Diva Holly Cupala was here to talk about the cover of her debut novel,
Tell Me a Secret. Now, her second novel,
Don't Breathe a Word, is out this month, and it has a cover that manages to convey both darkness and sparkle! Here's Holly with the Cover Story:
"After the gorgeous cover HarperTeen put together for
Tell Me a Secret, I knew to expect something fantastic for my second,
Don't Breathe a Word… though it came about in a completely different (and for me, much more nail-biting) way…
"The original working title was
Street Creed, which is what the design team initially had to work with. The first cover concept was… steamy (below). It featured two gorgeous creatures, probably Italian models, who met as if by chance after a swirling, beaded-dress-bedecked night for an almost-kiss. Sigh.
"But it didn’t feel like my book.
"
Don’t Breathe a Word is the story of Joy, who runs away from home to escape an abusive relationship to the streets of Seattle. She finds allies who have secrets of their own, including Creed—a homeless boy who dreams of making it in the music industry.
"There is a steamy relationship (and Creed is swoonworthy!), but there are no beaded dresses. In fact, the only scene where that dress could have appeared was at a fundraiser party where Joy meets her boyfriend Asher—the dark reason she has to leave. Also, I was worried with the final title, it would look like 'Don’t Breathe a Word about that naughty thing we did after the prom.' No. Oh no..."
Read the rest of Holly's Cover Story at
melissacwalker.com, and read about her
amazing launch contest too!
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (May 17th 2011)
ARC: 464 pages
Genre: Adult
Book from Publisher*
From Goodreads. On a soft summer night in Vermont, twelve-year-old Lisa went into the woods behind her house and never came out again. Before she disappeared, she told her little brother, Sam, about a door that led to a magical place where she would meet the King of the Fairies and become his queen.
Fifteen years later, Phoebe is in love with Sam, a practical, sensible man who doesn’t fear the dark and doesn’t have bad dreams—who, in fact, helps Phoebe ignore her own. But suddenly the couple is faced with a series of eerie, unexplained occurrences that challenge Sam’s hardheaded, realistic view of the world. As they question their reality, a terrible promise Sam made years ago is revealed—a promise that could destroy them all.
Review by Kate
DON'T BREATHE A WORD, by Jennifer McMahon, is an engaging mystery/fantasy story that will keep you glued to the pages until the very end. My expectations going into this book were definitely met, but the experience was unlike I ever imagined. McMahon weaves a phenomenal story that convinced me to believe one thing, then something totally different, and even at the end I still don't know what I believe.
I don't remember the last time I read a book this good but were so mixed on my emotions (all good emotions I assure you). I loved the idea that there was some faerie lore mixed into this contemporary mystery. The book flip flops between the present day life of Phoebe and the events leading up to Lisa's disappearance fifteen years earlier. There was not one narrator I would choose over the other but every time a chapter ended I was like, "No you can't stop there! I want more!"
Secrets were a big theme in this book. Every single character had a secret that ultimately was revealed, causing organized insanity to their lives and more questions to be answered. There were so many twists and turns in this book, and with each new revelation the suspense built and built until it all came crashing down at the end. But even when I thought I knew everything, McMahon threw one more twist at the end that was insane!
Overall, a fabulous book. It combines a contemporary mystery with fantasy so I believe the crossover will please many readers.
Cover note: Love! Love! The girl is exactly how I would picture Lisa, innocent but also hiding a secret in her eyes.
*FTC Disclosure: I received this ARC from the publisher. I do not receive payment of any kind in exchange for a review. I do not receive monetary compensation from any book links in my review.
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I saw this cover not long ago and instantly added it to my wish list without even knowing what it was about, so I'm glad to hear it's sounds as good as it looks:)
I was going to pass on this book as it doesn't seem like I would enjoy, but you have convinced me to read it!
Great review. I just love books with secrets...especially if they are revealed just right so I stay engaged. I do love the cover photo, it is stunning.
Good review - I also enjoy it when fantasy is mixed in with a different genre. I think if it's done properly it can bring out something new.<br /><br />I do like the cover, but the look of wisdom in the girl's eyes make her appear older which is a bit unsettling.<br /><br />I'll be keeping an eye out for this one.<br /><br />Have a greay weekend!<br /><br />Shelagh<br /><a href="http: