Melissa C. Walker's Blog, page 34

Photo Friday: Arcadia, Florida

Last month when I was in Florida for a weekend, my mom and I drove across the state from west to east and came across this middle town: Arcadia. We stopped for lunch in the charming downtown area, and I snapped a few pics. I love discovering places like this!

Gorgeous old building (pink!) with an adorable little tea shop downstairs:

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An opera house!

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Hello, vintage blue-violet-gold dress of my dreams! (This store wasn't open--tragic!)

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Oh, me? I'm just peachy.

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A bookstore with baked goods wins my heart every time.

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Isn't this just such a charming town? It used to be the county seat! I'm not even sure what that means, but I love it.

Happy Friday!

Cover Stories: A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

[image error] Alex Flinn, who shared the Cover Story for Beastly on Monday, is back to talk about another of her retold fairytale covers, A Kiss in Time , based on Sleeping Beauty. Here's Alex:

"I don't think I had much input for the Kiss in Time hardcover. I was pleased with the color scheme and general look, but I thought it was a bit bland. I've seen other covers by this designer, such as Fairest (below right) and Princess Ben , and they always have a little something more to them than just a girl in a pretty dress. It was obvious that the cover was 'set' when I saw it. It was a photograph, and they'd spent weeks going through dozens of photos to find the perfect one -- it was shot specifically for the book. I liked the colors and the font.

[image error] "The girl does look like Talia in my book, and the dress is important in the story and is as I portrayed it, the same color as the girl's eyes. But I was a bit disappointed that you couldn't tell it was Sleeping Beauty, as you can easily tell that Fairest is Snow White. That said, it has been a successful hardcover. I do think the cover art has caused it to be mostly overlooked by the young-adult library community, because it makes it look like a younger book. However, bookstore sales have made up for that. It is so pretty that you want to pick it up.

[image error] "My editor and I had discussed a spindle for the A Kiss in Time paperback and, in fact, even looked at photos of spindles on Etsy, but they ended up going a different way. When I first saw the cover, left, I didn't really think the flower had much to do with the story.

"I had originally thought that the flower was a pansy. However, I later realized that it was a poppy (the colors are reversed so that the poppy's distinctive red color is the background color while the flower is white). The poppy is a symbol of both sleep (because of the poppy's relationship to opium, as in The Wizard of Oz) and also, remembrance (such as in Macrae's poem, "In Flanders Field"), both strong themes in Sleeping Beauty. Indeed, the poppy is a symbol of resurrection in Greco-Roman myth, and Talia and her kingdom are resurrected by Jack's kiss. On the cover, the poppy has thorns and, of course, a thorn-covered wall is strongly associated with the story of Sleeping Beauty. Will readers get all this from the cover? Probably not, but it's pretty."

Thanks, Alex! I like the iconic design of the paperback more than the hardcover, to be honest. I also like how it goes with simple Beastly's design. (And I think the thorny font is cool!)

What do you guys think?

Win-It Wednesday: Miles From Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams

The winner of last week's giveaway of Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab is... Chelley! Send me your address, C.

[image error] This week, I'm giving away a copy of Miles from Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams. I read this book in two days, and I was seriously nervous the whole time. It definitely keeps you worrying and guessing, and I love emotional involvement.

So, to enter to win a copy of this book, tell me the last time you felt really scared by a book or a movie or whatever. For me, it was with this book!

Good luck--I'll choose a random winner next week.

Cover Stories: Beastly by Alex Flinn

[image error] Alex Flinn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beastly (you may have heard of a little movie based upon this book, no?) is here to talk about the evolution of her cover. Take it away, Alex!

"I'm not a very visual person, and I knew the art department would do their thing. I've generally been pleased with my covers.

"I didn't give much input for Beastly. We may have discussed a rose. I have given more input in the past, but they've really always come up with something completely different than what was discussed, so I don't think I really said anything.

"Regarding the original cover, above, I was happy with it. I was a bit concerned about whether the rose would be a turn-off to my usual boy audience, but the black cover seems to make it less feminine. At least, plenty of boys read the book.

[image error] "Regarding the movie tie-in cover (right), well, of course, I was excited. I knew it would be the poster art for Beastly. I think it's cool how they found a way to include the Beast's handsome look and his ugly look in the same picture.

"The cover is actually somewhat reminiscent (unintentionally, of course) of the cover of my very first novel, Breathing Underwater (below left), which portrays the two sides of the main character's personality.

[image error] "I was really quite pleased with the Beastly cover and had no suggestions. The original cover is a drawing, and the movie tie-in cover is the movie art and features the actors (Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer)."

Thanks, Alex! Read a full interview with Alex about the book-to-movie process (and what she thinks of the casting) on I Heart Daily.

I really love the original cover -- I think it's lovely and I'm a sucker for black & white & red together. And of course, the movie tie-in will generate lots of interest. What do you guys think? And have you seen the movie yet?!

Photo Friday: Breakfast at Peels

If you're following me on twitter, you may have noticed that when I post a photo, it's usually of food. I love good-looking food, and I had the best breakfast this morning at Peels in the East Village with my friends Anne and Amy.

I give you cappuccino and biscuits n' gravy. Divine!

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Am I weird, or is there just something about food photos to love?

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Happy Friday! Enjoy good food this weekend!

Cover Stories: The Secret Journeys Of Jack London by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon, Illustrated by Greg Ruth

[image error] In a special treat of a Cover Story, there are three people weighing in today. Here are Tim Lebbon (TL) and Christopher Golden (CG), the authors, and Greg Ruth (GR), the illustrator who did the cover (actually, editor Jordan Brown weighs in too, so it's the first ever four-person Cover Story!).

Did you have an idea in mind for your cover as you were writing the book?

TL: I think I always imagined the cover featuring Jack himself, probably in an action scene, although I'm always concerned at what a character might look in cases like this. Greg's final product exceeded my wildest expectation - there's so much power in that image, so much Wild, that it just took my breath away.

CG: I had been thinking of something almost antique and old-fashioned looking to go along with the Jack London era adventure tone. Greg managed to come up with something that served that desire while being totally contemporary and beautiful. We're lucky to have him on this. Despite warnings to the contrary, people often do judge books by their covers, and this one is a home run.

GR: I think the notion going in was to thread the needle between making a cover that was distinctly Jack London, but without actually showing Jack's face... which was of course the hard trick to manage. I needed then to make everything about the image a contributor to his character, and to that I did a number of initial sketches of him atop some snow ridge, either with his back to us, or facing us, but his face obscured by snow and light. We quickly settled on the former and worked it towards fulfilling the initial goal along those lines.

[Below, see two of Greg's eight intial sketches for the cover, at left, all very different ideas, these are the two to which we most gravitated. They loved the scale and the weight of the one with Jack looking out from the precipice, and also the intricate detail of the more close-up image of Jack's back. They asked if Greg could combine them a bit in a more refined sketch, and that one is on the far right:]

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Did your publisher ask for your input before the art dept started working?

TL: We talked generalities about book design, the feel we wanted for it. But we didn't impose any restrictions, because we all had faith that Greg would come up with something wonderful.

CG: We did talk about the desire to have something that set the tone, that was both contemporary and yet communicated the classic adventure tone. Our editor, Jordan Brown, is one of the most perceptive people I've ever met in publishing, and he knew exactly what would pull it all together, and that Greg was the artist for the job.

GR: Yeah it was great in that way--and unusual to be honest. I find we nearly always end up with the best cover when at this early stage I'm given the freedom to sort of pursue our initial course based on what in the book strikes me as a potent image. Typically as an artist on a cover job, you'll get a really heavy handed direction right off the bat, usually initiated by marketing to do essentially just draft an already decided upon image as if you were merely a glove waiting for a hand, rather than being allowed to do what you do that got you the job in the first place. This was absolutely not the case and I think everyone giving me a first crack at it got us where we wanted to go in a way the usual process would have otherwise prevented entirely.

[Greg sent three color sketches, below, so they could decide on a direction for palette. Editor Jordan Brown says, "Although they were all interesting, we ended up going with something closest to the far left version. We loved the other two, actually--the second, which was a bit metaphysical, and the last, which felt a bit more like gritty taiga than frigid tundra--but the first one most caught our eye for the iciness, the swirling weather, and the way Jack stood out against all the snow around him. We asked Greg to see if he could make Jack pop a bit more, set him off against the indifferent and violent landscape around him in a way that is almost violent itself. We also asked if he might be able to make the wolf just a bit more active."]

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What other tweaks happened along the way?

