SERIES SECRETS: DUST TO DUST

Welcome rgz Diva Melissa Walker

 Melissa's here to tell us some Series Secrets about Dust to Dust 

 ~Dust to Dust is the mysterious, thoughtful, and poignant sequel to Melissa Walker's haunting and heartbreaking novel Ashes to Ashes.~

-Did you run up against any roadblocks as you wrote Dust to Dust? Anything you wished you set up differently in Ashes to Ashes?

No roadblocks really, but there’s a new character who appears in Dust to Dust and I really enjoyed him, so when he came along, I wished he had been part of the duology from the beginning, just because he was such fun!

 -What did you enjoy most about writing book two?

The contemporary setting of book two, as opposed to the otherworldly feel of book one, is much more my comfort zone. Having the characters in school, driving around, at home and in Charleston was easier for me than having them in the Prism, which was a world somewhere between Earth and Heaven. So I enjoyed that ease.

-What would you like readers to take away from this book?

Dust to Dust deals a lot with holding onto pain, and how important it is to be able to let go and enjoy the present moment rather than grappling with past slights or sadnesses. I always hope that readers who've grown to like the characters feel that everyone’s in the right place at the end. I never tie things up perfectly, but I do try to have everyone in a place where we’re okay saying goodbye to them by the last pages.

About the book: When Callie McPhee miraculously recovers from a tragic accident that should have taken her life, she thought her connection to the ghost world would be severed forever. And that she would never see Thatcher—the ghost she fell in love with in the hereafter—again. But when she receives unexpected signs from Thatcher, she's led down a dark road toward the angry souls who once tried to steal her soul's energy for another chance at life. Now Callie must prevent the real world and the spirit world from colliding, and that could mean saying good-bye to people she'd never imagined she'd lose.

More about Melissa Walker here

Dust to Dust, Katherine Tegen Books. out May 5th! Get the book here

rgz Newsflash: #WeNeedDiverseBooks Indiegogo

Have you checked out the indiegogo for #WeNeedDiverseBooks? Matt de la Pena is such a great spokesman.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/we-need-diverse-books


Diverse Campaign w Thanks Card from Undercurrent on Vimeo.

Here's what diva Melissa Walker recommends to encourage progress:

1. Request diverse books at your local library and bookstore. Make sure your booksellers and librarians know that you want to read about people from various backgrounds.
2. Join the Twitter activism with#WeNeedDiverseBooks -- the conversation is buzzing daily (onTumblr too).
3. Support the indiegogo campaign (video above, starring favorite authors like John Green, Matt de la Peña and Jacqueline Woodson) to help keep the movement growing.

One Founder of the movement, author Ellen Oh, explained to NPR, "We need the representation, but we also need white kids to read about us, to recognize us, and not push us off into the other...not to think of us as exotic or being so very different." Follow the hashtagand the tumblr to hear some powerful stories.

Even donating to the cause, less than a latte, can help the campaign. Think about it, rgz. As Matt says, "Books are mirrors and windows."

Cover Stories: Coin Heist by Elisa Ludwig

Elisa Ludwig's Coin Heist is out this month, and we had to ask her about that cover! Here she is to share the story:

"I felt very very lucky to be part of the early cover design discussion. We shared some of our favorite covers for books out now, as well as some movie posters and went back and forth. My main input was that I wanted the cover to feel contemporary and fresh, to capture the fun and exciting pace of the story, and to appeal to boys and girls equally. No small feat!

"I got to see four rounds of comps, and it was fascinating to watch the ideas and inspirations evolve. I made some comments and suggestions along the way, but I also acknowledged that even though I have lots of opinions, I'm in the word business and not the image business, so I fully trusted the experts involved to come up with a great solution.

"I saw many 'original' images with different initial concepts. While they all shared a certain minimalist sensibility, some emphasized coins rather than human figures, others a 'plan notebook,' and still others had a tiled floor that represented the Mint at night. It's truly amazing how a seemingly simple design can communicate the plot, the mood, the characters and even the imagined reader of a book.

"When I first saw the final cover, I loved it right away. I'm a sucker for vintage graphics, and I thought the white font, bold green and stark silhouettes really evoked classic mystery/heist book covers while the background suggests the more tech-y, modern element of this particular plan. At the same time the details on the figures are emblematic of the characters in a way that won't limit the reader's imagination. My biggest takeaway: I'm in awe of designers! The silhouettes are an original illustration by Tahnee Gehm.

"I've already gotten a ton of positive feedback (from, it should be noted, both guys and girls). So yeah, I'd say it hit the mark."

Thanks, Elisa! Watch the trailer here!

