Cover Stories: Alibi Junior High by Greg Logstead

Greg Logstead has told a Cover Story once before, sharing the awesome tale behind Something Happened. Now, Greg is back to tell the tale of Alibi Junior High!

"Melissa, thanks for featuring Alibi Junior High on your cover stories! This blog is so much fun. Let's see, I didn't really have an idea for the cover. All I really wanted was for it to be really cool. I was thinking maybe some kind of snake tattoo or something like that. (One of the characters, Andy has a snake tattoo.)

"My publisher asked for ideas and unfortunately all I could come up with was my very vague 'it should be really cool' suggestion. Which in retrospect isn't much help at all. It's like if a painter asked me what color I wanted my house painted and I just told him, 'I Just want it to look cool.'

"Okay, the first time I saw the first cover, I have to admit I...HATED it: the drawing, the

green colors, even the letters - it looked completely wrong to me. I was disappointed. This is only my second book so I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to be 'difficult' so I spent a whole lot of time trying to convince myself that it wasn't that bad.

"Luckily...I wasn't the only person who hated the first cover and they came up with the final cover which I LOVED the instant I saw it. I emailed it to friends and even printed it to show to people at work. Now...I can't even imagine Alibi Junior High without that final cover. I think they nailed it perfectly."

I'm with Greg! That first cover... eh, not so much. I love the final. What do you guys think?

Cover Stories: Something Happened by Greg Logsted

Greg Logsted is gave his Cover Story to my blog last week (that's his final cover at left), and I wanted to share it with readergirlz as well!

His novel, Something Happened, is about Billy, an 8th grader struggling with the death of his dad. His mom is very distant, and his friends just don't get what he's going through. His new English teacher, though, the young and beautiful Miss Gate, offers friendship... and maybe more.

I'm really interested to read this book, which was originally going to be a Middle Grade book but then was bumped up to the older age group--Young Adult. I like that it's from the point of view of a 13-year-old boy, too--that feels new to me. Plus: Scandal!

Without further ado, here's Greg:

"My first idea for the cover of Something Happened was the cover image from a movie "Romance & Cigarettes" that had a woman lying on her back, holding a cigarette, wearing red heels and, um, suggestive clothing. Because the original title for Something Happened was "Sock Puppets in Love" - which I scrapped because, great as it was, it didn't fit the serious tone of the book - I thought she could have a sock puppet in her hand instead of the cigarette. Well, of course a cover with a cigarette and a woman in suggestive clothing wasn't appropriate for a YA book - even I recognized that! I did share my "Romance & Cigarette" idea when asked my thoughts - for some odd reason, no one went for it. Btw, I do not smoke.















"The original cover design (above, full jacket) was cartoon-like with a yellow background and a car driving on a zig-zaggy street - a far cry from the beautiful colors and tight sweater we wound up with for the final cover. Truthfully, the original cover was a lot of fun...for a completely different kind of book (just like the original title).

"Because they eventually decided to publish it as a YA rather then a MG, the cover changed. The woman used as a model for the final cover actually works at Simon & Schuster. But she's headless in the picture and no one has ever told me her name, unfortunately. Still, she does look like the kind of woman a teenage boy would find, um, hot.

"As for the final cover, I honestly was pleased with it. I love it."

I think it's pretty enticing too, and it sounds perfect for the mood of the book. What are your thoughts on the covers?