GR: If I recall correctly there were discussions back and forth about how to make the figure look more like Jack--since we weren't going to be relying on his face, the form he cut, his size, stance posture, etc... all had to carry that weight, so we did tweaks that a good deal. There was also some back and forth regarding the wolf especially--and of all the elements of the cover, the wolf went through the most changes simply because the burden of Jack's spirit was resting on his furry shoulders, and it was essential to get him right.

[image error] [At right is the last sketch prior to final art. Editor Jordan says, "You can see that Greg took our somewhat vague direction and really ran with it: Jack's jacket hue has become more vivid, and the wolf is alive with movement. It was clear to us that we had the piece we wanted, and only asked for a few more tiny tweaks - we asked for a bit more deeper red in the jacket, and we wanted to see if Greg could turn Jack's face more toward the camera, in a slightly more heroic silhouette that reveals his age a bit more clearly as seventeen."]

How was the cover created, artistically?

GR: I guess this is mine to answer... umm I probably used portions of myself to get certain details right. If I'm having trouble getting a set of the shoulders right, or the way a hand twists a bit when it's arm is sitting in a certain way, I'll stop and take a picture of myself to get the basic architecture down. Otherwise I really just researched the period for garb, equipment tools, etc... I have this huge folder filled with that kind of stuff and will have that out and running while I'm sketching. While the initial thrust of the painting is what draws you in, it's those details that keep you there--or have you returning to it. As for the wolf, well I had in the recent past done a Conan graphic novel for Dark Horse, and a particular issue was devoted to young Conan fighting off a wolf attack bare handed... so I had a lot of foundation from which to draw upon to get the wolf sorted properly.

[image error] What did you think the first time you saw your cover? Truly! (Final cover at left again).

TL: Wonderful. It summed up so much about the book, and about Jack London, about whom I became fascinated whilst researching the book. He led a remarkable, short life, and he had such a free spirit, and this cover image exudes that sense of unhindered wildness.

CG: So damn lucky. I've had covers run the gamut from awful to wonderful, but with the combination of Greg's art and the amazing design work the folks at Harper have done, this one beats them all. It's such a great, iconic cover.

GR: While I refuse to toot my own horn about this, there are images that I draw or paint that are struggles, that never resolve, or are at best pyrrhic victories, and then there are those that rocket forth as if they're crafting themselves. The latter events are always both the most fun and make the image the most endearing to me personally--of which this assignment was truly and example of. Everything just clicked together. The design was indeed amazing--from the jacket, the more modern type on the cover even down to the binding and case embossing... a book that looks this good is only possible when it's being executed by seriously devoted book nerds, and it has been an absolute joy because of that.

How do you feel about your cover, in the end?

CG: Strangely enough, one of my favorite things on the cover is the mountain in the distance. Jack and the wolf are iconic, but it's the mountain that represents his calling, the lure of the wild and the unknown.

GR: Love Chris' comment about the mountain--while perhaps visually he's right it seems strange to go there first, narratively it's all that matters. Given the stance and set up for the image, this is all about the story of his yearning for the wilderness beyond where he is. He seeks what's over the horizon at every turn, and in the end if I can in any small way deliver that narrative aspect to the single image the cover requires, then I'm over the moon about that. To be honest I tend to really loathe looking at my work after I've done it--it's a terribly unpleasant experience for me, but occasionally a job overcomes that little ego-tantrum, stop focusing entirely upon all the little errors and failings of the piece, and I can look upon it and feel proud about it. This is one of those times. The interior drawings especially. There was just something about the themes, the excellent prose and pacing and the place this book lived that made hearing it's music easy and immediate. Now the only problem is doing it better for the next one!

Thank you, Tim, Christopher, Greg and Jordan! Wow, was that Cover Story epic or WHAT? Just like the book sounds, right? What do you guys think?


PS-This post is part of a huge blog tour, so here's the full schedule in case you want to learn more!

Monday, February 28th
Little Willow at Bildungsroman

Tuesday, March 1st
Kiba Rika (Kimberly Hirsh) of Lectitans

Wednesday, March 2nd
Kim Baccellia from Si, Se Puede! and Young Adults Book Central

Thursday, March 3rd
You're here!

Friday, March 4th
Justin from Little Shop of Stories

Monday, March 7th
Rebecca's Book Blog

Tuesday, March 8th
Martha Brockenbrough, author of Things That Make Us [Sic]

Download the electronic press kit for THE SECRET JOURNEYS OF JACK LONDON.

