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Monday, October 12, 2009

Cover Stories: Intertwined by Gena Showalter

Intertwined-large.jpg
Gena Showalter writes some seriously romantic books. And she's here to talk about Intertwined, a story about a boy with four human souls living inside him who meets a girl who quiets their voices and brings him some peace. He's a loner who attracts the paranormal; she's a social butterfly who repels it. But somehow... they're coming together.

Read on for your chance to win prizes from Harlequin Teen. Here's Gena:

"I love brainstorming cover ideas, but this one stumped me. I could see ribbons winding together, as well as a boy with his arms around a girl. But the first told nothing about the story and the second was perhaps a bit too suggestive with a title like Intertwined.

"I was asked to toss out any ideas I had. But truth be told, I didn’t give my publisher much. I think I told them about my ribbon idea, though I wasn’t sure if that kind of cover would intrigue readers.

"

They used a real model for the Intertwined cover. In fact, they did a casting call (and I sooo would have loved to be there). Then they sent me several different pictures of the models; the guys stood against a white wall and each held a number. Boy number 15 won all our hearts. He had a very Rob Pattinson feel, and as I have a cougar crush on Mr. Pattinson, well, there was just no other way for me to vote.

"When I first saw the cover, 

I loved it and couldn’t have been happier! No ribbons. A cute boy. And the title was on his shirt, which fit a scene in the book. By the time I saw the cover, it was pretty much a done deal. My only suggestion at that point was a darker, more paranormalish background. But a darker background would have distracted from the boy and the title, so we didn’t end up going that route.

"They played with showing more of the boy’s face, but in the end they opted to show just his mouth and chin. And I am absolutely, utterly satisfied."

Thanks, Gena! I have to admit that I think there's something sexy about that peek of undershirt on the cover, right? What do you guys think?

Harlequin Teen says: We hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about Gena Showalter's cover and that you’ll love the book as much as we love our covers. We’d also like to hear what you—truly!—think about our covers, and YA covers in general. Which are your favorites, which are your least favorites, and why? Comment here, and you might win a copy of My Soul to Take, Intertwined, or a cool matching T-shirt. Thanks for being with us today at Readergirlz!

19 comments:

Reverie said...

I fund that simple covers sometime work wonders. for example Twisted and Bones of Faerie. Simple and Striking.

-Vania

Ashley @ Book Labyrinth said...

One of my favourite recent covers is "Along for the Ride" by Sarah Dessen. I also love the look of the Gallagher Girl books by Ally Carter. I'm not a fan of anything too artsy looking... I'm not sure if that's a good way todescribe it. A good example is "Carpe Diem" by Autumn Cornwell - the book is SO GOOD and absolutely hilarious, but the cover doesn't represent that at all. I think covers should represent the feel of the book. I know Melissa has talked about the cover of "Lovestruck Summer" and how it didn't meet her initial expectations, and I agree about that one - it's a really cute cover and I like it a lot, but I don't think it represents the tone or main focus of the book. Something music related would've been a lot more appropriate.

Anyway, enough ramblings! =D

Elainareads said...

In general I tend to like most YA book covers so much better than adult covers. I like the colors and how telling some covers can be about the story. I tend to judge a book by its cover yes.. I know its wrong but if something catches my eye i'm usually pick the book up to see what its about. Right now my favorite book cover is The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz.

Wendy said...

I read both adult and YA books and I must say that I haven't seen one YA cover that I haven't liked! Some I just flat out love like Gena's Intertwined! It's awesome. :)

Wendy said...

And hey! Elphame's Choice by P.C. Cast? Beautiful cover, too!

Linda Joy Singleton said...

The cover is really compelling. I think it was a great call not to show more of the boy. It's very mysterious and the title spelled out really draws a reader's eye to the book. I hope to read it!

Dani. said...

I like very striking and/or symbolic covers. I'm happy with the Harlequin Teen covers because they are all very strking, and have that paranormal feel that i love. In general, most of the covers that I love are striking or colorful, I like symbolic covers but there arent that many out there today. Currently, I am in love with the Melissa de la Cruz covers, Lisa McMann's book covers, Anna Godberson's covers, and The Forest of Hands and Teeth. All very striking. :)

-Dani

holly cupala said...

Cool cover, great title!

Unknown said...

Hello
I like colorful and attractive cover very much.I like this cover because its attractive.Thank you for sharing some parts of story of this book.

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Yan said...

I love the more vibrant ones. There seems to be more hand-drawn covers out that really pops such as EYES LIKE STARS and ONCE A WITCH.

S said...

I need to be drawn to simple covers like "Wake" by Lisa McMann or covers where the face of the character(s) isn't fully shown, like "Violet on the Runway" by Melissa Walker or "Gingerbread" by Rachel Cohn.

Anonymous said...

my favorite YA cover(that i can think of at the moment) is paper towns by john green

Bella said...

I love the Intertwined cover -- I think it fits the story -- what I know of it -- perfectly! I also really like the Rachel Vincent covers -- YA and adult. And of course, the Twilight covers, while mocked, are some of my favs!

Thanks for stopping by Gena!

Ellz said...

I am glad she said ok to just the lower face shot. It adds some mystery to him. The coloring is great too.

Llehn said...

I like covers that hint something about the story of the book.

lesly7ch(at)yahoo(dot)com

DeNiSe said...

I love having the guy in the cover though i dont understand why they never show the face

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Riyanna Lopez said...

Author Gena Showalter has created a fascinating world with strange and intriguing characters that readers cannot help but feel drawn to. From the first page, until the last, my eyes were compelled to keep reading long past my bed time. I guess that is a good word to describe this story: compelling.

Riyanna
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