Cover Stories: The Lost Sister by Megan Kelley Hall

I did a Cover Story with Megan Kelley Hall over a year ago when SISTERS OF MISERY (left) came out where she talked about her hopes for the second book. And now that book is also on shelves. So she's back to talk about the cover of THE LOST SISTER! Here's Megan:

"I was so lucky with my first cover. It was amazing, beautiful, intriguing. I actually think I made a lot of sales just on the cover alone. So the bar was set pretty high. I really wanted something similar to my first cover, but when I first saw the design for THE LOST SISTER, I was upset. Nothing could ever live up to that first one.

"I had sent along some mockups of covers (left and right) that I liked. I even found a French website that had these amazing pictures and contacted the girl to see if we could use her pics. She agreed, but my publisher had already purchased the stock photo and didn't want to budge.

"I didn't like the cover (right) when I saw it. I thought it was way too orange and washed out and I didn't like looking up the girl's nose, and I thought it was strange that they picked a girl who looked nothing like the girl on SISTERS OF MISERY.

"I made a LOT of suggestions. Unfortunately, my editor's hands were tied. She was definitely on my side and was pulling for me, but it was a bit of an uphill battle.

"The art department darkened it to make it spookier. I asked them to crop it down a bit, just so you couldn't see up the girl's nose, but they didn't do it. In the end, the darker cover stands out a lot more than the original washed out version:

"I like it. Not in love with it. It's kind of a sore subject for me still."

You know, sometimes authors are unhappy with their covers. It's hard to talk about publicly, so thanks, Megan, for being honest. Still, though I prefer the Sisters of Misery cover, I like this new one. It's soft and her lightness contrasts the gray background (I'm glad they darkened it).

What do you guys think?