A blog about the amazing things teenagers do, about writing for teens, books for teens, and occasional forays into my world and the world of publishing.

Friday, June 17, 2011

COVER REVEAL (And the Outside Story)

YAY for today!

I'm so excited because FINALLY I get to show you the cover for BREAKING BEAUTIFUL.

First I'd like to say thank you to Kari at A GOOD ADDICTION for helping me with my reveal.

AND NOW (with absolutely as much ado as possible) HERE IT IS...




TA DA!!!

Isn't it beautiful!

Besides being the very first cover for my very first book, (and in so many ways my dream come true), let me tell you why this cover is so near and dear to me...

MY HUSBAND WAS THE PHOTOGRAPHER!!!

Didn't he do a great job? Isn't he awesome? Check out more of his beautiful work at David Wolf Photography.

I was very fortunate to have so much say in what went on the front of my book. If you aren't in publishing, maybe you don't realize that an author doesn't get to pick their cover. They can give some input, but ultimately it's the publisher's/art department's/marketing people's call. I was lucky, my editor and the art department at Walker/Bloomsbury was willing to let me (us) take a shot at coming up with my cover image.

This is how it happened...

THE OUTSIDE STORY

In the beginning, my editor, Mary Kate Castellani, sent me some pictures that were beautiful, but didn't exactly work with the book's setting. She said, "This is the basic idea that we're looking at, but we have to find a photo that will fit."

My answer was, "We don't have to look for a photo that will fit, just tell David, (my amazing photographer husband), what you want and he can do it."

Her answer was, "YES!"

So... We got marching orders from the art department, I borrowed a fabulous pair of red shoes from my friend Susan, we packed up the photography equipment and some really big umbrellas, and went for a drive along the coast--searching for the perfect spot. (We have the advantage of living near the area where BREAKING BEAUTIFUL is set.)

To get the right shot, we had to deal with our crazy, unpredictable, (and by unpredictable I mean totally predictable, because it rains all the time,) Northwest weather. Of course, we got rain when we didn't want it, but we also got sun (amazingly enough), when we didn't want it. And then there was this HIDEOUS recreational vehicle that was parked in the exact spot we wanted to shoot from. (Seriously, this thing gave new meaning to the phrase "big rolling turd" from the movie RV.)

Two trips later we had a whole bunch of photos for the art department at Walker/Bloomsbury to look at. Luckily, they liked what they saw. YAY!

They picked a photo, worked their magic with cropping and adding titles and voila! I have a cover that is gorgeous and represents the story inside beautifully.

Thank you thank you thank you to my amazing editor Mary Kate and my publisher, Walker/Bloomsbury, for trusting us enough to do this.

It means the world to me that my husband; the love of my life, my soul mate, and my biggest supporter through all of this, gets to put his mark on my book as well.

AND THANK YOU to the my husband, David Wolf for his patience and support and for being such a talented photographer!

And now for the giveaway! Drum roll please... (I did say "with as much ado as possible")

Simple, simple, simple, leave a comment on this post and you will be put into a random drawing to receive: 1st place, a 11x14 poster print of any photo from the "Artistic" section of the David Wolf Photography website, and 2nd place a $10 gift card to Barnes and Noble.

Thank you for helping me celebrate!

49 comments:

  1. Jennifer, I was going to leave a comment anyway! Your cover is stunning. And how truly lucky you are to get to have a say in your cover. Congratulations on book release. Is this your first book?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jennifer! I LOVE IT! It really is so PERFECT for the book! So happy that Dave's work is part of your book! :-) Congrats to BOTH of you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's a stunning cover and I absolutely love the story behind it. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  4. love the cover and LOVE the story. you and your hubby are a talented pair. please enter me in the contest. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yeah for you!!! And yeah for David. Between you Dave, Ms Vanessa, Mr Golfer and many others we live in a ward where talented people share their wonderful and varied talents. So blessed!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, the cover is SO pretty! Congrats!

    That's so awesome that it's your husband's photograph! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. So, so beautiful! Congrats for getting the cover you wanted and for having such an awesome hubby to make it happen for you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gorgeous cover. I love that he got in that bit of graffiti. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Such a great story and what a beautiful cover!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Plus you have the fun of your hubby doing the photo. How awesome is that?

    It's gorgeous, btw.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It is absolutely breathtaking. And I love that it was a family effort - ha!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love the photo and the story behind the taking of it!! Can't wait to read!

