Melissa Walker: The Blog

Win-It Wednesday: Teen Fiction Cafe

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:01:18 -0500

The winner of last week's contest for All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab is... Theresa W.! Send me your address, T. This week, I'm over at Teen Fiction Cafe celebrating three years with the my fellow author-bloggers Alyson Noel, Amanda Ashby, Erica Orloff, Jessica Burkhart, Kay Cassidy, Kelly Parra, Lauren Baratz-Logsted, Linda Gerber, Sara Hantz, Stephanie Kuehnert, Wendy Toliver and Sara Zarr (click on their names to read their TFC posts and enter their contests). For the third anniversary of TFC, we've all been blogging about being a writer and what it means and how it's hard but also awesome. So go check out all the posts (there are many prizes to be won, including a signed copy of Lovestruck Summer!). I would say Happy Wednesday, but I'm feeling sad for Corey Haim's friends and family. RIP, CH. (License to Drive and Lost Boys will be in heavy rotation around the world this week, I bet. Great movies.)

A Manifesto of Imaginative Literature by Justin Allen

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:22:22 -0500

A few weeks ago, Justin Allen was here to talk about his cover for Year of the Horse, and the comments were abuzz with discussion about whether the dark cowboy silhouette and Asian-inspired title represented all the characters of the characters in his book (it's a multicultural cast -- yay!), or whether it spoke to a white Old West image. Since then, Justin's given some thought to the categorization of books, and he has a three-part essay on that topic that starts on SF Signal. Check out Why Where Your Book Gets Shelved Determines Your Intelligence, Work-Ethic and Value to Society. Happy Tuesday!

Cover Stories: Hot Girl by Dream Jordan

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:41:42 -0500

When I saw the cover for Dream Jordan's Hot Girl, I couldn't stop staring at it. It is so up-close and arresting--and I love her expression. So hard to figure out but so intriguing! So, you know, I emailed Dream. And she told me this story: "Originally, I envisioned my protagonist Kate dressed in sweats, sitting on a park bench with a basketball under her foot. I thought by depicting Kate as a tomboy, the reader would get a welcoming surprise when she's made over into a HOT GIRL. "My publisher didn't ask for my input. In hindsight, I'm glad they didn't because I love my cover! The only nitpick I had upon first seeing my cover was the character's lips. I thought the lipstick was too shiny, and funny-looking. What I didn't realize is that the computer image of my book cover was a less refined version of the actual hard copy. The hard copy is more than I could have imagined. I especially love my novel's bind featuring those glossy lips, which ultimately entices a browsing bookstore patron to pick my book up! "My cover's reception has been phenomenal. Female readers love Kate's perfectly arched brows, and the boys love that she's pretty. Sometimes, I'm asked if I'm the female on the cover. I don't see the resemblance, but I'm truly flattered and flabbergasted when that happens!" I've seen Dream at a reading and she's totally gorgeous, so I get why people ask her that! In any case, I really love this cover. What do you guys think? PS-Read Little Willow's review!

Sunday Song: Madinthemoon Does Taylor Swift

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:43:54 -0500

You guys know I'm a huge Taylor Swift fan. But I also really enjoyed this parody -- it's the song that youtube's Madinthemoon wishes Taylor would write (I have to say I agree on lots of points). However you feel about it, it's creative. What do you guys think? Happy Sunday!

Bonus Cover Stories: Reality Check by Jen Calonita

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 08:30:16 -0500

Jen Calonita writes really awesome books for Little, Brown's POPPY imprint (Secrets of My Hollywood Life series, anyone?). Her next novel, Reality Check, has a unique, doll-covered cover. She posted a full Cover Story at her own site, and she let me excerpt a little bit. Here's Jen: "I'm lucky to work with a wonderful publisher that always shares their ideas with me, but I can't take any credit for the fabulous ideas and designs. It's all them! Thankfully I always adore what they do. I'm particularly excited about the cover for my upcoming novel, Reality Check, which is about four best friends whose lives change dramatically when they get their own reality TV show. The book's designer, Erin McMahon, and my editors, Kate Sullivan and Cindy Eagan, came up with the look for each doll, and they did an amazing job. The clothes the dolls wear were all designed by Erin! I wish she'd make clothes for me. Aren't the outfits cute? "I love, love, love the idea of dolls on the cover of this book. Each doll looks like one of the four best friends in the novel, which is great, but when you dig further, and think about the story, having dolls represent the girls says something else about the book as well. I don't want to give too much away, but you'll know what I'm talking about when you read the book..." Read the rest of Jen's Cover story, and see more behind-the-scenes cover shoot photos on her site. What do you guys think of this one? I know Pretty Little Liars also did a doll thing, but this one really stands out to me in a cool way. PS-Anyone else into Blythe dolls? So cute.

Photo Friday: More Cats

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:35:29 -0500

Just two quick shots of cat life at my apartment: When a fur coat came over to visit... The way Winnie is staring at me right now. Disdain? Admiration? Who can tell.

Cover Story + Crafty Bookmark

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:59:50 -0500

Two things to say today: 1. I interviewed Amy Brecount White about her cover for Forget-Her-Nots, and that post is up at Barnes and Noble's Unabashedly Bookish blog. An excerpt: "The flowers in the shot are scarlet poppies, which mean 'fantastic extravagance' in the language of flowers. I think that perfectly describes my main character Laurel's relationship with blooms throughout the novel." Go read the full story if you have a minute! (Amy's also doing a fun Spread the Flower Love Blog Tour, and today she's talking to Kristi at The Story Siren). 2. Readergirlz is working with Jen Funk Weber to create bookmarks, and Jen is sending out kits to anyone who wants to make one. Stitching for Literacy, ahem. Go here to find out how to get a free bookmark kit, and see the video below (feel free to share it!): Happy Thursday!

Win-It Wednesday + Cover Stories: All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:13:19 -0500

