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Welcome rgz Diva Melissa Walker
Melissa's here to tell us some Series Secrets about
Dust to Dust ~Dust to Dust is the mysterious, thoughtful, and poignant sequel to Melissa Walker's haunting and heartbreaking novel Ashes to Ashes.~
-Did you run up against any roadblocks as you wrote
Dust to Dust? Anything you wished you set up differently in
Ashes to Ashes?
No roadblocks really, but there’s a new character who appears in Dust to Dust and I really enjoyed him, so when he came along, I wished he had been part of the duology from the beginning, just because he was such fun!
-What did you enjoy most about writing book two?
The contemporary setting of book two, as opposed to the otherworldly feel of book one, is much more my comfort zone. Having the characters in school, driving around, at home and in Charleston was easier for me than having them in the Prism, which was a world somewhere between Earth and Heaven. So I enjoyed that ease.
-What would you like readers to take away from this book?
Dust to Dust deals a lot with holding onto pain, and how important it is to be able to let go and enjoy the present moment rather than grappling with past slights or sadnesses. I always hope that readers who've grown to like the characters feel that everyone’s in the right place at the end. I never tie things up perfectly, but I do try to have everyone in a place where we’re okay saying goodbye to them by the last pages.
About the book: When Callie McPhee miraculously recovers from a tragic accident that should have taken her life, she thought her connection to the ghost world would be severed forever. And that she would never see Thatcher—the ghost she fell in love with in the hereafter—again. But when she receives unexpected signs from Thatcher, she's led down a dark road toward the angry souls who once tried to steal her soul's energy for another chance at life. Now Callie must prevent the real world and the spirit world from colliding, and that could mean saying good-bye to people she'd never imagined she'd lose.
More about Melissa Walker
hereDust to Dust, Katherine Tegen Books.
out May 5th! Get the book
here
Have you checked out the indiegogo for #WeNeedDiverseBooks? Matt de la Pena is such a great spokesman.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/we-need-diverse-books
Diverse Campaign w Thanks Card from Undercurrent on Vimeo.
Here's what diva Melissa Walker recommends to encourage progress:
1. Request diverse books at your local library and bookstore. Make sure your booksellers and librarians know that you want to read about people from various backgrounds.
2. Join the Twitter activism with#WeNeedDiverseBooks -- the conversation is buzzing daily (onTumblr too).
3. Support the indiegogo campaign (video above, starring favorite authors like John Green, Matt de la Peña and Jacqueline Woodson) to help keep the movement growing.
One Founder of the movement, author Ellen Oh, explained to NPR, "We need the representation, but we also need white kids to read about us, to recognize us, and not push us off into the other...not to think of us as exotic or being so very different." Follow the hashtagand the tumblr to hear some powerful stories.
Even donating to the cause, less than a latte, can help the campaign. Think about it, rgz. As Matt says, "Books are mirrors and windows."
Elisa Ludwig's
Coin Heist is out this month, and we had to ask her about that cover! Here she is to share the story:
"I felt very very lucky to be part of the early cover design discussion. We shared some of our favorite covers for books out now, as well as some movie posters and went back and forth. My main input was that I wanted the cover to feel contemporary and fresh, to capture the fun and exciting pace of the story, and to appeal to boys and girls equally. No small feat!
"I got to see four rounds of comps, and it was fascinating to watch the ideas and inspirations evolve. I made some comments and suggestions along the way, but I also acknowledged that even though I have lots of opinions, I'm in the word business and not the image business, so I fully trusted the experts involved to come up with a great solution.
"I saw many 'original' images with different initial concepts. While they all shared a certain minimalist sensibility, some emphasized coins rather than human figures, others a 'plan notebook,' and still others had a tiled floor that represented the Mint at night. It's truly amazing how a seemingly simple design can communicate the plot, the mood, the characters and even the imagined reader of a book.
"When I first saw the final cover, I loved it right away. I'm a sucker for vintage graphics, and I thought the white font, bold green and stark silhouettes really evoked classic mystery/heist book covers while the background suggests the more tech-y, modern element of this particular plan. At the same time the details on the figures are emblematic of the characters in a way that won't limit the reader's imagination. My biggest takeaway: I'm in awe of designers! The silhouettes are an original illustration by Tahnee Gehm.
