Cover Stories: The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau

Super-awesome author Laura Resau (who was featured on readergirlz in May for her lovely Red Glass) is here to talk about her newest cover in fascinating detail! Here she is:

"The Indigo Notebook is the first book in my new travel-adventure-romance series. Each of the three novels is set in a different country (and as in all of my books, there's a bit of mystical/magical stuff in there, too…). As I was writing this book, I imagined the cover being similar to my most recent novel, Red Glass (right, illustrated by Steve Rawlings and designed by Vikki Sheatsley).

The cover of Red Glass takes my breath away. Many people of all ages--both guys and girls--have told me that they were immediately drawn to it. I thought that since each book in this new series is named for a different color--The Indigo Notebook, The Ruby Notebook, and The Jade Notebook—the artist could do some really cool things with color and imagery. For this first book, I imagined a purple-blue light-saturated cover with images of a waterfall, crystals, candles, the Andes, a snake, and a close up of a girl's and guy's interlocked hands. When I told my editor at Delacorte my ideas, she said that they'd already decided on a different designer and cover look because they wanted to set this apart from my other books to signify a new series. This seemed reasonable to me (but I'm still holding out the hope that some future book of mine will have a similar look to Red Glass!)

"I was excited to find out that Marci Senders, the designer of the infamous Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants covers, would be creating my series covers. The first cover they ran by me (below) was pretty, but it didn't evoke travel in Ecuador (which is where the book is set.)

"Another problem was that it featured a girl with a a fair complexion holding a fair-skinned guy's hand. In my book the main character, Zeeta, and her love interest both have dark skin and hair (features which are essential to the storyline). I thought the girl's expression was intriguing, but she looked too polished, sitting at the café table in an elegant black outfit. To me, she didn't quite capture the spirit of Zeeta's personality or give the sense of movement and flight in her story. Zeeta has lived all over the world with her whimsical, hippie-ish mother, and her style reflects her upbringing—for example, her wardrobe has come from markets in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

"My editor was very receptive to my comments, and asked me to send some pictures of how I envisioned Zeeta. I searched through hundreds of stock photos looking for the right match. It was frustrating! I couldn't find the perfect picture, but I settled on one that gave a sense of windswept flight. The girl's skin and hair are still lighter than I wanted, but it was the best I could find. Marci tried out this photo in the cover (right)…

"I was happier with the second version, and thankful to Delacorte for incorporating my feedback, but part of me still wished for a cover that clearly suggested travel and adventure in the Andes. Luckily, the sales team wasn't crazy about the cover either, and asked for another one.

"In the end, my editor and Marci decided on covers that featured a vintage suitcase filled with things that suggested each book's setting. I was thrilled about the idea—and even more thrilled to hear that they planned on doing a photo shoot of all three covers. Here's the coolest part: they asked me to send them some items to include in the suitcase! The photos tucked in the suitcase are ones I took in Ecuador, including the picture of Zeeta's love interest, Wendell. The guy in the photo is actually my good friend, Maria's, brother (an indigenous Otavaleño Ecuadorian). This is perfect--my character Wendell shares his ethnic heritage (although he was adopted by an American couple when he was a baby). The crystal and the white embroidered shirt are also mine (and the toothpaste happens to be the same brand and flavor I use!).

"I'm very happy with this final cover. It's definitely a book I'd pick up in a bookstore. I love the rich indigo background and the vivid colors and interesting patterns and textures in the suitcase. I hope potential readers find the cover as enticing as I do!"

I love this story and the lengths everyone went to to get it right. Read more about the book, and enter for a chance to win a copy here.

So, what do you guys think of the cover?

Guest Post: Laura Resau on The Indigo Notebook + Giveaway!

The lovely Laura Resau is here to talk about her new novel, and to give away a copy to one lucky commenter. Welcome, Laura!

Hi, everyone! I met some of you readergirlz in May, when Red Glass was featured. Glad to be here again in your lovely company! My excuse for coming back? On October 13th, my new book—The Indigo Notebook—will be released. It's the first of three novels in my new travel-adventure-romance series—I'm so excited about its debut!

The story is about a fifteen-year-old girl, Zeeta, who lives in a different country every year with her flighty, English-teaching mom. Zeeta's life has been packed with adventure, but she wants the "normal life" she sees in American magazine ads. This year, in the colorful marketplace of Otavalo, in the Ecuadorian Andes, an American teenager named Wendell asks Zeeta to help him search for his birth parents. The quest leads them to an indigenous village, where they become entangled in mysteries, old secrets, and danger. Zeeta's and Wendell's search brings them closer together, and closer to fulfilling their greatest wishes. Now they must ask themselves: Is the truth worth pursuing, no matter what? Is it possible that a surprising reality might be better than a long-held fantasy? And most of all, what is it that will truly make their spirits fly?

The seeds of this story were planted while I was on a research trip to Ecuador a few years ago. I was spending time in indigenous communities around Otavalo to gain deeper understanding of my friend Maria Virginia Farinango's girlhood. (We were writing her memoir, entitled The Queen of Water, available Spring 2011). During my research, a local friend of mine told me about an adopted teenage boy who came to his indigenous community looking for his birth parents… it turned out this boy was my friend's biological half-brother! I was fascinated by the details of his story, and couldn't stop thinking about it. A couple years later, my husband and I decided to adopt a baby from Guatemala. During the eight months we were waiting for our son to come home, I spent lots of time reading books about adoption, going to adoption workshops, and thinking about how my son might feel about his adoption throughout his childhood and teen years. These reflections and ideas emerge in Wendell's storyline.

Zeeta and Layla's wandering life is something I've often fantasized about. For two years, I taught English in Mexico and traveled quite a bit around Latin America. I met many wanderers who taught English for a while in one country, then, feeling restless, moved on to another country. On one hand, it seemed like a fascinating and stimulating way to live, and part of me wanted to try it out (well, I sort of did—from age 18-27, I lived in Maryland, New Orleans, France, Mexico, Newfoundland, Arizona, and Colorado.) Another part of me loves feeling settled in a cozy home, surrounded by close friends, with a strong connection to my community. In a way, I explored these two conflicting parts of myself through Zeeta and Layla's relationship.

Zeeta's sure that "a normal life" is the only thing that will make her happy, but once her wish is on the verge of coming true, she questions her assumptions about happiness. I've often fallen into the "happiness trap"—convincing myself that I'll only be happy *IF* I get this one specific thing. For a while, I thought that having a baby was the only thing that could make me truly happy. Then, after my trips to Ecuador (which I detail in an Author's Note), I realized that adopting a baby could make me happy, too. (And YES-- my son makes me happy beyond words!)

I hope this book encourages readers to think about their own assumptions surrounding happiness, and opens their minds to new possibilities. I'd love it if this series inspires readers to travel the world, learn new languages, and explore unfamiliar cultures. And I hope the mystical elements of the story help you find magic in your own lives!

Here's a picture of me when I was sixteen (right). I was smiling EXTRA-BIG because I'd just gotten off my braces! (I was convinced that having my braces off would instantly bring me to the pinnacle of happiness, of course.) The photo was taken at school… oh, how those uncomfortable plastic orange chairs bring back memories…

Thanks for reading, girlz! You can go to my website to find out more about The Indigo Notebook!

To win a copy of Laura's new book, just comment below and tell us about a time when you fell for the happiness trap... or what brings you true happiness. We'll notify a winner by email next week!