On Book Covers with Author Holly Schindler (and a Giveaway!)

As part of a blog tour hosted by The Teen {Book} Scene, I was lucky enough to have author Holly Schindler stop by and tell us her thoughts on book covers! So without further ado...here's Holly! 

ON BOOK COVERS…

I hate to burst the bubble on the idea that both of my covers are completely original, but…Those covers both contain stock images.  Those photos were not created specifically for my books.

…But finding an image for the two books is a challenge in and of itself—an artistic challenge, at that.

I do love both covers—I think, though, that as far as advertising the content of the novels, I like PLAYING HURT even more than the cover of my debut, A BLUE SO DARK.  

I’ll explain: The cover of  BLUE is not a literal interpretation of the events of the novel.  It’s a poetic representation.  It speaks to the emotional content of the novel.  With a text so poetic, metaphorical, it follows that the cover would be metaphorical…So to represent the book in a poetic way seemed completely right-on to me, when I first saw the cover of the book… 

But: I do pay attention to blog reviews.  And one thing I noticed right off the bat was that initial readers who picked up BLUE took the cover literally. (Which is completely understandable…no one knew anything about me or my writing style.)  That cover, literally, looks quite like the cover of many YA paranormal novels.  (The book was also initially purchased with paranormal titles on Amazon.)  So when those readers began to find themselves immersed in a character-driven literary novel, I think they were a little off-put.  But as word of the book spread, people began to realize the cover didn’t speak to the literal happenings of the book, but the emotional content. 

PLAYING HURT, though?  I think that’s a perfect portrayal / advertisement of the literal content.  The word DESSEN-y was used both by my publisher as they worked to find a good image, and it was used by readers once I posted the cover on my blog.  Fans of YA romance will gravitate to that novel.  So I really love what the cover of PLAYING HURT does for that book.

Knowing what I know now about how the book cover was taken (and if I had all the money in the world to make a cover for A BLUE SO DARK), I think I’d try something like the cover of Neil Young’s ON THE BEACH album.  I’d show Aura and Grace from behind, in beach chairs, sketching the sunset.  And I’d put symbols from the novel poking up from the sand: Jeremy’s skateboard, the wooden mermaids, etc.

…My first middle grade novel, (title pending), recently sold to Dial.  It’s the first book I’ve ever done that will feature original illustrations…I can’t wait to learn more about how that process works!

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Thanks for stopping by, Holly! I love both the covers for A Blue So Dark and Playing Hurt, which are both high on to-read list, especially since Holly is a native to Springfield, MO, where I'm currently attending college! 

As part of the tour, I'm able to offer up a copy of Playing Hurt to one of my readers. Just read the rules and fill out the form below! 

Giveaway Details

1) US/Canada only. (Sorry to my other international peeps!)

2) Contest entries will be accepted until 12:00 AM on 3/25 (CST)

3) Leave your name and a valid e-mail in the form to enter!

4) Multiple entries will be deleted.

5) The winner will be selected by Random.org and contacted via e-mail after the contest closes. He or she will then have 48 hours to respond to my e-mail with a full name and mailing address.

Good luck!