Photo Friday: Me, Parker Posey and Kayaks

Okay, so last weekend I got to go to this amazing Jonathan Adler charity brunch hosted by the Fred Flare gang. It was to raise money for God's Love We Deliver, and it was a fabulous morning!One: Because of the charity, naturally. Two: Because I got to meet Jonathan Adler, who is delightful and charming and makes amazing homeware (see teacup!). Three: Because I got to meet Parker Posey! She and I had a 30-second long conversation about gum that went like this: PP (putting gum in her mouth): Don't you think gum is getting kind of weird lately? MW: You mean with all the excessive flavor bursting? PP: Yes! And with weird flavors like chocolate mint. MW: Ew. PP: I know, right? Smile, pose for photo with Jonathan Adler that I'd requested. Delightful! I LOVE Parker Posey. It's almost like we starred in Dazed and Confused together now. We're that tight. I wish. Oh, and Dave and I got kayaks and brought them to our apt in Brooklyn (mine is yellow). It was a success! I'm sure we'll use them, um, next spring? Happy Friday!

Bonus Cover Stories: Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis

The lovely debut author Heather Davis is here to share the cover story of her fall release, Never Cry Wolf! Kirkus Reviews says, "What's a girl courted by an amber-eyed hottie to do? Fans of paranormal romance will enjoy this sweet debut." Nice!Here's Heather: "From the beginning, I think my agent, my editor and I were all on the same page for the cover for Never Cry Werewolf. There is a pivotal scene where Shelby, the protagonist, is lost in the forest -- and with the tie to the folk tale Little Red Riding Hood, well, it just seemed right to have the cover nod to that connection. That, and Shelby is wearing a red hoodie in the story and well... there is a wolf involved. "We'd discussed the idea of Shelby in the forest in her red hoodie. Then, they asked me to provide a detailed description of what Shelby looked like and who she was on the inside. It was probably the deepest character study I'd done to date. From those paragraphs of description, they really pulled an amazing image together. "The first time I saw the cover, I was blown away. It was fantastic, gorgeous, and captured the mood of the book perfectly. I love how it stands out on the bookshelves -- and I love that the image of Shelby is on the spine of the book, too. "I didn't really need to make too many suggestions. We had at one time wondered if we really wanted Shelby 'staring' out from the cover instead of looking over her shoulder, but I think we made the right decision. There was also talk of a wolf in the distance, but I think you get from the title what the book is about. "The art department was wonderful I know that the art director loved my book and the care she took with the cover really demonstrated that to me. I feel so lucky. "The cover model even mentioned being on my cover in a newspaper article in her hometown in Michigan! They showed me some of her headshots and asked if I thought she could be Shelby and - she was! "I'm overwhelmed by the beauty of my very first cover. It is literally everything I dreamed it could be. I have to say it's unreal to me, even still. When you're an unpublished novelist, sitting at your computer writing a book you say to yourself, someday this could be a real, published book. You allow yourself to picture the cover and some people even sketch it out on paper. (I think if I went back through old papers, I might even find the sketch I made of this one.) Skip to the day you walk into a bookstore and seeing it on the shelves. It's amazing! I can't thank HarperTeen and their amazing team enough for what they've done for the book. My editor and I are thrilled." I'm into the tree-branch-moon-clouds background, and I love the Little Red Riding hood nod on the cover, plus you know I'm a fan of the cover model and author talking to each other. What do you guys think of this one?

