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readergirlz is a literacy and social media project for teens, awarded the National Book Foundation's Innovations in Reading Prize. The rgz blog serves as a depot for news and YA reviews from industry professionals and teens. As volunteers return full force to their own YA writing, the organization continues to hold one initiative a year to impact teen literacy. All are welcome to "like" us on Facebook!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Cover Stories: Evermore by Alyson Noel

EVERMORE, the first book in Alyson Noel's Immortals series, has been #1 on the New York Times bestseller list for weeks on end! This is definitely on my to-read list. And, Alyson shared her cover story on my blog this spring, and now I want to share it with readergirlz (have you guys read the book yet?!):

evermore2.jpg "I did use some visuals while I wrote. I have this image of a blond girl--this is how I imagined Ever to be. Except Ever has bangs, which are pretty significant in the story. But still, I was drawn to her wistful sadness with a hint of inner strength--that rang very 'Ever' to me!

"And I used this catalogue to decorate the house for a very significant Halloween party in EVERMORE--it was so much fun, I wish I could've done it for real!

"However, I had absolutely no visions for the cover! None. Nada. Zilch. Coulevermore1.jpgdn't even imagine what it might look like. I work this way with all of my books! When my editor (the awesome Rose Hilliard) called one day to ask for my input, I didn't want her to know I hadn't given it the slightest thought, so I quickly mentioned some recent covers I liked, talked about colors (Purple! I love purple!), and mentioned that the tulips are hugely symbolic so we might want to add a few of those too. Then she took our ideas to the Art Department--et voila--a few weeks later, the EVERMORE cover appeared in my e-mail box and it was love at first sight!

"They used a photo-shopped stock photo. I learned this via one of my favorite YA bloggers who noticed they used the same photo on EVERMORE as they did in that gorgeous NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL cover. But they used the photo in such different ways it didn't reallyEvermore.jpg bother me at all. Just like it doesn't really bother me when someone is wearing the same dress as me--there's room for us all!

"When I first saw EVERMORE's cover, I thought: WOW! And then I called my husband into the room and we both stared at the computer screen and said a simultaneous: WOW! Like a chorus. Like we'd been practicing our 'wows' or something. I seriously fell in love with it, and I e-mailed my editor right away to tell her so!

"My editor is awesome to work with, and so far we've collaborated on both the EVERMORE and BLUE MOON covers. I'll be revealing BLUE MOON soon--I'm very excited about it! I did see an original for BLUE MOON, and it changed quite a bit--for the better!

"This brunette is the inspiration for two characters (identical twins) who show up in BLUE MOON. Her evermore3.jpgchoppy bangs, her defiant oddness, her playfulness, really summed it up for me!

"The Art Department takes all suggestions to heart! Every single one of them! And I think they did such a tremendous job with both covers, I can't wait to see what they do with UNTITLED BOOK #3!

"I never saw an original version for EVERMORE, only the end result. Here's how I feel about the cover: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!"

I think it's gorgeous too, and I love the purple and red combo--it really stands out. What do you guys think?

9 comments:

ReaderGirl said...

Awas great, and the cover really made me want to read it1 Pwetty covers! XD

Alyson Noel said...

Aw, thanks Readergirlz!!

Denise Jaden said...

This is one of the most striking covers I've seen in a while, Alyson! LOVE the red flowers. Thanks for sharing your story. I have no ideas for the cover of my book and was feeling pretty bad about that. But now I can tell my editor...oh yeah, well Alyson Noel didn't have any ideas either! - kidding!

Tina said...

This is one of my fave covers. As soon as I saw Evermore's cover I knew I wanted to read it. I didn't even read the back story yet.

Shelf Elf said...

Amazing how the moods on this cover and Justina's cover are so different, given that the photo is the same. I love both of them. Great impact but in different ways.

cindy said...

loved this post. thank you readergirlz and alyson. also loved evermore. cannot wait for the sequel!!

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