Cover Stories & Giveaway With Susane Colasanti!

Susane Colasanti's latest novel (out next week!) has a great Cover Story. Here's a peek at it:

"The hottest thing about the cover of Now and Forever might be that the models are a couple in real life.

"Or maybe it’s how the background image totally captures the excitement of a concert. And not just any concert. Now and Forever is about a girl whose boyfriend, Ethan Cross, is the world’s biggest rock star. So of course we had to do some kind of concert venue type design. I couldn’t wait to see which direction the art department would take.

"My contract says that I’m allowed cover consultation. When my editor sent me the first draft of the cover for feedback, something very obvious was missing in the audience..."

Read the full Cover Story at melissacwalker.com, and US residents can enter to win a signed copy of the book below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Stories: The Black Butterfly

Shirley Reva Vernick's latest novel, The Black Butterfly, is her third for young adults, following the award-winning The Blood Lie and Remember Dippy. She's here today to share her Cover Story!

"Designing the cover for The Black Butterfly spanned several months and numerous drafts, and I think the effort really paid off. This is my third novel with Cinco Puntos Press, and while I immediately liked the initial designs for the first two books, I wasn’t crazy about the early renditions of The Black Butterfly cover. I didn’t have a specific image in mind of what I wanted, but I knew it needed to evoke a sense of eeriness and otherworldliness.

"This novel is about ghosts, haunted mansions and strange dreams, after all. The original cover versions didn’t capture that, in my opinion. The early designs were all variations of the cover on the right.

"The designer was thinking that the hands resembled a butterfly. One of the thumbs is supposed to be see-through, like a ghost. But it just didn’t work for me. The typeface of the title is meant to look like a teen’s handwriting, since Penny, the main character, is something of a writer. But I felt the typeface didn’t match the mood of the story inside.

"Then the designer suddenly 'got' it. Out went the photos of hands, and in came an illustration of…something wonderful. Something dangerous, ambiguous and compelling. Part butterfly, part phantom, part human, part mystical. I love how the dripping streaks of color could be either tears or blood—or both.

"I consider this cover to be a true collaboration among the publisher, the designer and me. While I’m not the most visually oriented person (which is how I ended up with a green house when I thought I was picking out grey paint), I do appreciate being included and heard.

"In closing, I should mention that the designer gave birth a few days after coming up with the new prototype, and she jumped into the tweaking stage just three weeks after the delivery. Talk about girl power!"

7 Things You Don't Know About Melissa Walker

Happy anniversary, readergirlz!
In honor of our seven-year anniversary, we're catching up with rgz divas and featured authors. Kicking off our anniversary series (or shall we say, anniver-series?) of posts is none other than our own Melissa Walker.

7 Things You Don't Know About Me:
1. I have kept a diary every year since third grade.
2. I have been known to sip pickle juice straight from the jar.
3. My dad passed away 10 years ago, but I can still hear his voice when I need advice.
4. I love the idea of collecting sea glass, but I'm lazy about actually doing it when I'm at the beach.
5. I find it delightful when cocktails are served in their proper glasses.
6. I sing show tunes to my two-year-old in hopes that one day she'll be my Broadway companion (my husband isn't into musicals).
7. I still think the world looks magic if someone is blowing bubbles nearby.

We'll be posting updates and tidbits from familiar faces all month long here at the readergirlz blog. Stay tuned and celebrate with us!

Crossing Genres: Donna Jo Napoli and Melissa Walker

Sometimes we hear of those in the publishing industry who dissuade authors from writing in different genres. As if YA readers don't read various styles of storytelling. YA readers do, and so do YA writers. Therefore, writers like the freedom to crossover. We choose the best genre to tell our story. Because ultimately, it's all about good story.



I'm happy to share two books by authors writing in different genres than they usually do. The first is Skin by Donna Jo Napoli. I did expect fantasy when I picked up the work, but then quickly entered into Sep's world as she discovers she has vitiligo. The realistic work is paced well as Napoli draws us alongside Sep. We feel compassion, frustration, and ultimately empathize with a character accepting her new self and redefining normal.



The second work is by our own rgz diva, Melissa Walker: Ashes to Ashes. I expected a contemporary work, which, true enough, the story begins with, but the paranormal afterlife caught me by surprise. (I don't tend to read flaps. :~) Melissa's setting is fresh and will draw you to think and ponder your own beliefs. That is of course after you've run with Callie through her trial, been pulled and torn through her decisions, and cheered her character growth. And as always, Melissa writes of real, compelling love. My favorite quote: "Life is fragile, worthy of reverence and gently care." Great thoughts for the new year!

Find these, rgz, and let us know what you think, here or on facebook. Happy new year!



Skin
by Donna Jo Napoli
Skyscape, 2013

Ashes to Ashes
by Melissa Walker
Katherine Tegen Books, Inc. 2013

rgz Newsflash: Co-founder's Trailer at Hypable

So excited to share my trailer for FIRSTBORN! Right now it's an exclusive at Hypable.


We'll do a Cover Story soon with Diva Melissa Walker. Thanks for celebrating with me! And thanks to Kirkus for the starred review. Happy holidays, rgz!

Cover Stories: For Darkness Shows the Stars

Diana Peterfreund tends to have great covers, and when I saw For Darkness Shows the Stars (a post-Apocalyptic take on Jane Austen's Persuasion, hello!), I fell in love with the starry sky. So I asked her about it, and here she is:

"I always have an idea in mind for my covers, but since I’m not an artist it’s probably best that my publishers ignore me. They did ask me to send inspiration pictures, though. I sent in a lot of pictures of harsh seascapes and rocky cliffs and beaches beneath a sunset/sunrise and a starry sky. Sometimes there were forlorn women standing on these beaches. I think Harper and I were totally on the same page about the direction we wanted to go in, which mostly makes me feel like I’m finally getting a hang of this imagery thing.

"I asked for something very lush and romantic, to fit the feel of the book. Also, because this book has such a distinctive title that bucks the trend of the one-word YA book titles, I asked for a fun font treatment that really highlighted the title..."

Read the rest of Diana's story at melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: Eve by Anna Carey

I'm a sucker for bridges. And running. And flowing hair. So the cover of Eve? Kind of up my alley. Here's Anna Carey to talk about the cover of the first book in the Eve trilogy:

"I had a vague sense of what the book might look like. The name--Eve--conjures so much. We all know Adam and Eve, and there's so much imagery associated with their story. Originally I saw the cover as having a lot of lush greenery. I sometimes saw a pale girl lost in the forest. It's funny, the book trailer captures a lot of those original images and ideas that were left behind as the cover evolved.

"The designer asked for a list of images or words that appear in the book. I can't seem to locate that list, though I'm 99% sure the designer came up with the bridge idea, which I love. It's hard to go back through your book and decide which imagery is meaningful and/or metaphorical--so much of that is folded into the manuscript unconsciously. I'm pretty certain all my suggestions were fairly basic. Thankfully she didn't put a wall or a cluster of trees on there. I don't think it would've had the same effect..."

Read the rest of Anna's Cover Story on melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: 52 Reasons to Hate My Father

Jessica Brody has shared two previous Cover Stories here (for My Life Undecided and The Karma Club). She's back to tell the tale behind the cover of 52 Reasons to Hate My Father.

"I’m terrible at envisioning covers. So no, I didn’t really have an idea in mind. But I knew I wanted it to show the contrast of my main character’s two worlds (spoiled heiress and working girl) which I think they ended up doing really well!

"Honestly, I was surprised when I saw the cover. It was SO different from the light, pastel, girly looks of my other YA book and my publisher had told me they were going to keep with the same look. So when I opened this, I almost thought that they sent me the wrong cover! It was all edgy and kind of punk rock-ish. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it..."

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

Cover Stories: Personal Statement by Jason Odell Williams

Jason Odell Williams is an Emmy-nominated producer, and his first novel was just optioned for a three-picture deal. Whee! Plus, Jason tells a good Cover Story. Here he is:

"I never had a cover in mind while writing Personal Statement. I never really picture a cover or poster for any of my work (books, plays, films) until the writing is at least mostly finished. So with Personal Statement, I never had a preconceived idea; I was so focused on just finishing the manuscript.

"So once I had a solid first draft, I sat around over dinner and drinks with my publishers Carey Albertine and Saira Rao and we started brainstorming cover ideas. We thought about something hurricane-related, like a trashed backyard that could look like either the morning after a storm or a wild party. But that didn’t really say enough about the 'Personal Statement'-college application part of the book. Another idea we floated around was having a shot of the major players in some sort of pose like an album cover or action shot during the Hurricane prep, but again that felt too linear and only dealt with the volunteer aspect of the story.

"So we came up with the idea of crumpled up paper, all of these false starts when trying to write a personal statement and succinctly tell strangers at college 'who you are.' The one we had sort of settled on was the one with the can of Red Bull and the 'cover' page of a personal statement with a boot print and coffee stains on it (right). And we were pretty happy with it and were going to go with that. But Carey & Saira wanted to punch it up a little, so they asked Nick Guarracino, who had recently been brought on to do the illustrations for another book they were doing, to take a look at the cover and make it pop more.

"He read some of the book, looked at our cover, and instead of punching up the old one, he came up with 6 completely different options. My publishers looked at them all and knew right away it was the hand thrusting up from the pile of pages. They texted me the image and I took one look and was blown away. The last I knew, our cover was going to b the page with the coffee stain on it, so to then suddenly see this amazing, bright, dynamic, bold arresting cover, I was so excited and thrilled. I immediately texted back and said 'YES that’s the one.' (I may have used some profanity in my excitement... as in 'Holy SH*TBALLS that's amazing! I love it! Yes!')

"And I actually never saw these other options (left) until this week. And while the girl’s face was a close contender, there is something sad and melancholy about it that’s not quite right for the book. Also, it’s hard to put a real face (even half of a face) on a book cover. And I never liked the idea of 'casting' a character before someone reads the book. (What if the Rani on the cover doesn’t match the Rani in your head?) So in the end, I know we made the right call with the hand thrusting up from the pile of balled up pages.

"Nick told me the photo was made by taking a picture of a friend’s hand and then using photo shop to add the balled up pages and the color in the background. Then he made the hand look more feminine and ethnically ambiguous. What I like about that is then the hand becomes like a mirror… you see what you want to see. When I first saw it, I thought it was a white guy’s hand. Others see a white girl or an Asian or Indian-American girl. And now when I look at it I can't decide if it's Emily Kim's hand or Rani's. So it’s cool that the hand has that 'every-person' quality to it.

"And now, the more I look at the cover, the more I see how right it is for this book. The hand at first seemed to be simply frustrated to me, but now I also see defiance and breaking free and standing out from the crowd. The hand is coming up for air after drowning in expectation for so long. Of course, I’m reading a lot into it and people looking at the cover for the first time might never see any of that, but I think what the cover does convey, even at first glance, is a sense of being bold and explosive and exciting. It would make me stop twice if I saw it on a shelf (even a 'digital' shelf!) And for all of those reasons, I love this cover couldn't be happier!"

Cover Stories: Mirror, Mirror by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Diana Rodriguez Wallach has a fast-releasing trilogy of stories coming out this fall, and each has a different cover. Here's the story of #1, and the full-series cover:

"I told my publisher that I really wanted a mirror in all of my covers. I wanted that to be the element that tied the series together visually.

"My release is a little different from your average book. Reflecting Emmy is the first short story in my Mirror, Mirror trilogy. Each of my short stories—Reflecting Emmy, Nara Gazing, and Shattering GiGi—will be released individually as ebooks in September, October, and November, respectively. Then they will be compiled together to create the Mirror, Mirror trilogy, with an additional short story prequel and bonus material, to be released in December.

"So if you add it all together, that’s a whopping FOUR different covers for this series..."

Read the full Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: Timepiece by Myra McEntire

I have long been a fan of Myra McEntire's gorgeous cover for Hourglass, and Timepiece is just as lovely. Here's Myra to share her perspective:

"I loved the Hourglass cover so much (below right), and I hoped my publisher would stick with that photographer. There was an original image I didn’t think did the story justice, and when I expressed my concerns, they listened..."

Read the rest of Myra's story at melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: Sophie's Mixed-Up Magic by Amanda Ashby

Amanda Ashby has been here before to share stories about her covers, and she's back today with the story behind the Sophie's Mixed-Up Magic covers, her first middle grade series.

"I’ve been lucky with my covers and I’ve loved them all, but without a doubt the covers for my Sophie’s Mixed-Up Magic series are my favorite! And I’m not just saying that because they are my first covers to have a head (though heads are cool!) but it’s rather because as soon as I saw them, I just knew that the girl on the cover 'was' Sophie!!!! From her straight blonde hair, her expressions through to the clothes that she was wearing, it was all the Sophie of my mind!

"Sometimes I get asked if I have any thoughts on the cover, but this time I wasn’t and I hadn’t even realized that there was even a shoot until after it was all over..."

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

Cover Stories: Being Friends With Boys by Terra Elan McVoy

Terra Elan McVoy has been here before to share her adorable covers for Pure and After the Kiss (read those Cover Stories), and now she's here to talk about Being Friends With Boys. How great is that title? Here's more about the cover, from Terra:

"I never have any idea about my covers; I’m so lucky to have been assigned to such smart, clever, amazing people at Simon Pulse to work on them. This team does such an incredible job, and I figure it’s best to leave that work in their capable hands!

"Admittedly, my very first thought when I saw the cover was, 'But there aren’t any coffeehouses in the book! They never drink coffee!' Very quickly though, I realized that was a pretty lame and limiting response.