Win-It Wednesday: Sweetgrass Basket by Marlene Carvell

The winner of last week's Libba Bray contest, chosen randomly, is... Janet Charoensook! Email me your address, JC.This week, I'm giving away the readergirlz November featured book, Sweetgrass Basket by Marlene Carvell. It's a lovely story of two Native American sisters who are sent to an off-reservation school after the death of their mother. November is Native American Heritage month. But I'm sure you knew that already. (It's okay, I just learned it last year, but I'm so glad to know now!) Anyway, to enter to win a copy of this lovely novel (which you can read quickly and then discuss on readergirlz all month!), I'm going to ask you to answer a market-research question in the comments: Do you play video games? And if so, which ones are your favorites? I just bought a vintage Nintendo and relived my sixth-grade joy at playing Super Mario Brothers. Yes! But I also want some good suggestions for, um, modern games to play. Dave's are all guns and gore, which is fine, but not totally my thing. Help? Good luck!

Cover Stories: Goth Girl Rising by Barry Lyga

The awesome Barry Lyga is here today, sharing the Cover Story for his just-released sequel to The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Goth Girl Rising. (He's also giving away some insanely cool Goth Girl minimates! Read on for details...) Here's Barry!

"For my cover, I had an idea that, in retrospect, is one of those things that sounds cool, but wouldn't work. My idea was to co-opt the cover to the first book, but reverse it: Red lips on a black background for the hardcover, then blue lips on a black background for the paperback. It totally makes sense from a story point of view, but now I think it's too cutesy.

[Here are the first book's covers, hardcover (left) and paperback:]

"Speaking of that first book: I had some strong ideas for that one, to the point where I even had a friend of mine mock one up. Houghton politely declined it and commissioned Jon Gray to produce the kick-ass cover we ended up with (way above). I have never in my life been so happy to be proven wrong!

"Houghton has always consulted with me about covers, which I really, really appreciate. Like I said, they weren't too keen on my original idea (which I don't blame them for). So they sent me three or four different cover designs, all based on the same general aesthetic. I wasn't thrilled with any of them. There was nothing WRONG with them; they just didn't seem like the cover to my book, you know? "We went back and forth a few times and my problem was that I just couldn't articulate what I didn't like or what I wanted to see instead. So I just resigned myself to having a cover I didn't like. I told my agent this and she spoke to my editor on my behalf, explaining I wasn't happy with the covers and offering some suggestions of her own.

"The next thing I knew - I mean literally within hours - my editor sent along the photo that ended up becoming the cover. The instant I saw it, I fell immediately and irretrievably in love. I think the first thing I said was, 'Oh my God! Kyra is real and they found a picture of her!' It turns out to be a stock photo that my editor found just by poking around. It was just a massive chunk of serendipity dropped into our laps.

"They took that picture and did two versions of the cover, one of which ended up being the final cover. The other one was just as good, in my estimation, and had a big black block sort of weighing her down and closing her in. In the end, though, the model is just so damn striking, her eyes so haunting, that everyone agreed that it was best to show her as big as possible.

"I think the only thing I asked was if we could Photoshop in Kyra's facial piercings - her lip ring and nose stud. The art department gave it the old college try, but it just didn't look right. It looked, well, like someone had Photoshopped in that stuff. So my feeling - and what I tell fans - is that Kyra just decided to take them out the day that picture was taken.

"It's really so perfect that the piercings, to me, are a minor issue.

"Now that I've seen the actual, physical cover, I love it even more. I love the font, the raised type, the shiny lipstick. I love the details, the little elegant graphics that wrap around the spine. It's my favorite of the covers I've had so far. If you could marry a book cover, I'd be on my honeymoon right now."

I agree that the final cover is truly striking -- her eyes are kind of boring into my soul, and I love the violet hues. What do you guys think? How do you think it compares to the first book's covers?

Oh! Also, you can read a deleted scene from Goth Girl Rising here. (I love it when authors share these. I hope I have a deleted scene that's worth posting one day!)

For more on how to win a mini-mate (I have one, and I love her), see Barry's Share the Love Contest. Thanks, Barry!