*Update! Travis reminded me that I forgot to pick last week's Copper Sun/Incarceron winner (and did you hear that Fox picked up the film rights to Incarceron?!). Anyway, the winner is JenP! Send me your address, J. Now back to Anna J.* The lovely Anna Jarzab is here to talk about her novel's cover. All Unquiet Things, which The Compulsive Reader called "[A] complex, smart, and disquieting debut." Plus, Anna's giving a copy of her book to one lucky commenter, whom I'll choose at random next week (announced on Weds as usual). Take it away, Anna! "It surprises me now, considering how obsessively I thought of this book, how little I thought about what the cover might look like. I had dinner with my editor and my agent a few months after we sold All Unquiet Things and my editor asked, 'So do you have any ideas about what you might like to see on the cover?' I was totally stumped, so I blurted out the only thing that came to mind: matryoshka dolls. One is crucial to the plot and they've always seemed sort of an apt metaphor for people and mysteries. I don't know whether or not the art department at Delacorte found that suggestion helpful, but they didn't go with it, which was fine because then I used it as a theme for my website, which has worked out pretty nicely. "I got my cover in January 2009 and was totally stunned by it. I mean, absolutely, positively, 100% in awe of how elegant and captivating it is. I had absolutely no input except '!!!!!'. I didn't even try to play it cool. The cover never changed from the comp I saw, which was just fine with me. "The cover photo was shot specifically for the book by the brilliant Eva Kolenko (who according to her blog just did some shots for a Rubio's commercial, which is pretty much the coolest thing ever; as all Californians know, Rubio's is delicious). The model's name is Lauren, and a couple of months ago I heard from her lovely mother, who dropped me a line to tell me that was her daughter on the cover. I was excited and asked her to see if Lauren could write a little something about her experience being a cover model for the book. You can read the full thing here on my website, but here's a snippet: Lauren: "It all started with an email from a casting agency asking me if I was interested in a photo shoot for the cover of a book...I pictured myself - hair blowing from the oversized fan behind the photographer, fake eyelashes, colorful wardrobe - I would be like a celebrity...However, when my mom received an email from the photographer that said, 'Lauren will be playing dead, and will probably be getting a little muddy. Just wanted to give you a heads up on that,' my celebrity hopes vanished... "First they had me lay down on a hill of prickly grass. I was a tough girl, I could handle it. It was wet and scratchy, but I tried to focus on appearing dead. The next spot was on top of some thick roots near a tree. This time it was muddy, and the designer dirtied my shirt with grass and dirt beforehand for effect. The roots dug into my back, but I had to appear relaxed, you know, being dead and all. It was still freezing cold, but, of course--perfect timing--the glare from the sun was in my eyes while I had to stare directly into the camera. Eva was great, always encouraging me and trying to get the best shot possible... "When we were done shooting, Eva showed me some of the pictures on her laptop. When I saw them, I was so excited. It was worth being uncomfortable for an hour... This experience was amazing! I would not trade it for anything. It was so cool to go to Borders and see my face (actually half of it) on the shelf. I felt so honored. I couldn't help but tell the good news to an employee there. He surprisingly was quite impressed." Back to Anna: "What a trooper! I'm the whiniest person ever, so I probably would've been like, "Why is it so COLD?" in about five seconds. But the photo is amazing, and I think Lauren is a perfect Carly--also, perfectly dead-looking. By the way, you may only be able to see half of Lauren's face on the hardcover, but the audio book has a fuller photo, right (they had to use it because of sizing). "There are so many things I love about the cover. I love how incredibly green the grass is, and how transfixingly blue Carly's eyes are. I love how she's staring at you, like she's daring you to find out what happened to her, or she's trying to draw you in--also helped by the half-beckoning way her arm is positioned. I love the horizontal lines of the cover, with the way the photo is trimmed and Carly's arm. I also like that Carly's hand is what's in focus, and everything else is slightly out of focus, like she's offering to take your hand and guide you into this world. Am I thinking too much about this? Maybe. But I've stared at it a long time. "Anyway, I absolutely love the cover and am so grateful to the design department at Delacorte and Eva and Lauren and my editor who surely had a lot to do with this. It's such a beautiful package, and perfectly captures the essence of the book I wrote. I couldn't be happier." I found the cover to be really mesmerizing, which is why I had to ask Anna to join us for Cover Stories! And that full-face audio book cover? SO MUCH CREEPIER!! I love that Lauren the model got to share her story too! (I loved doing that with Molly, the Violet books' cover model.) So what do you guys think of this cover? Drawn in? Comment below and you're entered to win a copy of the book! Oh, and here's the trailer:

Happy Birthday, Readergirlz + Scotts (Westerfeld and Elizabeth) + Prizes

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:17:24 -0500

readergirlz is three years old! Amazing! So here's what we do: Every month, we feature a book that has a strong female protagonist. Then, the author writes discussion questions for us to talk about on the blog all month long (we post two each week). There are also fun extras, like the author's soundtrack to the book, a reach out volunteer project for each book, an interview with the featured author and more! It's kinda like a big party. (Especially the LIVE chats.) It's a lot of fun working with Justina Chen, Lorie Ann Grover, Dia Calhoun, Holly Cupala, Liz Gallagher, Elizabeth Scott, Mitali Perkins, Martha Brockenbrough, Little Willow, Miss Erin, Jackie Parker, HipWriterMama, Shelf Elf, Janet Lee Carey and Beth Kephart! All awesome people. This month at readergirlz, we're reading and discussing Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan with Scott himself, naturally! Have you read it? Either way, come join the blog commentary (there's a LIVE chat with Scott on Wednesday, March 17th at 6pm PST/9pm EST.) Oh, and remember that our Author in Residence right now is the talented Elizabeth Scott, who is answering all of your questions about her books and writing and reading and general smartness. Have you entered her latest contest? (Um, and who can wait for her latest book The Unwritten Rule? I am dying to read it! Here's a chance to win it and 4 other great titles.) PS-You've got one more day to enter the Double Win-It Wednesday here. Good luck!

Cover Stories: We Were Here by Matt de la Pena

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:14:21 -0500

I really loved Matt de la Peña's We Were Here, and I had to ask him about its unique and somewhat dreamy cover. Here's Matt: "I never really had a vision for my We Were Here cover. I just remember thinking, Man, I hope my cover looks cool. That was my only thought. I kind of wanted it to be gritty. But covers and titles are the same for me - I don't think I deserve to think about them until I've done the heavy lifting and finished the book. "This is my third book, and it's the first time I got to bring in my own guy (or at least recommend him). Nick Haas, a very talented graphic artist in Chicago, did all the art for the movie version of my first book, Ball Don't Lie. My editor, who has a really good eye for jacket art, dug his stuff and Random House agreed to give him a shot. They really liked what he came up with. He also redid the cover of my second book, Mexican WhiteBoy - it's SO MUCH BETTER. Check out both versions, the old is on the left, new on the right: "Anyway, the first time I saw the We Were Here cover I was like, Damn, man! Finally! I really liked it right away. Now, my first reaction to the hard cover version of Mexican WhiteBoy (above left) was a different situation. I believe I threatened to leap out of my editor's office window at Random House. "I didn't have any say with the first book. I think I was so happy to have a book I didn't care what the hell the cover looked like. I don't even remember having an opinion (though I do like it). Now they're starting to send me drafts of the covers. They're running ideas by me. Which is really cool. It's fun to see the directions they go. I've seen about three versions of the cover of my book that comes out next year (I Will Save You). They're going in a very different direction. I really like it. "The cover for We Were Here is about four photos sort of blended together. The guy who did it, Nick Haas, loves to overlap and blend and stick together. It comes out looking really different. The photos are from some shots he took in Chicago and LA. "My favorite thing (and this probably doesn't mean anything to anybody else) is that you can vaguely see letters that spell out 'UNDO CITY' in the background. I thinks that's a really cool idea. This is a pretty urban novel and the main character, Miguel, has been sentenced by the system, which operates in the city, and maybe Miguel would like to 'undo' the system which would ultimately be undoing the 'city,' so if you think about it that little subliminal message is totally relevant to the story, even though it was unintended. Do you follow? Actually, I have no idea what I just said. But I do like that it says 'UNDO CITY.' "In general I think my job as an author is to write as good a novel as I possibly can. I don't want to spend too much time thinking about covers or reviews or sales or potential groupies (well, maybe potential groupies). On the other hand, it's so incredibly cool to get that first look at your new cover. It makes you think, Holy crap! I wrote a damn book! I actually pulled it off!" Thanks, Matt! I didn't notice UNDO CITY until you mentioned it. How cool! I also think the second cover for Mexican Whiteboy has so much more depth and color to it. I can't wait to read the rest of Matt's books. What do you guys think of these covers? PS-Here's the trailer for Ball Don't Lie, the movie based on Matt's book that comes out this summer. Awesome.

Photo Friday: California!

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:30:00 -0500

I got to head to California last week, where I hit Morro Bay on the central coast with some high school friends: And then I got to pretend to be cool with college friends in LA: We also ate some amazing food at The Bazaar at SLS (molecular gastronomy, which I only know about because of Top Chef). I ate a man-made olive -- and I liked it! (Cotton Candy Foie Gras, Philly Cheese Steaks and Egg Salad, if you're interested.) Looking back on this post, I feel a little douche-y. But, you know, sometimes it's fun to go to the beach with your 17-year-old best friends, wear sunglasses inside and eat at fancy LA restaurants. Normal life is pajama pants and DVR, and I'm back to that now! Happy Friday!

Double Win-It Wednesday: Copper Sun and Incarceron

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:49:35 -0500

There's still time to enter last week's contest over at Tera Lynn Childs's blog (it ends 2/28). And this week, because I missed a week, I'm giving away two books. The first is Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper. We've been discussing it all month long at readergirlz (see the discussion questions in the top right corner to get a taste of the themes you'll encounter in this amazing, award-winning historical novel). The second is an ARC of Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. It's a fantasy about a prison with many levels--metal forests, old cities, huge wilderness. And, of course, our hero wants to escape. Well, here's the trailer: One winner will get both books. I kind of like the idea of mixing genres like this in a book collection. Just comment below and say hi -- I'm a pushover this week. If you have a blog, tell me what you blog about. I'll visit! Happy Wednesday!

