Exclusive: Megan Whalen Turner Reveals the Cover for 'Return of the Thief'

Goodreads: It's finally here! What are your thoughts on the cover for Return of the Thief?

Megan Whalen Turner: I love that fiery red—it’s one of my favorite colors—and I love the little crackle pattern, as if the heat from the volcano has crinkled the background. Also, I love the elephant. It was a long wait for that elephant.

GR: What can you tell us about the cover's creative process?

MWT: The process for the new covers on the first four books in the Queen’s Thief series and for Thick as Thieves and Return of the Thief was the same. My editor, Virginia Duncan, and I talked about different elements that might work for the story. Then I sent a lot of reference images, and Virginia showed me the basic design first.

Little by little, the details were added and shuffled around. Every time she sent another version of the cover, it was better than before. I am continually astonished by cover artist Joel Tippie and art director Paul Zakris. I look at the trees especially and think they are the most amazing works of art.

GR: The first book in the Queen's Thief series was originally published in 1996. How has the creative process for selecting covers changed since then? Were there any visual themes that remained the same throughout the series?

MWT: Let me just say that I love the original cover of The Thief. It has a stylized image of the goddess Hephestia sitting on her throne, and I think it looks mysterious and fascinating (do you see that shadowy hand?). But I also have to say, it’s a darn good thing it’s got that silver sticker on it because I may be the only person who likes it. People thought it was a very bad picture of the main character. Some librarians told me their students thought it was Jesus. There have been many other editions since. Most of them foreign translations I have no influence over at all, and that’s probably a good thing. They arrive in the mail like birthday presents, and I’m excited every time a new artist creates a cover.

Some years later (but who’s counting), when I delivered The King of Attolia, Greenwillow repackaged the paperbacks with Vince Natale paintings on the covers. They sent the new cover for The Thief, which was beautiful. I’m not a stickler for accuracy. I didn’t mind that Hamiathes’ Gift was the size of a yo-yo. And then they sent the cover for The Queen of Attolia—which I thought was absolutely horrifying. A hook with a gleaming point about to pierce the queen of Attolia’s finger? I said, No, that was creepy. I called Virginia, who had passed me to the paperback publisher, I think, before I remembered—the Jesus cover.

I am responsible for what goes inside the book, not what goes on the outside, and there’s a really good reason for that. Greenwillow was willing to make changes, but I said, No, never mind, and as far as I know, no one has ever shied away from The Queen of Attolia because of that image. It is, after all, both beautiful and on point.

When Greenwillow repackaged the series again last year, they asked for any images that I thought might be relevant, and I bombed Virginia with thousands via email. Leigh Bardugo looked at me over the dinner table after a day at San Diego Comic-Con and asked why I didn’t just make Pinterest boards. Thank you, Leigh. Now I do that. I gather pictures; Greenwillow transforms them into beautiful covers.

Oh, I almost forgot. I also send them my terrible hand-drawn sketches. Virginia loves those.

GR: The finale to the Queen's Thief series was 20 years in the making. What lessons have you learned along the way? What moments stood out for you?

MWT: It’s been a long writing journey, and one of the most important things I’ve learned is to watch out for self-indulgence. It is the author’s most insidious enemy. It tells you it’s OK not to work when you’re feeling tired or distracted. It whispers in your ear that you don’t need more character development and it is totally, absolutely, positively OK to use three adverbs in a row. That’s really what they mean when people tell you to kill your darlings—beware of self-indulgence, but it’s more than just the adverbs you have to watch out for.

On the other hand, I think you have to believe your writing is more important than the laundry, or you’ll never write anything. People who enjoy writing the most are the ones who have the hardest time justifying the time they spend on it. But there will always be other things that really need doing, and yes, we should do them, but writing also deserves its moment at the top of the priority list.

As for memorable moments, wow, those phone calls out of the blue are great. Susan Hirschman, my first editor, called to say that Greenwillow wanted to publish my first book, and all I could think was, Who could be prank-calling me like this? When the Newbery committee called, I said, "Newbery? Like, with one r, Newbery?"

Maybe the best moments are when the universe brings me a message from a reader who loves my books within a few days of a message sent by someone who loves that reader.

"My son loves your books"—and I know, I know he does. He wrote the day before from the other side of the world to tell me about how much it meant to share the books with his mom. “I love your books”—and I think, yeah, your dad told me that when he got you a signed set for graduation. Congratulations!

GR: If you could speak to your characters directly, what would you say to them now that your series is drawing to a close?

MWT: I’m sorry it took 20 years. I know, I know, you all arrived so quickly in a haze of glory, and I have been slow to get everything written down. I was busy, OK? And listen, in those 20 years?—I learned a lot of things, and I think I understand all of you much better now than I did then.

GR: What message would you like to share with your longtime fans who have been with you since the beginning?

MWT: Thank you, you wonderful, thoughtful, and most especially patient people! Thank you for taking to heart all of my prickly characters. Thank you for rereading. Thank you for noticing the subtlest of hints. Thank you for putting up with me when I’m "not telling," and thank you, each of you, for taking my words and turning them into the story in your head.

Return of the Thief will be available on March 19, 2019. Don’t forget to add it to your Want to Read shelf!

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