Cover Stories: Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

Eileen Cook has been here before, sharing Cover Stories for What Would Emma Do?, The Education of Hailey Kendrick and Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood (all awesome tales, btw). Her new release is Unraveling Isobel, and there's a rainbow Cover Story to tell:

"When I finished this book I was certain I knew what should be on the cover.  I pictured a creepy gothic house perched on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean.  I’d been imagining the house in the book for so long I could imagine it perfectly.  I’d even drawn floor plans of the house when writing the book.  Of course the problem with having this type of clear vision, it’s really hard to find something in the real world that matches.

"I’m incredibly lucky to work with the team at Simon Pulse. They always invite me to participate in the cover design process. They talk to me not only about what I imagine the cover looking at, but also the feeling I want the cover to impart. My cover designer, Cara Petrus, wanted to make sure that the cover had some of the creepy gothic feel, but also wasn’t too dark as the book has humor too. Cara picked up on Isobel’s interest in art and also her feeling of being trapped..."

Read the rest of Eileen's Cover Story, and see the other color scheme possibilities, at melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook

Last year, Eileen Cook shared the story behind her bright, doll-starring cover for Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood. She's back with a new release, The Education of Hailey Kendrick, which Kirkus calls "the highest quality--like a gourmet truffle" in a starred review! This new cover is just as bright as the last (with less doll), and here's Eileen to tell its tale:

"I have two (or at least two) great weaknesses as a writer. I'm lousy at titles and terrible at imagining covers. I'm so lucky to have the team at Simon Pulse behind me. My editor somehow manages to avoid laughing out loud at my titles ideas and the cover designer, Cara can be counted on to come up with some great ideas.

"The book takes place in an exclusive boarding school so my first idea was having a scene where you see Hailey climbing over the wall to sneak off campus. However, we didn't want it to look like she was breaking out of jail...

"Cara then had an idea that she quickly sketched out with photoshop where it was the main character in her school uniform with a lollipop (right). The problem was that it looked a bit 'porny.' You have to watch out for those school uniforms -- who knew a blazer and knee highs could be so racy..."

Read the rest of Eileen's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: Getting Revenge of Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook

The lovely Eileen Cook is here to share the story of her novel, Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood.

"There is a scene in the book where the main character dresses up a Barbie doll in a cheerleader outfit and then chucks it into a wood chipper. I thought it would be fun to show someone holding a Barbie doll by it's hair and sticking a pin into it- voodoo style.

"I shared my idea, but the art department warned me that Barbie is trademarked so they frown on people sticking pins in her on book covers. The designer did like the concept so she ordered a custom made doll from China and created the cover we ended up with ...

Read the rest of Eileen's Cover Story, and see some funny doll play, at melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook

Eileen Cook stopped by my blog to share the cover story behind her new release, What Would Emma Do?, and I had to share it with readergirlz! Here's Eileen:

"I believe there are few things more scarier than the first time you open the jpeg of your cover. While the saying might be 'don't judge a book by its cover,' I am well aware that is exactly what we tend to do. I wasn't sure what I wanted the cover to look like, but I was certain that I wanted to grab the reader's interest by raising some questions in their mind. If it could raise a question then hopefully the reader would pick up the book.

"My editor and the cover designer involved me in the discussion for the cover and even sent some candid photos from the day they did the photo shoot. It was a freezing cold day and they used a hair dryer to heat up the model between shots. There were concerns that because the model was so cold it came across in her expression. When I saw the first draft overall (left) I was fairly happy. I didn't love it, but I also didn't hate it. I've known a lot of writers who had covers that they detested so I felt like the situation was a win. A few weeks later they emailed me again saying they had decided the cover wasn't bang on and they were doing a different version. I chewed down a few fingernails until it arrived.

"As soon as I saw the final cover it was love. I love the awkwardness of her sneaking a kiss in the bushes and that she's stepping on his foot. I was thrilled that they went from what was a good cover to one that felt like a great cover."



Thanks, Eileen! I love the final cover because I think it conveys the "being bad" side of the story more. What do you guys think?