Cover Stories: The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:30:30 -0500

Over on Barnes and Noble's Unabashedly Bookish blog, Matthew Quick told me the story of his debut novel, The Silver Linings Playbook. It has two very different covers, and he has quite a tale to tell. Here are the covers: Check out the full story here. Which cover do you like best?

Cover Stories: Fallen by Lauren Kate

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:00:50 -0500

I want the dress on the cover of Lauren Kate's Fallen. Okay, I know I'm not original, but it's the truth. How gorgeous is that?! I had to ask how it all came about. Here's Lauren: "Before I was writing full-time, I worked as an Associate Editor at HarperCollins Children's Books, so I got to spend a lot of time with the art department there and I realized a) how bad I was at visualizing cover concepts that represented and helped promote books, and b) how absolutely excellent the art department was at doing just that. Writing a story and visually representing the story are really very, very separate skills. In my experience, even when authors come into a project with a clear idea for the cover, they often end up groveling at the feet of the talented designers and artists who can get at their books in a really different way and bring something entirely new and fresh to the package of the book. "This is all to say that it did not even occur to me to try and visualize what the Fallen cover would look like. I left that in the hands of the experts from the beginning! And that was a very good idea. "They really didn't come to me beforehand, and I didn't expect them to. Of course, if I'd had a specific idea about the cover, I would have brought it to them, but again, I feel lucky for my experience as an editor because I came into this endeavor understanding what a collaborative process publishing a book really is. I was excited to let the art department do their thing. And what they came up with was just so stunning. "I was living on a farm in northern California and I didn't have internet access, just my phone, which downloaded images about as quickly as grass grows. I saw this email from my editor with the subject line 'Cover Comp!' and then it wouldn't load and it wouldn't load and I paced my house and when the tiny jpeg finally opened on my cell phone screen, I just about collapsed on the couch. It was like nothing I could have imagined for the book--and yet it was perfect. Beautiful, haunting. It evoked an entire world in one image, which was exactly what I wanted. 'Oooooh, ahhhhh.' That was about all I had to say. "This was the only version I saw, so I never imagined that a whole battle had gone on in-house. I found out later that after some discussions at my publisher, several other cover comps had been proposed and argued over in many loooong meetings. It wasn't until the very last minute that they decided to stay with the original. I think what finally tipped the scale was that Random House polled a group of teen girls and asked them which of a few covers they liked best. The results of the survey were pretty overwhelmingly in favor of the first--and current!--cover. "I *think* the cover is a painting based on a photograph, or a photograph somehow doctored to look as rich as a painting. All I know is that there is a genius in Brazil who delivers these beautiful pieces (we're using her work for Torment, the sequel, as well) to the art department at Random House and they do some manipulations and it comes out looking pretty fab. "When I first wrote the book, there was no scene that described this exact image. No big flowing black dress, no forest escape. Actually there still isn't quite that scene... but something about this image evokes the essence of the story, even builds on it. I went back and revised the scene where Luce finds that first photograph of one of her past lives. I wrote in the black dress. I gave Luce wristlets and very long hair. The cover takes on her past lifetime, though this exact image (her being alone in a forest) happens off the pages of this first book. I like that, I think it's provocative that even the cover image suggests there's more to this story than is told in Fallen. I'm looking forward to speaking to all of that mystery in the later books. "I did have an idea for the model's pose on the second book's jacket (Torment, which comes out in the fall) and I proposed this to my publisher. The cover is still a work in progress, but they're working with the idea I proposed and I think it's turning out really well." Thanks, Lauren! Fascinating. I wonder if that genius in Brazil can make me a dress like Luce's, and the gloves, too. Just for around the house, you know. What do you guys think of this cover?

Photo Friday: Valentine's Day + Olympic Cats

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:27:04 -0500

Look at the lobster I got on Valentine's Day (Dave and I always do this old-school lobster, champagne and roses V-Day. It's how we roll): Good bread, too: And finally, for your viewing enjoyment, Swayze and Winnie watch the Olympics (they never watch any regular shows--this is their thing!)

Happy Friday!