Hey guys!
Good news! The wait is over! Well, some of it anyway. I recently received the sample book jacket for LIVING VIOLET. My book now has an actual cover! A COVER, y’all!! On top of that, it’s available for pre-order. Yay!
I’m super excited to see all the work and effort come to fruition. It’s surreal—kinda like an outer body, this-isn’t-really-happening-to-me, thing. This high is going to get worse as the release date draws closer.
I do have mixed feelings about the cover art. I’ve never been a fan of covers with human faces on it. There are WAY too many in YA and it takes away from the reader’s imagination. The characters’ appearance really shouldn’t matter that much and the key focus should be the overall premise and plot. I mean yeah, the guy can be hot, but is he interesting, or does his abs do all the talking?
With that said…
The main character and narrator of the story is Samara (Sam) a biracial teen who works at a bookstore. This feisty chick is a force to be reckoned with and for some reason she’s placed in the background.
Caleb is a lovable flirt with a deadly secret and a weird eating habit. Though a major character in the book, he’s not the narrator, yet he is placed in the foreground like a Boss! He’s described in the story as having messy brown hair that reaches his jaw. He also has (bluish-purple) eyes that cast a very interesting light. He looks a bit hard core and kinda reminds me of Eminem. Just sayin’. He’s still a cutie though.
It’s a provocative cover, no doubt, but I’m worried if it portrays my characters accurately. I’m on the fence about it because no matter how stoked I am about releasing a book, I want to do my characters justice. Or, it could be just me being picky.
On a more awesome note, the printed version of the cover has a reflective disk over Caleb’s eye so it almost looks like it’s glowing. I found myself staring at it for almost an hour, fascinated at how the light bounces off of it. His eyes suck you in just as it does in the story. Super creepy. Hella cool!!
I would love to get your take on it. Let me know what you think.
Cheers!!
Jaime Reed
Living Violet: The Cambion Chronicles
Dafina Books (Kinsington) January 2012
Like you, I have mixed feelings about it too, but only because I don't like to see faces on book covers either unless they're concealed somehow. The plot has drawn me in, so I'll keep an eye out for more info. Congrats :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I encourage all feedback. The more comments the better. :D
ReplyDeleteLooks great to me! Makes me curious.
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful cover to me, but I understand your frustration. Still, personally I really like it :) Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteI think that if a cover is going to have faces on it, the faces need to be accurate according to the book. Also, I believe that if the author doesn't absolutely adore the cover then it's not right for the book.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys. I also fixed all the typos. That's what I get for writing a blog at 5 in the morning. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteI love the violet eyes--it definitely makes me intrigued about the romance that could be going on here. And I love the way Sam looks--she's got a fierceness to her that's so awesome!
ReplyDeleteAt first glance, I love the cover. It'd intrigue me to get the book. There's faces, but they're different than most of what I've been seeing (not angst or wistful or goth), and the girl looks kick-ass. I'd say she looks feisty - she looks like she's about to attack or at least do a surprise move on the intense boy in the foreground.
ReplyDeleteBut as a reader (and an author!) I would get upset that the characters don't look right. There's a specific fantasy artist in the adult realm that I HATE because NONE of his cover characters match what's in the book. That said, I wouldn't go into annoyed mode until after I read the book, and then it's a minor thing compared to the story, right?
Ahem. That last could have been read wrong. I didn't mean it's a minor annoyance compared to a (more annoying) story. I mean it's only a minor annoyance to the reader because the reader has read and enjoys the story, which is what matters.
ReplyDeleteWayyy past when I should have gone to bed.
so, at my first glance, I thought "wow! cool!" then I read your take on it, and agree that it's frustrating when the character doesn't look the same as in your head. However, these characters really do grab my attention - especially that intense look on your female mc. And that's all the cover really is for right? I'd buy this. Especially with the fancy eyes on the actual cover! Go celebrate! (and make bookmarks!)
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