P.C. Cast, along with her daughter Kristin, is the author of the bestselling House of Night series. Some of her previous books are being reissued for Harlequin Teen's new line, so she's here to talk about the new covers they'll have. Thanks, P.C.!
"The cover story for the YA reissue of Elphame's Choice (right) and Brighid's Quest is a little unusual. When they were first published by LUNA, my fabulous editor, Mary-Theresa Hussey, and I had several conversations about how the strong, unique heroines should be portrayed. I remember the cover of Brighid's Quest was particularly interesting because both of us felt that it was important that the setting stay true to the descriptions in the book.
"Well, many of the most important scenes in the book are set in Partholon's Centaur Plains, which is basically Oklahoma's Tall Grass Prairie. So the original cover of Brighid included real flora from pictures taken of the Tall Grass Prairie by my mother! How cool is that?
"And how to top that?!
"You can imagine that Mary-Theresa and I had several in-depth conversations when the decision was made to reissue Elphame and Brighid as part of the launch of Harlequin TEEN. We loved the original covers, but we agreed that they really didn't focus enough on the YA appeal of the books. So we delved back into the world of Partholon, revisiting Elphame and Brighid with the intention of really bringing alive the heroines for the new covers.
"Mock-ups were done with stock photos, setting the look, and then real models were used for the two young heroines. Some of you may already know that in the land of Partholon many of my main characters are centaurs, so I especially love the cover effect that allows an illusion of a horse's mane wrapping around both books. I think the models were perfect, and I couldn't be happier with the new look for the series!"
I love seeing old evolve into new. So cool! And I think the new covers definitely look way more YA. What do you guys think of the new covers? Share your opinion for a chance to win prizes from Harlequin Teen!
Awesome! I really really like the new covers compared to the old, what bold colors!
ReplyDeleteI love the new covers. They are so much cleaner, less cluttered. I would walk right by the nature ones, but these, I would pick up for sure. I am one of those people who judges a book by its cover. There are so many choices and that is your first impression.
ReplyDeleteThe new covers definitely give the books more of a YA appeal. And they match Cast's Divine series, those books I've been seeing everywhere lately. Nice!
ReplyDeleteI really love the new covers. The old ones were nice pictures but the new grab your attention and want you to pick them up and look at.
ReplyDeleteYes! I love the new cover too. It's less busy and very striking.
ReplyDeletelesly7ch(at)yahoo(dot)com
The new covers are so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the older covers seem more cluttered. I feel claustrophobic just looking at them. I do, however, loved how the colors and objects blended together. But I'm with the general public--the new covers do seem more YA.
ReplyDeleteThe new covers are cool! Though I have to say, I kind of like the old ones, too, in that nostalgic 80's kind of way. :)
ReplyDeleteI must say that I definitely prefer the new covers than the old ones, I don't think they (the old covers) would have gotten my attention but these ones totally do! Now I can't wait to read these books. :)
ReplyDeleteI think both covers are neat, but the new ones are so much brighter and vivid making them more eye appealing.
ReplyDeleteI love the new one's, how much more "YA" they are. I love how the hair does go off like a mane, it's so cool! The colors are gorgeous too,
ReplyDeleteI really really like the new covers of the books. When I saw the copy of Elphame's Choice in a store I couldn't help but pick it up and I can't wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteThe old covers are fun and give more insight into the world that the books are set it. The new covers definitely have more of a teen feel and the hair/mane effect is pretty cool. It's really cool to see both side by side!
ReplyDeleteI love the new cover it looks much cooler the old cover had many thing going on I like simple
ReplyDeleteI kind of like the old ones better because they're more colorful, but the new ones are cool too!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry. I have to be honest and disagree, respectfully, with the other posters. I adamantly dislike the new covers. While they are, perhaps, more teen friendly, they give *no* insight into the type/genre of the book, the faces are shockingly white against the dark background (and I don't mean in a racial way), and there is no sense of movement, which was an integral part of the characters that are being portrayed. The hair may be moving, but the characters weren't.
ReplyDeleteWhile I definitely support reissuing the books for a teen audience, especially the teens primed by the "House of Night" series for the Casts' fantastic writing style, I do not think these covers were well done. That is my own personal opinion, to which anyone is more than welcome to disagree.
I love the new covers!
ReplyDeletealthough the new covers do give you a new YA feel to it...I personally like the older covers. They're really pretty and at least it sort of gives me an idea on what it's about (ie: fantasy setting) whereas the new covers don't really tell me anything about the book.
ReplyDeleteI think the new covers are much better. The old ones were a bit cheesy... These new ones will grab attention better, I think.
ReplyDeleteI really love the new covers, the old ones don't attract me, but the new ones yes =P
ReplyDeleteThey've been on my wishlist =)
Gosh, I remember when LUNA first starting releasing books! I own some of them in original covers actually. The new ones are definitley more eye-appealing and I think that they fit will stick out more than they did with the old ones. I actually saw these two books in a bookstore with the new cover and checked them out... didn't even realize they were reprints at first!
ReplyDeleteThey are both so PRETTY...love the multi colored hair
ReplyDeletei like both sets of covers. the new ones don't give as much information about the story, but they are really cool!
ReplyDeleteI definitely like the new covers. Sad as it is to say, if I've never heard of a title before, the cover is what makes me stop and pick up a book. The new covers would make me pick it up, but the old ones would make me pass it by.
ReplyDeletebelle2211(at)yahoo(dot)com
Wow, I thought the old covers looked awesome, but the new ones took my breath away! People will always judge a book by its cover, and I believe that the new modernized covers will bring a new group of deticated readers to the table of P.C. Cast!
ReplyDeletekaylajohnson3969@sbcglobal.net
I really like the new covers better. They catch my attn, whereas the old covers, well I woulda just passed 'em by and not even noticed them. There was just too much going on in the old ones. But the new ones are cleaner and very striking.
ReplyDeleteiroquois.girl@yahoo.com
I like all the covers except the old cover of Elphame's Choice. It's just too cluttered.
ReplyDeleteparadoxrevealed (at) aim (dot) com
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