Win-It Wednesday: Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab

Last week's winner of two great Alyson Noel books is... Jamad! Send me your address, J!

[image error] This week, I'm giving away an oldie-but-goodie. Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab is the story of city-girl Matisse who finds herself in rural upstate New York after her dad gets sick. She has to adjust to hayrides, cheerleaders and small-town gossip, all while she deals with her father's illness.

It's a lovely book that I recently picked up again, and I thought it would make a great Win-It Wednesday!

To enter, leave a comment answering these Qs: Did you ever have to move while you were in school? What was the new place like for you? How did it change you?

I moved for 4th and 5th grade--from Chapel Hill, NC to Philadelphia, PA to help my grandparents when they were sick--and then we went right back to Chapel Hill (same house even!). I hated it at the time, but I think it made me a more adventurous person on the whole. That's my experience. What's yours?

I'll choose a winner at random next Wednesday.

PS-Trailer!

Cover Stories: Everlasting by Alyson Noel

[image error] The super-amazing Alyson Noel is here to share her thoughts on the final cover in the Immortals series (can't believe it's ending!). Remember that you can win two of her re-issued books this week on the blog, so enter here by Wednesday 3/2.

Now, here's Alyson:

"After writing 16 books (14 published - 2 in production), I still don't give much thought to cover concepts until I'm asked by my publisher to share my thoughts on cover concepts--despite the fact that I imagine the characters so vividly I often feel like I'm transcribing the movie that plays in my head. But when it comes to envisioning a single image meant to both convey the story within and entice potential readers to grab it off the shelf . . .well, I'm more than happy to leave that to the professionals. So it's a good thing I have the wildly talented, Angela Goddard, the St. Martin's cover designer, to rely on.

"As the sixth and final installment in The Immortals series, I'd been thinking about the EVERLASTING cover pretty much since the start. And when asked for my input, I mentioned something about the lotus flower serving as an important symbol, and . . . well . . . that's about it. I was eager to see it, had really high hopes for it, but I just didn't have a defined idea for how it should look.

"When they sent me the final image, I had the same response I did when I first saw the EVERMORE cover--I squealed with delight! I'm thrilled with the result: I love the way the lotus blossom appears lit from within, I love the way Ever and Damen's lips don't quite touch, I love the fact that Damen finally made his cover debut... I just love it overall. I think it's a really great bookend to EVERMORE, and a perfect way to end the series, and I really hope the readers love it too!"

Thanks, Alyson! This epic series has been a huge fan favorite, and the covers just glow. What do you guys think?

Photo Friday: Big News!

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This is the word, and I want a cupcake. I'm due in August, right after Small Town Sinners has its book birthday! Crazy, right? I would post a sonogram, but I think they all kinda look like baby pirates.

Happy Friday!

Cover Stories: Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper

[image error] When I saw the hair on Mary Hooper's penniless watercress seller protagonist in Fallen Grace , I had to find out more. Here's Mary with the Cover Story:

"I really wanted a graveyard and headstones, with a mysterious figure seen in a mist in the background, but the design department had other ideas. When I saw the cover, I loved the image, but was still keen on having a few gravestones!

"Only the background colour changed. In the UK, it started off as a cream cover (right), but one of the big bookshop chains didn't like this and wanted it more 'moody'; more like the Dark Romance (ie Vampire) books. [image error] I like this new, darker, version. Oh -- and in the end they did give me another tombstone or two on the back.

"I had to go back and slightly tweak the colour of my character's hair so that it became that lovely beech-leaf colour.

"In the end, I love the cover and think it especially appropriate of the title that she isn't showing her face. One thing I think is funny is that there is no way that Grace, a slum-dwelling, penniless, starving watercress-seller, would have such gorgeous shiny locks, but I guess it looks better on a cover than lank rats' tail hair.

"Best of all as far as I am concerned: on the UK version of the paperback there will be a strapline on the cover stating, "BEST NEW HISTORICAL NOVEL OF 2010 - The Times." The US and UK covers have the same background colour and image and I was hoping this strapline would be on the US version, but it wasn't. You can read it here now, though!"

Thanks, Mary! I love this cover. The cream version is fine, but the blue-gray background with the striking hair (and hairstyle, which makes me want long hair) is enchanting. What do you guys think?

Check out the trailer too: