veils or around sarees. I didn't want something that felt too 'ethnic.' "When I saw this cover, I LOVED IT! I was so happy. I think it's a stock photo. Because I 100% loved it, I had no suggestions. I hope the art department enjoyed the rave email I sent to my editor. "I am VERY pleased with this cover; I think it captures the feel of the story perfectly." And sometimes, people, it's just that easy. Love at first cover. I think the cover model's downcast eyes (gorgeous lashes, btw!) are perfect for Mitali's story about a girl who keeps her heart in secret diaries. The colors and patterns are just indicative enough of its Indian setting. What do you guys think? Watch the book trailer here:

Win-It Wednesday: I'm Out of Town!

But you can still win stuff, because who am I to deprive you? Enter last week's contest for a chance to win one of two books... I'll choose a winner next week! Yes, I know that graphic is kind of manic, but I like it. I get cheesy sometimes. PS-Tonight if you're near NYC, you should go to this reading. It's gonna be ah-mazing! March 4 -- Teen Author Reading Night (6-7:30, Jefferson Market Branch of NYPL, 425 6th Ave, at 10th St.) Donna Freitas, The Possibilities of Sainthood Sarah MacLean, The Season P.E. Ryan, In Mike We Trust Heather Duffy Stone, This is What I Want to Tell You Siobhan Vivian, Same Difference PPS-Another contest! Alyson Noel is giving away a signed copy of EVERMORE, her wildly popular new novel. (Remember the Cover Story?)

I'm Not Here

I'm in LA! But I'm presenting a Fashion Week Gift Bag to win (and a vlog to watch) over at In Bed With Books. Good luck! And I'm also here doing a mini interview with Bookworm. Come say hi!

Cover Stories: Just One Wish by Janette Rallison

The lovely Janette Rallison's latest novel, Just One Wish, comes out this week, so you can probably find it in stores, oh, right about now! But first, read her Cover Story:"I admit that I've always had a crush on Robin Hood. This probably came from watching old Errol Flynn movies on TV. Although, really, when I think about it, I've never watched a version of Robin Hood where he wasn't some totally hot guy, so yeah, what's not to love? "I guess it was inevitable that one day I'd write the hunky bandit into one of my novels. In Just One Wish, 17-year-old Annika has a little brother with a brain tumor, and he wants more than anything to meet the actor who plays Teen Robin Hood in a hit series by the same name. Annika, who's a take-charge type of girl, decides she can make his wish come true by driving to Hollywood, finding the actor who plays Teen Robin Hood, and convincing him to visit her brother. The first two goals she pulls off pretty well; the third gets a bit complicated. "Because I figured a hunky Teen Robin Hood cover would appeal to girls I suggested something like this to my editor (left). Really, I think you could just slap a title on this picture and it would sell a ton of books. Unfortunately, it's from an old TV show and apparently there are some copyright laws the publisher didn't want to deal with. (Go figure.) But girls, feel free to print out this picture and put it on my book. "My next suggestion was a picture of Annika shooting a bow and arrow, as there is a rather climactic scene where she has to shoot a bullseye. But the marketing department didn't think that sort of picture would appeal to girl readers. It wasn't feminine enough or something. Whatever. Just because a girl likes to read doesn't mean she can't occasionally outshoot the boys. "What the marketing department came up with was this: "And I have to say that I was relieved, since I didn't hate any of these covers. (I can't say that for all of my books.) My editor asked me which one I liked the best. I did a survey on my blog and the overwhelming winner was the lips blowing the dandelion. It was my favorite too. I happily told my editor that I and my blog readers loved that one. "Sometimes I think my editor asks me my opinion in order to choose the opposite thing. It's the same reason my teenagers ask me which outfit I like best when they're clothes shopping. If I like the shirt/pair of pants/dress, it can't possibly be hip, and they know to eliminate it from their shopping pile. "The marketing department narrowed it down to these covers: "And I was okay with them; I was just disappointed I didn't get my favorite cover. At the same time the name of the book was changing on a weekly basis. It started out as: My Life as a Teenage Genie, which seemed too flippant so I suggested The Rules of Wishing. My editor didn't like that one, but wanted something that sounded a bit serious so we settled on: Last Wish. The marketing department thought that Last Wish sounded too grim (They were right about that) and changed the title to: When You Wish Upon a TV Star. I liked that title a lot which was an immediate signal to the marketing department that it needed to go. They came up with Just One Wish. (I like that title too.) "Because my editor knew that I liked the lips-blowing-the-dandelion cover so much he put it back into the pile of possible covers for the marketing department to consider, and miracle of miracles during the last round of considering covers they decided that they liked it best too. "Of all of my covers, it is my favorite. (You can't see it on this picture, but the cover actually has sparkles on it. How cool is that?) And it's a great book too!" I love this cover story and we got a little Title Tale in there too... And I think things settled just where they should be. It's a delicate cover, without being over-the-top sweet. What do you guys think of the Cover Story and the title drama? PS-Watch Janette talk about the book on TV!

NYC Teen Author Festival! March 16-22

I'll remind you about this one again soon, but here's the heads up! You must, must, must come! And not just to see me (though I'll be reading in the Bronx and at Books of Wonder, and I'd love a hello!). But enough about me; here are the shiny, happy events you can attend if you're in town: Juvenalia Smackdown Monday, 3/16, 4-6pm, Tompkins Square Park branch of the NYPL, 331 E. 10th Street Join Holly Black, Alaya Johnson, Justine Larbalestier, David Levithan, Diana Peterfruend, Scott Westerfeld as they read some of their (ahem) less accomplished work from their middle school and high school years. Hosted by Libba Bray. I Have Seen the Future... and It Sounds Like This Wednesday, 3/18, Mulberry Street Branch of the NYPL Teen authors are notoriously stingy about reading from their works-in-progress. But for Guest of Honor Joe Monti, authors Libba Bray, Rachel Cohn, Eireann Corrigan, Justine Larbalestier, Barry Lyga, and Scott Westerfeld are willing to share a little bit from their future books. Hosted by David Levithan. The Five-Borough Read Thursday, 3/19 BROOKLYN: Central Library, Dweck Center, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn 10-11am: Gayle Forman Jenny Han Leslie Margolis Abby Sher Matthue Roth Robin Wasserman BRONX: Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Road, Bronx 4-5pm: Coe Booth Madeleine George Paul Griffin Brian Sloan Melissa Walker MANHATTAN: Countee Cullen Branch, 104 W 136th St 4-5pm: Matt de la Pena Daphne Grab Mary Hogan Bill Konigsburg Barry Lyga Carolyn MacCullough MANHATTAN: Jefferson Market Branch, 425 Avenue of the Americas 4-5pm: David Levithan Bennett Madison Laura McLaughlin Billy Merrell Marie Rutkoski MANHATTAN: Webster Branch, 1465 York Avenue 4-5pm: Lisa Ann Sandell Courtney Sheinmel Rachel Vail Cecily Von Ziegesar Martin Wilson QUEENS: Far Rockaway Branch, 2002 Cornaga Ave, Queens 4-5pm: Tara Altebrando Laura Dower Heather Duffy-Stone Aimee Friedman Eliot Schrefer Siobhan Vivian Rita Williams-Garcia STATEN ISLAND: St. George Library Center, 5 Central Avenue 4-5pm: Kate Brian Judy Goldschmidt Michael Northrop Micol Ostow Lynn Weingarten Rock Out with TIGER BEAT! Thursday, 3/19, 6pm at Books of Wonder By day, Libba Bray, Daniel Ehrenhaft, Barney Miller, and Natalie Standiford are upstanding authors. But by night, they turn into... TIGER BEAT, the first ever YA author rock band. Tonight is their debut public performance... and it's sure to go down in legend. With opening act The Infinite Playlists (Rachel Cohn and David Levithan reading a litany of musical references, but mercifully not singing). I Love You, New York: Teen Lit in the City Friday, 3/20, 6pm, NYPL, 42nd Street, Court Room Join authors Coe Booth, Paul Griffin, Maureen Johnson, David Levithan, Cecily von Ziegesar, and Rita Williams-Garcia in a spirited reading and discussion about teen novels set in New York City--from the glamour of the gossip girls to the grit of the Bronx projects, from the everyday battles of the high school halls to the extraordinary events of 9/11. Stuff for the Teen Age Ceremony Saturday, 3/21, 1pm, NYPL, 42nd Street, Celeste Bartos Forum This new list only has the best of the best, and includes books, music, movies, and video games. Featuring a keynote by Walter Dean Myers Teen Authors Celebrate Teen Readers Sunday, 3/22, NYPL, 42nd Street, Trustees Room, 1pm Over a dozen authors salute teen readers and teen advisory board members from around the city, including Blake Nelson, reading from his upcoming novel Destroy All Cars. The Biggest Teen Author Signing EVER Sunday, 3/22, Books of Wonder, 4pm Join over 40 authors for a signing extravaganza as they take over Books of Wonder, sign books, and converse with fans new and old. An incredible event that is sure to go down in book-signing history. Authors include: Nora Baskin Jessica Blank Judy Blundell Coe Booth Elise Broach Susanne Colasanti Sarah Darer-Littman Matt de la Pena Heather Duffy-Stone Gayle Forman Aimee Friedman Madeleine George Maureen Johnson Kristen Kemp Justine Larbalestier David Levithan E. Lockhart Barry Lyga Carolyn Mackler Sarah MacLean Megan McCafferty Laura McLaughlin Neesha Meminger Billy Merrell Blake Nelson Micol Ostow Matthue Roth Marie Rutkoski Lisa Ann Sandell Courtney Sheinmel Abby Sher Brian Sloan Rachel Vail David Van Etten Ned Vizzini Adrienne Maria Vrettos Cecily von Ziegesar Melissa Walker Robin Wasserman Scott Westerfeld Suzanne Weyn Maryrose Wood Lizabeth Zindel Can you stand it? I'm going to be gushing all over the place!

Photo Friday: Operation Teen Book Drop!

After many hours and much love, readergirlz is excited to roll out our joint project with GuysLitWire and YALSA: Operation Teen Book Drop 2009! Stay tuned for the official press release and more TBD fun stuff, coming soon. Spread the word and please re-post! I will be dropping Violet books all over town on 4/16 (also my friend Joy's birthday--how appropriate!). PS-Going away on a 10-day trip (California! High school friends!) so I might not be around as much in the next week or so, but I've got some posts scheduled to keep you guys entertained.

Bonus Cover Stories: Dream Girl by Lauren Mechling

Lauren Mechling is a very fun girl who has enviably glossy hair (I've never told her that in person, but I really do think that). I have a signed copy of her latest book, Dream Girl, that will be on Win-It Wednesday one day, and I can't wait to read about Claire Voyante's adventures! In the meantime, here's Lauren's cover story:"First off, I should say I am not a very visual person. Not only do I lack the ability to come up with visual ideas, I'm also really bad at judging what works and what doesn't. Supposedly fun home magazines are as baffling to me as Ikea assembly instructions and I can only understand modern art when it reminds me of something ("look! that could be a snake kissing a cloud, right?") And I tend to like really straightforward book covers, like this: OR "See? I'm hopeless. When I was first shown the cover idea for The Rise and Fall of a 10th Grade Social Climber, my first book, I cringed. I thought it recalled a poster for 21 Jump Street. I was dead wrong -- readers responded to that cover very positively. (Then again, I was right when I suspected the cover for its sequel, All Q, No A, called to mind an old Band Aid you might find on the beach. That beige-colored book did not fly off the shelves.) "No one asked me for cover input, thank goodness. My editor Krista Marino and book designer Angela Carlino (who happen to have designed the covers for King Dork and the Tina Ferraro books) are too hip for children's publishing. Had they asked I would have told them what I was envisioning, something like the cover of Tiffany's Table Manners for Teenagers, which would have been a huge disaster. "So, they let me continue to write while they collaborated on the cover of Dream Girl. They were playing around with a lot of ideas, and the version they ended up going with is beautiful. It reminds me of a package of Japanese candy. Granted, Claire describes herself as being a little chubby and the girl on the cover is all sinewy limbs and clavicles. But, then again, who's to say Claire isn't actually a sex goddess with a case of low self-esteem? I'll have to address that in the sequel..." I love this cover a lot--I think it's haunting and beautiful. I also noticed that the paperback cover will have red roses, which gives it a different feel, but is just as elegant, I think. Maybe a little darker somehow. When I asked Lauren about the red roses change yesterday, she said she's on vacation and hasn't seen it yet! She does say, "I had no hand in the amendment but I'm psyched--many people who read the book said they were surprised by the fact that the story was more noir-y than the candy pink cover might suggest." Which is exactly what I thought. Yay! What do you guys think of the covers?