"I've already gotten a ton of positive feedback (from, it should be noted, both guys and girls). So yeah, I'd say it hit the mark."
Thanks, Elisa!
Watch the trailer here!
Susane Colasanti's latest novel (out next week!) has a great Cover Story. Here's a peek at it:"The hottest thing about the cover of Now and Forever might be that the models are a couple in real life.
"Or maybe it’s how the background image totally captures the excitement of a concert. And not just any concert. Now and Forever is about a girl whose boyfriend, Ethan Cross, is the world’s biggest rock star. So of course we had to do some kind of concert venue type design. I couldn’t wait to see which direction the art department would take.
"My contract says that I’m allowed cover consultation. When my editor sent me the first draft of the cover for feedback, something very obvious was missing in the audience..."
Read the full Cover Story at melissacwalker.com, and US residents can enter to win a signed copy of the book below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Shirley Reva Vernick's latest novel,
The Black Butterfly, is her third for young adults, following the award-winning The Blood Lie and Remember Dippy. She's here today to share her Cover Story!
"Designing the cover for
The Black Butterfly spanned several months and numerous drafts, and I think the effort really paid off. This is my third novel with Cinco Puntos Press, and while I immediately liked the initial designs for the first two books, I wasn’t crazy about the early renditions of
The Black Butterfly cover. I didn’t have a specific image in mind of what I wanted, but I knew it needed to evoke a sense of eeriness and otherworldliness.
"This novel is about ghosts, haunted mansions and strange dreams, after all. The original cover versions didn’t capture that, in my opinion. The early designs were all variations of the cover on the right.
"The designer was thinking that the hands resembled a butterfly. One of the thumbs is supposed to be see-through, like a ghost. But it just didn’t work for me. The typeface of the title is meant to look like a teen’s handwriting, since Penny, the main character, is something of a writer. But I felt the typeface didn’t match the mood of the story inside.
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"Then the designer suddenly 'got' it. Out went the photos of hands, and in came an illustration of…something wonderful. Something dangerous, ambiguous and compelling. Part butterfly, part phantom, part human, part mystical. I love how the dripping streaks of color could be either tears or blood—or both.
"I consider this cover to be a true collaboration among the publisher, the designer and me. While I’m not the most visually oriented person (which is how I ended up with a green house when I thought I was picking out grey paint), I do appreciate being included and heard.
"In closing, I should mention that the designer gave birth a few days after coming up with the new prototype, and she jumped into the tweaking stage just three weeks after the delivery. Talk about girl power!"
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By:
Little Willow,
on 3/1/2014
Blog:
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Happy anniversary, readergirlz!
In honor of our seven-year anniversary, we're catching up with rgz divas and featured authors. Kicking off our anniversary series (or shall we say, anniver-series?) of posts is none other than our own Melissa Walker.
7 Things You Don't Know About Me:
1. I have kept a diary every year since third grade.
2. I have been known to sip pickle juice straight from the jar.
3. My dad passed away 10 years ago, but I can still hear his voice when I need advice.
4. I love the idea of collecting sea glass, but I'm lazy about actually doing it when I'm at the beach.
5. I find it delightful when cocktails are served in their proper glasses.
6. I sing show tunes to my two-year-old in hopes that one day she'll be my Broadway companion (my husband isn't into musicals).
7. I still think the world looks magic if someone is blowing bubbles nearby.
We'll be posting updates and tidbits from familiar faces all month long here at the readergirlz blog. Stay tuned and celebrate with us!
Sometimes we hear of those in the publishing industry who dissuade authors from writing in different genres. As if YA readers don't read various styles of storytelling. YA readers do, and so do YA writers. Therefore, writers like the freedom to crossover. We choose the best genre to tell our story. Because ultimately, it's all about good story.
I'm happy to share two books by authors writing in different genres than they usually do. The first is Skin by Donna Jo Napoli. I did expect fantasy when I picked up the work, but then quickly entered into Sep's world as she discovers she has vitiligo. The realistic work is paced well as Napoli draws us alongside Sep. We feel compassion, frustration, and ultimately empathize with a character accepting her new self and redefining normal.