PS-Thao at Serene Hours did a post on series covers that I just loved a while ago! Check it out. (Oh, and she really liked Goth Girl Rising, btw!) Shop Indie Bookstores

Photo Friday: Books + Bubbles

So this photo Friday I have two pics. They're both the Young Adult table at my local Barnes and Noble. I love seeing what's out there: Okay, and here's a third photo of Dave blowing bubbles on the Vassar campus when we went to a wedding there last month. Those are his Hollywood sunglasses. Don't forget that all day today, every 15 minutes, there's a new author posting on readergirlz in a Tribute to Teen Read Week! It's insanely fast and I've made it my mission to comment on all of them as they go up. It's great for procrastination. Tonight's chat is amazing. Come hang out at 6pm PST/9pm EST if you're free.

LIVE! I'm Chatting Tonight at 9pm EST/6pm PST

I'm gonna be there!Cassandra Clare is gonna to be there! Patrick Ness is gonna answer questions tomorrow that are posted tonight (he lives in England so he'd have to stay up until, like, 2am, to be there live--but we still love him). All the readergirlz peeps will be there. Also there: A chance to win copies of all the featured-authors books (and if you haven't read Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, you're missing out!) plus a mystery swag bag from I Heart Daily (it's good--I'm filling it myself!). You should come. It happens here. That is all. I'll tweet this when I log on... come say hi!

Cover Stories: Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

This month, I got to hear the lovely and curly haired Sarah Beth Durst read from her new release, ICE. It was a great peek into her reimagined fairy tale, and when she reads out loud, she sounds kind of like the queen from The Neverending Story, which is pretty darn cool. Here's Sarah with her lovely, easy Cover Story:

"I can quote for you word-for-word the entirety of my involvement in the design of the cover of ICE.

"EDITOR: Here is the cover art for ICE.

"ME: Eeeee!!!

"EDITOR: Do I hear trumpets?

"ME: Eeeeeeeeeee!!!

"EDITOR: Where did the parade come from? Hey, who let in the elephants?

"ME: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

"EDITOR: As I was saying, we're happy with it, and we hope... Really, Sarah, fireworks?

"Okay, it wasn't exactly like that. There was only one elephant, and the fireworks were tasteful. Seriously, though, I had zero involvement in the cover. I had hoped there would be a polar bear on it, but I didn't know what my publisher was planning until the jpg arrived in my Inbox. When it arrived, I did in fact shriek, jump up and down, and begin dancing around the room.

"The cover, I think, perfectly captures the book. The characters look exactly as I imagined them, as if the artist peeked into my brain to see Cassie (a 16-year-old Arctic research scientist) and Bear (basically, the Angel of Death for polar bears).

"I'm told that the image began as a photograph, and they did several photo shoots before they settled on the correct girl and the correct pose. I am reasonably certain that the reason it took several models was that they wanted just the right shot and not because the polar bear kept eating the models.

"After the girl was selected/digested, the artist then incorporated the photo in the final work of art using a technique known to laypeople (such as myself) as incomprehensible magic.

"The artist is Cliff Nielsen. He also did the art for THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series and the latest edition of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. When I found out that he'd be doing the cover for ICE, I spent at least an hour Googling examples of his work and daydreaming about what he'd design for my story. He exceeded all my expectations. I really hope I get a chance to meet him and thank him someday. Before the day that the image arrived in my Inbox, I hadn't known it was possible to fall in love with a jpeg."

That Cliff Nelson does some fantastical covers! I love the white contrasting with Cassie's red hair, and I think it has a great arctic fairy tale feel. What do you guys think?

Shop Indie Bookstores

Win-It Wednesday: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray--Signed!