"My editor was incredibly patient with me and let me just sit on my first reaction until I came to my senses and realized this was perfect.

"The cover did change, in one important way..."

Read Terra's full Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: In Honor by Jessi Kirby

I had the chance to hang out with Jessi Kirby in Houston last year, and I can confirm that she is fantastic and fun and smart and all the things she seems to be. Also, her book, In Honor, contains a Tim Riggins type. SOLD. (Read a review from A Book and a Latte.)

Here's Jessi to talk about the cover:

"My publisher asked for input before they got to work on the cover, and I said 'It’d be really great if you could somehow include the car, (which is a 67 Chevy Impala), and Honor in her dress and red cowboy boots.'

"When I saw the cover, I absolutely LOVED it.  Truly, madly, deeply loved it. From the font, to the car, to the boots, it was EXACTLY what I was hoping for..."

But of course there were a couple of changes! Read Jessi's full story on melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: The Julian Game

Adele Griffin's The Julian Game was released in 2010 with a raucous cover that I always meant to share here. Much belatedly (my fault!), she's showing some early cover options for that book and a bit about the story.

Also, I'm psyched that she's got another book out this month (All You Never Wanted)!

Here's Adele:

"I had no cover ideas at all. For one thing, the original title of the book was MELLEN IN SPRING which gives me such big shivers of Terrible Title-ness. What was I thinking? It sounds like a strange, Little House on the Prairie story. That early draft was so different. Mellen was short for Mary Ellen, who then became Ella. And the story was more like a 'bad influence' type, with Mellen getting Raye to do awful stuff for her. So, no cover had jelled. Maybe: two girls in a red convertible? More shivers!

 "My publisher went into the bat cave slash think tank, and came up with a lot of options. I loved so many of them. It was during the summer, and my family was on vacation in Fire Island, so we printed them up and put them on the kitchen table. And people would walk by and say--'I love that one! No, that one!'

 

 "Penguin's art department is, in my mind, very 'mad genius in the lab'-- and my last cover with them was for my middle grade 'Vampire Island' series. I'd been over the moon for their choices there. All I'd said on VI was 'What do you think about making the vamps sweet but streetwise?' and they came back with pure gothy delicious. So I was prepared to be bowled over...."

To read the rest of Adele's story, and see even more cover options, go to melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: Boy 21 by Matthew Quick

Matthew Quick is here to talk about the cover of his latest (and incredibly great) novel:

"The idea I pitched for the cover of Boy21 was a shot of Finley and Russ from the neck down. Finley would have been in his team uniform and holding a basketball. Russ would have been in his space costume and holding his makeshift astronaut helmet. I still think that would have been a good cover, but I have to admit that what the designer came up with was much much better. Maybe this is why I am a fiction writer and not a jacket designer!

"When I saw the design, I yelled, 'YES!' Alicia [his wife] came running into my office to see why I was yelling, looked at the image on my computer screen, and said, 'That's so much better than what you pitched them. That cover is amazing! Amazing!' It was a happy day.

 "At one point they changed the photo of Russ, who is depicted on the cover. The photo they swapped in featured an older-looking teen who appeared harder and maybe even menacing. It didn't look like Russ at all. I immediately wrote an e-mail explaining why the original photo captured Russ perfectly. The teen on the cover now has an intensity--especially if you look into his eyes--but he also looks a little vulnerable and as if he would be a complex person. Russ is a very complex character, who is troubled, but is also wise and compassionate and intuitive. I believe there was a meeting regarding which photo to use and, happily, everyone at Little, Brown agreed..."

Read the rest of Matthew's Cover Story on melissacwalker.com.

PS-Trailer!

Cover Stories: The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

Lisa M. Stasse's debut young adult novel, The Forsaken, has a cover that seems to me to be a throwback and something from the future all at once. COOL. She talked to me for B&N's Unabashedly Bookish blog, and here's an exerpt from our conversation:

"The final cover of The Forsaken far exceeded my expectations! I always wanted something that reflected the sci-fi/thriller aspects of the novel, and captured the ominous feel of the book (in which the heroine is sent to a mysterious prison island). But I didn't have anything specific in mind. I just wanted something that would look really gorgeous and unique on the shelves.

"They didn't really ask for much input. But they told me early on that Lizzy Bromley would be designing the cover, which made me really excited. I had seen some of Lizzy's other covers (including Wither by Lauren DeStefano, right) so I knew that I loved her work. There are some really cool covers on her website (including a great one for the upcoming novel Level 2  by Lenore Appelhans, left)...

Read the rest of Lisa's Cover Story at Unabashedly Bookish, and check out our own Little Willow's interview with her too, where you'll find out about being a Holographic Librarian.