The second work is by our own rgz diva, Melissa Walker: Ashes to Ashes. I expected a contemporary work, which, true enough, the story begins with, but the paranormal afterlife caught me by surprise. (I don't tend to read flaps. :~) Melissa's setting is fresh and will draw you to think and ponder your own beliefs. That is of course after you've run with Callie through her trial, been pulled and torn through her decisions, and cheered her character growth. And as always, Melissa writes of real, compelling love. My favorite quote: "Life is fragile, worthy of reverence and gently care." Great thoughts for the new year!
Find these, rgz, and let us know what you think, here or on facebook. Happy new year!
Skin
by Donna Jo Napoli
Skyscape, 2013
Ashes to Ashes
by Melissa Walker
Katherine Tegen Books, Inc. 2013
So excited to share my trailer for FIRSTBORN! Right now it's an exclusive at Hypable.
We'll do a Cover Story soon with Diva Melissa Walker. Thanks for celebrating with me! And thanks to Kirkus for the starred review. Happy holidays, rgz!
Diana Peterfreund tends to have great covers, and when I saw
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'm a sucker for bridges. And running. And flowing hair. So the cover of
Eve? Kind of up my alley. Here's
Anna Carey to talk about the cover of the first book in the
Eve trilogy:
"I had a vague sense of what the book might look like. The name--Eve--conjures so much. We all know Adam and Eve, and there's so much imagery associated with their story. Originally I saw the cover as having a lot of lush greenery. I sometimes saw a pale girl lost in the forest. It's funny, the book trailer captures a lot of those original images and ideas that were left behind as the cover evolved.
"The designer asked for a list of images or words that appear in the book. I can't seem to locate that list, though I'm 99% sure the designer came up with the bridge idea, which I love. It's hard to go back through your book and decide which imagery is meaningful and/or metaphorical--so much of that is folded into the manuscript unconsciously. I'm pretty certain all my suggestions were fairly basic. Thankfully she didn't put a wall or a cluster of trees on there. I don't think it would've had the same effect..."
Jessica Brody has shared two previous Cover Stories here (for
My Life Undecided and
The Karma Club). She's back to tell 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..."
Jason Odell Williams is an Emmy-nominated producer, and his first novel was just optioned for a three-picture deal. Whee! Plus, Jason tells a good Cover Story. Here he is:
"I never had a cover in mind while writing
Personal Statement. I never really picture a cover or poster for any of my work (books, plays, films) until the writing is at least mostly finished. So with
Personal Statement, I never had a preconceived idea; I was so focused on just finishing the manuscript.
"So once I had a solid first draft, I sat around over dinner and drinks with my publishers
Carey Albertine and Saira Rao and we started brainstorming cover ideas. We thought about something hurricane-related, like a trashed backyard that could look like either the morning after a storm or a wild party. But that didn’t really say enough about the 'Personal Statement'-college application part of the book. Another idea we floated around was having a shot of the major players in some sort of pose like an album cover or action shot during the Hurricane prep, but again that felt too linear and only dealt with the volunteer aspect of the story.
"So we came up with the idea of crumpled up paper, all of these false starts when trying to write a personal statement and succinctly tell strangers at college 'who you are.' The one we had sort of settled on was the one with the can of Red Bull and the 'cover' page of a personal statement with a boot print and coffee stains on it (right). And we were pretty happy with it and were going to go with that. But Carey & Saira wanted to punch it up a little, so they asked
Nick Guarracino, who had recently been brought on to do the illustrations for another book they were doing, to take a look at the cover and make it pop more.
"He read some of the book, looked at our cover, and instead of punching up the old one, he came up with 6 completely different options. My publishers looked at them all and knew right away it was the hand thrusting up from the pile of pages. They texted me the image and I took one look and was blown away. The last I knew, our cover was going to b the page with the coffee stain on it, so to then suddenly see this amazing, bright, dynamic, bold arresting cover, I was so excited and thrilled. I immediately texted back and said 'YES that’s the one.' (I may have used some profanity in my excitement... as in 'Holy SH*TBALLS that's amazing! I love it! Yes!')