    ReplyDelete
  13. SO beautiful!! And what a wonderful story! (My husband just published a book for the cover of which he used an old photograph taken by his mother, so I can imagine how moving it must be for you, to see this gorgeous image and know your husband created it!)

    Anne

    ReplyDelete
  14. Aw. I love the story of your cover. And the cover itself. Very intriguing.

    ReplyDelete
  15. How fun that you get to share the experience with your husband in such a personal way. Congrats on such a lovely cover!

    ReplyDelete
  16. A beautiful cover and a neat story to go with it. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Elizabeth BretschneiderJune 17, 2011 at 9:29 AM

    i am ready for a sleepless night reading!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you for all the support! I have the most awesome friends in the world!

    ReplyDelete
  19. The cover alone makes me want to read your book Jen! !! Beautiful, just beautiful!!! Can't wait to get my hands on it!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Gorgeous cover!
    It reveals a lot about the plot--just love it.1
    What a talented husband you have!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Very nice Jennifer, makes me excited to read the book! And, David, very nice work as well! You guys are great together!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. GREAT cover and I LOVE that your husband took the picture! Double awesome!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Now THAT is a fantastic story! How amazing! Great cover, great husband, and can't wait to read...

    Jen Bigheart
    jenbigheart at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ahhhhh! I'm so freakin' excited by your fabulous cover!!!!! And knowing the your husband took the picture makes it even more amazing. The red shoes are perfect. From the little I know of the story the cover couldn't possibly fit any better :) Yea! Yea! Yea!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I can't wait to read it!!!! I need a good book. Jenny Proctor

    ReplyDelete
  26. I was just telling the book guy at Hastings today that a cover really sells a book to me. I am intrigued by the cover first and then I pick it up to read the jacket and of course I am hooked and I buy it. Your cover is FABULOUS. I would totally pick it up and read the jacket and then I would run (not walk mind you) to the nearest cashier to make it mine. Congratulations to you and your husband. It's great when all the things we love can be combined!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I'd love to enter! Beautiful photography. <3

    ~Zoraida

    ReplyDelete
  28. What an amazing story and what a gorgeous cover! That must make it all so much more exciting--congrats! :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. I can't wait to read it! I'm so excited for you!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Great cover! I have no idea what the book is about, but the cover tells a story and makes me want to buy it!

    BTW, your sister is in my writing group, and she's keeping us well-informed. You've got a handful of fans waiting for the book to come out! We can't wait

    ReplyDelete
  31. JEN! THIS IS AMAZING! I am SO excited for you. And DAVE, that cover is SO AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  32. WOW I'm overwhelmed! Thank you so much for the support!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Wow. Sounds like a very good story. I want an ARC of this book. New follower.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Very beautiful, haunting and intriguing. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  35. I get so excited for you as you reveal these little tidbits about your book! So excited to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  36. So much talent in one family. And so nice to be able to share both of your talents in one place that will be preserved for a very long time. Can't wait to read it!!

    ReplyDelete
  37. I'm so happy for you Jennifer!!! You are amazing, and a great inspiration; not only as an author, but as a mother and an incredibly supportive wife.

    ReplyDelete
  38. What a beautiful cover!!! I LOVE the view. I live in the Northwest and the picture is perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I am really happy for you, Jennifer. I do really like the cover. How beautiful it is.... That is great that your husband did such a great job!!!! I can see why they liked the selections so much. Funny story of the ill-placed RV. It does look like a giant turd....
    Good luck with all of that!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Hi, I'm a new follower.... FANTASTIC cover!!! Congratulations! I am addicted to covers, and this cover makes me want to read your book... even if I knew nothing about it!

    ~M.D.

    ReplyDelete
  41. The cover is great but the story behind it adds depth.

    ReplyDelete
  42. LOVE! How wonderful that you were able to team up for your first book. That must indeed feel like a dream come true!!! Congratulations and well done!

    ReplyDelete
  43. The mysterious and lovely photograph for your cover of "Breaking Beautiful" truly has me wanting to read it. It's a bit of surprise against the fresh Pacific Northwest.

    ReplyDelete
  44. I just saw your book on goodreads. That is such an amazing cover story! How cool!

    ReplyDelete
  45. You guys just rock....this was the best mystery book i ever read. Inspired by this i also read your other book, dead girls dont lie...and was also not less amazing than this one.

    ReplyDelete