Win-It Wednesday: Two Awesome Books

Thanks for spreading the word about the Better TV segment on YA! You guys rule. And the randomly chosen winner of a copy of MODELS DON'T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES by Erin Dionne is... Heidi! Send me your address, H. This week, I'm giving away two readergirlz picks: No Laughter Here by Rita Williams-Garcia (February) and The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (March). Please tell me you guys are all signed up for readergirlz (guys too!). It's so much fun to talk to authors each month about the chosen books. I get a little fangirly in the forum. Anyway, both of these books are fantastic in different ways. You'll love the spirit of Akilah in No Laughter Here as she tries to figure out why her best friend Victoria has changed after coming home from a summer visit to Nigeria. And in The Adoration of Jenna Fox, the suspense of finding out Jenna's true history kept me up late into the night. Sooooo good! I'll choose two winners, and this contest will run for two weeks because I'm going to be out of town next week so I may not be able to blog as much as usual. To enter, comment below and tell me what book you finished last... I'm getting nosy again! Oh, and sign up for the readergirlz newsletter if you haven't already! Seriously, you guys will love this online book discussion. Happy Wednesday! PS-Two other contests you should know about: Elizabeth Scott is giving away a gorgeous locket she found through I Heart Daily (yay!) and Stephanie Kuehnert is giving away samples of an awesome new organic beauty line, Angel Potions. So head over there and comment up a storm! PPS-Lisa Clark at Pink World interviewed me and Anne about I Heart Daily--thanks, Lisa! Bonus: You can see a photo of us eating over there. For some reason, we have lots of photos of us together where we're both eating. Weird? Probably. Favorite question: What tunes would a I Heart Daily soundtrack have on it? ANNE: The Cure - Friday I'm In Love First Aid Kit - You're Not Coming Home Tonight The Dirtbombs - Pretty Princess Day Shangri-Las - Leader of the Pack Justice - D.A.N.C.E. MELISSA: Charlotte Sometimes - Waves and the Both of Us Bishop Allen - Click, Click, Click, Click The Pogues - Tuesday Morning Band of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You Billy Bragg - Must I Paint You a Picture? Consider this a new playlist idea. Though I'm obviously biased, these songs R.U.L.E.

Winner of IN TOO DEEP + Pathetic Moments in Love

I randomly chose a winner of IN TOO DEEP from last week's contest, and it's Nicole (of the nhertel85 email address). N, let me know where Jennifer can send the book!Today I'm over at Amanda Ashby's blog, celebrating the release of The Zombie Queen of Newbury High with a vlog about a pathetic love moment of mine. Go watch it, leave a comment, and you could win this Supermodel Stain (below). And check out each post--tons of good party blogs over there! Happy Tuesday! PS-Totally off topic, but did you guys like the Oscars? I thought the fashion was uninspiring (Oh, Whoopi! No!) but I was happy with the winners!

Cover Stories: Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

The fabulous Tera Lynn Childs (whose book has been optioned by Ashley Tisdale's production company!) is here to share the tale behind the cover of Oh. My. Gods. Take it away, Tera: "First of all, I am a very visual person. When I first start writing a book--after I have the initial premise/idea--I make up character collages so I get a picture of each character in my head. I put these collages in a binder and, because the binder needs a cover (right?), I also make a cover mockup. Here is the original cover mockup (left) for OH. MY. GODS. (originally titled Growing Up Godly) from my binder. "When the titled changed (for the better, definitely!) I made a new mockup that I had up on my website until I got the official cover (left). "My editor contacted me to ask for initial input into the cover design, asking whether I prefered a graphic cover (like Meg Cabot's Avalon High) or a photo cover of my sneakers-wearing heroine, Phoebe, duking it out with a girl in a toga. I said, "Um, a graphic cover." Because: (a) I love Meg Cabot, and (b) I wasn't too keen on the girl in a toga. "Anyway, color me excited when they sent me a mockup where the Lansdowne Herakles (warning, naked Greek statue) had pink sneakers hanging off his club with the title on a banner covering his parts. Pretty similar to my mockup idea, no? "Unfortunately, we couldn't acquire the rights to use this statue, so my editor sent a new mockup with a statue we could use. Agias (warning, another naked Greek statue). I love-love-loved it! Except... notice how his arms are broken (and not at the joints, where it might look normal, but in the middle, where it looks like they got chopped off)? Yeah, that made me kinda nervous. And kinda nauseous. "But apparently I (and my parents) were the only ones who saw this as a problem. My editor and agent and agent's assistant all thought it looked, "Authentic." So I let it go. You can just imagine how relieved I was when my editor sent the final version with PhotoShopped arms! Hooray! "This is not, however, the end of the cover story. Apparently there are more than a few readers (and booksellers) out there who weren't keen on the naked dude cover. As a life-long lover of all things ancient (including statuary) this is just not something I ever thought would be an issue, but it was. "So, the wonderful art department at Puffin (who will be releasing the paperback edition of OH. MY. GODS. in May) created a brand new cover. And (although this might be hard to believe) I love it even more than the original! "Well, that's the cover story for OH. MY. GODS. Take a moment to weigh in on which cover you like best. Or what you think of my original mockups. Or whether you think the naked statue was 'authentic' or 'creepy.' Come on, I wanna hear it!" Thanks, Tera! I for one LOVE the statue cover. I think it looks really original and I like the contrast of the historic and the contemporary on that cover. It has always stood out to me. The winged sneakers are cute too though!