"And I actually never saw these other options (left) until this week. And while the girl’s face was a close contender, there is something sad and melancholy about it that’s not quite right for the book. Also, it’s hard to put a real face (even half of a face) on a book cover. And I never liked the idea of 'casting' a character before someone reads the book. (What if the Rani on the cover doesn’t match the Rani in your head?) So in the end, I know we made the right call with the hand thrusting up from the pile of balled up pages.
"Nick told me the photo was made by taking a picture of a friend’s hand and then using photo shop to add the balled up pages and the color in the background. Then he made the hand look more feminine and ethnically ambiguous. What I like about that is then the hand becomes like a mirror… you see what you want to see. When I first saw it, I thought it was a white guy’s hand. Others see a white girl or an Asian or Indian-American girl. And now when I look at it I can't decide if it's Emily Kim's hand or Rani's. So it’s cool that the hand has that 'every-person' quality to it.
"And now, the more I look at the cover, the more I see how right it is for this book. The hand at first seemed to be simply frustrated to me, but now I also see defiance and breaking free and standing out from the crowd. The hand is coming up for air after drowning in expectation for so long. Of course, I’m reading a lot into it and people looking at the cover for the first time might never see any of that, but I think what the cover does convey, even at first glance, is a sense of being bold and explosive and exciting. It would make me stop twice if I saw it on a shelf (even a 'digital' shelf!) And for all of those reasons, I love this cover couldn't be happier!"
Diana Rodriguez Wallach has a fast-releasing trilogy of stories coming out this fall, and each has a different cover. Here's the story of #1, and the full-series cover:
"I told my publisher that I really wanted a mirror in all of my covers. I wanted that to be the element that tied the series together visually.
"My release is a little different from your average book.
Reflecting Emmy is the first short story in my
Mirror, Mirror trilogy. Each of my short stories—
Reflecting Emmy, Nara Gazing, and Shattering GiGi—will be released individually as ebooks in September, October, and November, respectively. Then they will be compiled together to create the
Mirror, Mirror trilogy, with an additional short story prequel and bonus material, to be released in December.
"So if you add it all together, that’s a whopping FOUR different covers for this series..."
Terra Elan McVoy has been here before to share her adorable covers for
Pure and
After the Kiss (
read those Cover Stories), and now she's here to talk about
Being Friends With Boys. How great is that title? Here's more about the cover, from Terra:
"I never have any idea about my covers; I’m so lucky to have been assigned to such smart, clever, amazing people at Simon Pulse to work on them. This team does such an incredible job, and I figure it’s best to leave that work in their capable hands!
"Admittedly, my very first thought when I saw the cover was, 'But there aren’t any coffeehouses in the book! They never drink coffee!' Very quickly though, I realized that was a pretty lame and limiting response.
"My editor was incredibly patient with me and let me just sit on my first reaction until I came to my senses and realized this was perfect.
"The cover did change, in one important way..."
Read Terra's full Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.
I had the chance to hang out with
Jessi Kirby in Houston last year, and I can confirm that she is fantastic and fun and smart and all the things she seems to be. Also, her book,
In Honor, contains a Tim Riggins type. SOLD. (Read a review from
A Book and a Latte.)
Here's Jessi to talk about the cover:
"My publisher asked for input before they got to work on the cover, and I said 'It’d be really great if you could somehow include the car, (which is a 67 Chevy Impala), and Honor in her dress and red cowboy boots.'
"When I saw the cover, I absolutely LOVED it. Truly, madly, deeply loved it. From the font, to the car, to the boots, it was EXACTLY what I was hoping for..."
But of course there were a couple of changes! Read Jessi's full story on
melissacwalker.com.
Matthew Quick is here to talk about the cover of his latest (and incredibly great) novel:
"The idea I pitched for the cover of
Boy21 was a shot of Finley and Russ from the neck down. Finley would have been in his team uniform and holding a basketball. Russ would have been in his space costume and holding his makeshift astronaut helmet. I still think that would have been a good cover, but I have to admit that what the designer came up with was much much better. Maybe this is why I am a fiction writer and not a jacket designer!
"When I saw the design, I yelled, 'YES!' Alicia [his wife] came running into my office to see why I was yelling, looked at the image on my computer screen, and said, 'That's so much better than what you pitched them. That cover is amazing! Amazing!' It was a happy day.
