Magic 8 Ball

Remember the Magic 8 Ball from when you were a kid? You asked it all kinds of important questions like, Does Luke like me? Will Ashley invite me over this weekend? Will I go to prom?

I treated the Magic 8 Ball like it was sacred. It's answers WERE TRUE. If Magic 8 Ball said so, then it would happen!

And I imagine if I had a Magic 8 Ball once I started querying, I probably would have asked it a few publishing related questions just for the hell of it. (And I would have even hoped in my heart-of-hearts that what it said was true.)

Here is the writer's version of a Magic 8 Ball.

Thank God there isn't REALLY a writer's Magic 8 Ball. That thing would drive me crazy. And I couldn't refrain from asking it my important publishing questions. I have no self-control. 

Cover Trends: Girls on Covers

Let’s talk covers, specifically girls on covers. It’s a trend you can’t miss. Look at the shelves at any bookstore and you’ll see row after row of girls on covers staring at you from their pretty book homes. And while trends inherently make it hard to stand out, there are a few covers I’ve seen lately that I’m a huge fan of.

A fellow Apocalypsie! I love the cover for EVERNEATH. Black, gray and red is a great color combination. The red stands out against the black/gray of the smoke. I love how the dress is dissipating into said smoke. The curls are artful and give the cover a moody, mysterious tone.

I would pick up Brodi Ashton’s book without knowing a single thing about it. 

When I came across the cover for Kimberly Derting's THE PLEDGE I didn’t know anything about the premise. But that didn’t matter. I was intrigued. The black of the cover works perfectly with the girl’s almost metallic skin tone. And I love that she’s in profile, hidden beneath the hood. She isn’t pouting at the reader, she’s looking somewhere off into the distance. What is she looking at? Why is she hiding in that hood? Why is she so beautiful? Okay, maybe that last one isn’t as important.  The mood, the colors, the mystery, everything comes together perfectly in this cover.

I heard a lot of talk about Michelle Hodkin's THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER before I saw the cover. And the cover only added to the whoa-I-want-to-readitis. The green overcast works well with the lighter color of the girl’s dress. I love that there’s a guy behind her, totally wrapped around her. What does that mean? I wondered. Is he trying to drown her? Save her? Does he love her?

I’m also a huge fan of the title font. It’s kinda sweet, in a way, and vintage at the same time, like the dress, which is a great contrast to the darker, maybe-he’s-drowning-her-maybe-he-isn’t element of the cover.

And lastly, but certainly not least, another fellow Apocalypsie Jessica Spotswood’s BORN WICKED. Let’s start with the title. LOVE IT. And what that title makes you feel alone could pique a reader’s interest. Juxtapose that with the feminine, earthly feel to the cover, and you’ve got a WIN.

I like that the girl is positioned differently than on most other covers. She’s laying down, looking up at the reader. Is she saying, Save me? Is she saying, Don’t mess with me, I’m a badass even when I’m down? Everything comes together beautifully in this cover, and even if Jess wasn’t a fellow ’12 release, and even if I didn’t count her as a friend, I would still want to read this book ASAP. And I think others will agree.

Any other cover trends you’ve noticed?