Last week's winner of Claire Zulkey's An Off Year is... Paris! Send me your address, P. I loved hearing about what you guys would do/are doing with a gap year. I love dreaming about this!This week, I'm giving away a signed copy of Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty, the first book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy of magic and mayhem and ballgowns and etiquette and rule-breaking and strong, smart, funny girls. Can you tell I'm into these books? Here's Libba talking about writing girls with strong emotions the other night at a reading in NYC: Isn't she cool? The answer is yes. Anyway, to win this special signed copy of A Great and Terrible Beauty, just comment below and tell me what your Halloween plans are, if you've got 'em. I'm also accepting costume suggestions! For extra entries, tweet this contest or mention it on your blog (+1 for each of those), and you'll also get +1 entry for visiting any of the following blogs, which hosted me this week (it's been a busy week!). Just mention in the comments which you visited. I trust! 1. Sunshine Edition, where I vlog about candy corn. 2. M.I.S.S., where I'm interviewed and mentioned in the same breath as Judy Blume. I'm not worthy! 3. Jeri Smith-Ready's blog, where I share past costumes, and where you can also enter to win a signed copy of Lovestruck Summer. Oh, and one last thing: Tonight on readergirlz at 9pm EST/6pm PST, we'll be chatting with authors Lisa McMann (Wake), Cynthia Leitich Smith (Eternal) and Holly Cupala (the upcoming Tell Me a Secret). It's LIVE, and you're invited (see the banner, right). Come!

Serious Fun: Teen Read Week, readergirlz Chats and Contests!

I love an oxymoronic title!So that there to the left is a reminder of the chat that starts at readergirlz tonight at 9pm EST/6pm PST... It's going to rule, just like last night's chat with authors Justina Chen Headley, Alyson Noel and Zoe Marriot! Be there (check out the transcript). I happen to have Cover Stories from all three of tonight's chatters, and here are there links, so you can remind yourselves what their books are all about (or at least their covers). Lorie Ann Grover's On Pointe Nina Weingarten's Wherever Nina Lies Elizabeth Scott's Living Dead Girl See you tonight! Join the chat LIVE! right here. And if you're a blogger, send a quote about why you love Teen Read Week to readergirlz AT gmail DOT com, and readergirlz will post your quote and a link back to your blog during the 24-hour blogfest on 10/23! Send your quote in by tomorrow (10/21). PS-You can enter to win a signed copy of Lovestruck Summer (and see a couple of my past Halloween costumes) over at Jeri Smith-Ready's Blogtoberfest this week. Go, go!

Cover Stories: Elphame's Choice and Brighid's Quest by P.C. Cast

P.C. Cast, along with her daughter Kristin, is the author of the bestselling House of Night series. Some of her previous books are being reissued for Harlequin Teen's new line, so she's here to talk about the new covers they'll have. Thanks, P.C.!"The cover story for the YA reissue of Elphame's Choice (right) and Brighid's Quest is a little unusual. When they were first published by LUNA, my fabulous editor, Mary-Theresa Hussey, and I had several conversations about how the strong, unique heroines should be portrayed. I remember the cover of Brighid's Quest was particularly interesting because both of us felt that it was important that the setting stay true to the descriptions in the book. "Well, many of the most important scenes in the book are set in Partholon's Centaur Plains, which is basically Oklahoma's Tall Grass Prairie. So the original cover of Brighid included real flora from pictures taken of the Tall Grass Prairie by my mother! How cool is that? "And how to top that?! "You can imagine that Mary-Theresa and I had several in-depth conversations when the decision was made to reissue Elphame and Brighid as part of the launch of Harlequin TEEN. We loved the original covers, but we agreed that they really didn't focus enough on the YA appeal of the books. So we delved back into the world of Partholon, revisiting Elphame and Brighid with the intention of really bringing alive the heroines for the new covers. "Mock-ups were done with stock photos, setting the look, and then real models were used for the two young heroines. Some of you may already know that in the land of Partholon many of my main characters are centaurs, so I especially love the cover effect that allows an illusion of a horse's mane wrapping around both books. I think the models were perfect, and I couldn't be happier with the new look for the series!" I love seeing old evolve into new. So cool! And I think the new covers definitely look way more YA. What do you guys think of the new covers? Share your opinion at readergirlz for a chance to win prizes from Harlequin Teen (and I'd love to hear thoughts here too).