"At one point they changed the photo of Russ, who is depicted on the cover. The photo they swapped in featured an older-looking teen who appeared harder and maybe even menacing. It didn't look like Russ at all. I immediately wrote an e-mail explaining why the original photo captured Russ perfectly. The teen on the cover now has an intensity--especially if you look into his eyes--but he also looks a little vulnerable and as if he would be a complex person. Russ is a very complex character, who is troubled, but is also wise and compassionate and intuitive. I believe there was a meeting regarding which photo to use and, happily, everyone at Little, Brown agreed..."
Read the rest of Matthew's Cover Story on
melissacwalker.com.
PS-Trailer!
How does a book get a cover? How does a story emerge as a bright concentrate of itself?
Melissa Walker has been asking authors this question for a long time, and I'm lucky on two counts—Melissa (an author supreme) is my friend, and she has kindly asked me. I tell
the story of the Small Damages cover (and lessons I learned before the
Small Damages cover) over on the Barnes and Noble Community Blog, with all thanks to dear Melissa.
I was just about to post this when Cynthia Pittman, a Facebook friend, pointed me toward another act of supreme generosity on this warm July day. That generosity comes from Sarah Laurence, a so-intelligent, thoughtful reader who is also a writer who is also an artist who is also a woman who has learned to live a magnificently balanced life as a creative artist, mom, wife, and lover of the world beyond. Sarah read Small Damages lately, and she had
this to say.Melissa and Sarah: thank you.
Today, Shirley Marr is here to share her cover for
Preloved. It's such a sweet title, right? And the concepts are as emotional as the final cover. Here's Shirley:
"I'm a very visual and 'big picture' person, so with every new novel I start, after I come up with the storyline and title (which I make happen at the same time), I look around for an image which I think best sums up what I am trying to write.
Preloved is a vintage-flavoured romantic ghost story with themes of second chances and second hand things. I found a particular image with the theme, motifs (whimsical vintage bike!) and 'feel' I was going for.
"So yes, I make myself an 'unofficial' cover. I don't go as far as putting my own name on it, but the image itself is as influential to me as any notes and research I collect, I will often glance at it for inspiration.
"I didn't have any input into the covers that were created..."
Read the rest of Shirley's Cover Story at
melissacwalker.com.
Linda Joy Singleton has been here to share her
Cover Story for Dead Girl Walking, and she's back to talk about her latest novel,
Buried: A Goth Girl Mystery:
"For this cover, I actually thought they would show more of a Goth girl. I wanted something with a girl in dark flowy clothes, netting, piercings combined with a mysterious setting. "Flux usually asks me for suggestions and I did a search on Goth girls and sent some of my favorites in as examples. I wanted something beautiful, edgy and mysterious.
"When I first saw the cover, it was a surprise, not what I visualized but dramatic and mysterious...."
Read the rest of Linda Joy's Cover Story at
melissacwalker.com.
Arlaina Tibensky's debut novel sounds like something I need on top of my pile. ("Sylvia Plath and an old typewriter usher an angsty virgin through the worst summer of her freaking life.") Also, the cover spoke to me. So I spoke to Arlaina about it. Here she is: "I had this fantasy that the cover of
And Then Things Fall Apart was going to be a newer, updated version of a classic
The Bell Jar cover, like the one with the creepy letters and the rose, or the Victoria Lucas (Sylvia’s pen name) with the dark purple letters, or even the cool one with the spirals. Like one of those, but 'updated, for the youth of today!'
"I mentioned my 'Updated, for the youth of today!' idea to my editor… and we never spoke of it again.
"At first first first, I thought the cover was a little too cute. But too cute or not I fell in love, immediately, with the typewriter. The BLUE TYPEWRITER. And my huge ego loved that my name was right there in the middle. I was also happy there were no bodies on it, no anonymous 'teens' acting 'quirky' in stripped tights and pink hair..."
Read the rest of Arlaina's Cover Story on
melissacwalker.com.
Part 2 of the Philadelphia Stories YA Roundtable continues
here, as Elizabeth Mosier, Siobhan Vivian, Melissa Walker, and I talk about character, plot, and the advice we give to other writers. Our great thanks to Michelle Wittle!
What a thrill to be joined by my friends Elizabeth Mosier, Siobhan Vivian, and Melissa Walker in a two-part conversation about favorite young adult books, writing influences, and process. A big thanks to Michelle Wittle who pulled this all together for
Philadelphia Stories.Please visit
this link to 'hear' us talk (Part 1).
By Nicki Richesin, The Children’s Book Review
Published: May 16, 2012
Melissa Walker
Melissa Walker may be the hardest working woman in YA literature. She’s young, talented, and whip-smart. Her bestselling novels include Violet on the Runway, Violet by Design, Violet in Private, Lovestruck Summer, and Small Town Sinners. She also blogs her heart out at IHeartDaily, BeforeYouWereHot, and ReaderGirlz. Melissa’s most recent novel Unbreak My Heart will be published on May 22. Listen in as we discuss writing, motherhood, and what happens when you break up with your best friend.
Nicki Richesin: Congrats on Unbreak My Heart (out this May 22 from Bloomsbury). Love the title! Could you tell us a bit about the novel and how the character of Clem first appeared to you?
Melissa Walker: It’s the story of a girl who has lost her best friend, through some fault of her own, and is dealing with the aftermath of the friendship breakup. But she’s also about to spend the summer with her family on a sailboat–not the best place to wallow alone. At the end of the day, my editor wrote the line that sums it up best; the book is about “The year that broke her heart. The summer that healed it.” Clem has been in my head for a long time, since I suffered a friendship breakup. I always knew I wanted to write about someone who experienced that same thing.
NR: You got your start working as an editor for ELLEgirl and Seventeen. What did working for these publications teach you about writing?
MW: I think that having a “real job” that let my inner seventeen-year-old speak made me realize that there’s a place for that voice (the one in my head).
NR: I had the pleasure of meeting your mom in your hometown Chapel Hill, North Carolina as part of the Crush tour (full disclosure: Melissa contributed a beautiful essay to the collection). She said you have always been a writer. Did having such a strong identity as a writer early on h
The lovely
Laura Resau has a new book out! The Jade Notebook is the third in her beautiful series about Zeeta (read her
Cover Story for The Indigo Notebook).
Kirkus Reviews says, "In this third in a series of novels focusing on Zeeta and her wanderlust-stricken mother, readers are immersed in the details of a lovingly described coastal town in Mexico and an action-filled mystery surrounding the poaching of ancient sea turtles that make their home there... a graceful conclusion to Zeeta’s story."
Here's Laura to tell the tale of the cover:
"I'm happy and honored to be back on your blog, Melissa--I could spend all day reading these fascinating
cover stories!
"
The Jade Notebook is the third and final book in the travel-adventure-themed Notebooks series, each of which is set in a different country. The series went through a few different cover looks over the past few years. If you're curious, you can read the story behind the hardcover look of the first in the series,
The Indigo Notebook,
here. For that cover, my publisher, Delacorte, did a photo shoot of an open, vintage-style suitcase containing items that evoked each different setting..."
Read the rest of Laura's Cover Story on
melissacwalker.com.
Publisher's Weekly named
Jenny Hubbard's debut a
Flying Start last spring, and summarized the novel thusly:
"Set in the early 1980s,
Paper Covers Rock is structured as the journal of 16-year-old Alex No Middle Name Stromm, who is holding onto some secrets about the recent drowning death of one of his classmates."
The title and cover caught my attention, and here's Jenny to explain that gazing boy from
Paper Covers Rock:
"I didn’t envision a cover while I was writing, but after I found out it was going to be published, I envisioned a black-and-white photograph of three boys in silhouette on a rock, their backs to the viewer.
"All I said [to my publisher] was, 'Please don’t put a face on my narrator.'
"The cover that is currently on the book is not the first one that was designed for the book. The first one caused me to burst into tears--truly. It was entirely wrong, both in mood and character depiction. What the reader would have seen was a free-spirited, smiling, skater-dude boy in mid-jump over water..."
Read the rest of Jenny's Cover Story at
melissacwalker.com.
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Such great buzz for your book!
How wonderful and well deserved!
Good luck, Beth. Loved Sarah's review.
Thank you, Beth, both for writing SD and for your kind words. Congratulations on your Kirkus weekly pick too!