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Cover Stories: Michelle Jackson

Posted on Thursday, November 25th, 2010 by Chloe

A brand new feature on Chicklitreviews.com is Cover Stories! We have noticed that book covers are a huge part of a books appeal whether we like to admit it or not, and the age old adage “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” is less relevant now than it has ever been! Therefore, we’ve taken it upon ourselves for this new feature to quiz a whole lot of chick lit authors, some who have been around the genre for a good few years, some debut authors, about the importance of their book covers, and what they mean to them. We hope you like the feature!

This week we are talking to Michelle Jackson about her book covers. Michelle has had 3 books published by Poolbeg Press, including her latest One Kiss in Havana which I loved. Here Michelle tells us about her opinion on book covers - both her own and other writers!

“There is no feeling like the moment that you first see the cover of your novel! The thrill is unique! But do we judge a book by it’s cover? I think that covers are extremely important and the ultimate decider when choosing a book. I remember the first time that I saw the cover for Audrey Neffineggers novel ‘The Time Travellers Wife’ - I just had to pick it up - the little girl’s shoes next to the man’s shoes were so intriguing. I wasn’t disappointed either when I did go to read it - it’s definately one of my all time favourites!

But I think that tastes change and the fashion for covers of books works very much in the same way as advertising or music or clothing! There is a trend not to reveal the full identy of a person on a cover and it has been that way for two seasons - also the preoccupation with shoes and feet seems a little overdone. The comic cover has peaks and troughs in Chicklit fashion also. I have been very pleased with all of my covers to date - do I have a favourite? To be honest I love the ‘One Kiss in Havana’ cover so much that I almost cried when it was shown to me. It also perfectly represents my character Emma - even down to the clothes and sunglasses that she wears and her laptop that she carries around with her on holidays. This is my first novel that will be translated into another language so I am very excited to see what the Dutch publisher will do with it and what it will be called because it is usual for the title to change dramatically also when a novel is translated. The cover for my first novel ‘Two Days in Biarritz’ is very dear to me and will always be because it was my first and because it has that wonderful feeling of sunshine and holiday surrounding it. I have also noticed that three of my four novels have cars on the cover - which I think is very appropriate - especially as they all have a travel theme. So I will have to wait and see what my publisher is going to do with my next one - the title is still to be set but one thing is for certain that the city of ‘Vegas’ will be in it - and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there is a nice red convertible on the cover too. If you happen to read one of my books - I hope you enjoy the trip as much as I have writing the story!”

Thanks Michelle!

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Cover Stories: Ali McNamara

Posted on Thursday, November 4th, 2010 by Leah

A brand new feature on Chicklitreviews.com is Cover Stories! We have noticed that book covers are a huge part of a books appeal whether we like to admit it or not, and the age old adage “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” is less relevant now than it has ever been! Therefore, we’ve taken it upon ourselves for this new feature to quiz a whole lot of chick lit authors, some who have been around the genre for a good few years, some debut authors, about the importance of their book covers, and what they mean to them. We hope you like the feature!

This week debut novelist Ali McNamara is telling us all about her wonderful cover for From Notting Hill With Love… Actually which is released on 25th November. It’s a stunning book - one of my favourites of the year in fact! - and the cover truly is something special, so here’s Ali to tell you all about it…

I love the cover of my novel ‘From Notting Hill with Love…Actually.’

I had no idea just what the design team at Little, Brown would come up with for my book. As a debut author I wasn’t consulted on the cover design, I was just praying it was not yellow or orange - my two least favourite colours! But when I saw the finished article for the first time I was speechless – most unusual for me! I adore it and think they’ve done a brilliant job.

The cover features the Coronet cinema in Notting Hill Gate (the same one in the movie Notting Hill where Hugh Grant has to watch a movie with Julia Roberts in his diving goggles), and then in the foreground a couple messing about with a bag of popcorn. I like the way the couple are posed to look very much like Mark and Bridget in the final scene of Bridget Jones’ Diary. I like to think this is deliberate as this is one of the many movies that feature in the novel.

The back cover shows a silhouette of a couple sitting in the back row of a cinema, again eating popcorn! Movies are a big theme of the book as you can tell by the title and all the popcorn references. The only thing I asked to be changed when I saw the proof cover for the first time was the original girl on the front cover had red hair, when my main character, Scarlett has black hair because she’s named after Scarlett O’Hara from the Hollywood classic Gone with the Wind.

Even the title is in keeping with the novel, both on the cover and on the spine. It’s black and red - the colours of the London street signs, which is where most of the story takes place. Although the characters do venture across to Paris at one point and have some interesting encounters with some rather iconic film stars there…

So how do I feel about the cover of my debut novel?

I totally love it…actually.

Thanks Ali!

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Cover Stories: Jill Mansell

Posted on Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 by Chloe

A brand new feature on Chicklitreviews.com is Cover Stories! We have noticed that book covers are a huge part of a books appeal whether we like to admit it or not, and the age old adage “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” is less relevant now than it has ever been! Therefore, we’ve taken it upon ourselves for this new feature to quiz a whole lot of chick lit authors, some who have been around the genre for a good few years, some debut authors, about the importance of their book covers, and what they mean to them. We hope you like the feature!

This week is the turn of author Jill Mansell, who has released no less than a superb 21 books in the UK, with her 22nd, To The Moon and Back, due out in February 2011. Thanks to the amount of books she has released, Jill has real experience when it comes to book covers, and has been through several redesigns with her older books as well, so Jill can offer us a great perspective on this too! Enjoy!

“Covers are massively important and I couldn’t be happier with mine at the moment, both here in the UK and in the US. They are distinctive, super-attractive and completely pickupable. Gorgeous!

When my first six novels were published many years ago, the covers lacked cohesion; as each new one came out, my publishers attempted a different look and my sales dropped like a stone. This isn’t a criticism – we were all on the same side and wanted my books to do as well as possible, but sadly the magic doesn’t always happen. For me, my worst cover was the one for Two’s Company, featuring the face of a girl who would never star in one of my novels and who appeared to have one enormous eyebrow and one normal one! (FantasticFiction has a cover shot of this.)

I was dropped by my publishers and subsequently taken on by Headline. Perfect Timing had a lovely cover (of a bride in a bath) but it was the advent of the legs covers, starting with Mixed Doubles, that really marked the beginning of my sales increase and became my signature style. They may seem dated now, but at the time it was a fresh idea that worked brilliantly. (And not just for me – for plenty of other authors too. The legs became synonymous with chick-lit.)

After a few more years it was time for another change, this time a more ageless one in recognition of the wide age ranges of my characters, but retaining the happy feel-good factor. Making Your Mind Up was the first with the beautiful new style and I fell in love with the cover on sight. My entire backlist was re-jacketed too, and it was lovely to see them all getting a new lease of life

Now Headline are tweaking the covers once more, keeping the style distinctive and the author’s name always written the same way, but concentrating more on scenes from where the books are set. The colours used are also more subtle. I’m getting dead classy in my old age!

I’m thrilled with all my covers and owe so much to the talented artists who have created them. I can’t wait to see the new one for my next book, To the Moon and Back!”

Thanks so much, Jill!

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Cover Stories: Christine Stovell

Posted on Monday, October 4th, 2010 by Leah

A brand new feature on Chicklitreviews.com is Cover Stories! We have noticed that book covers are a huge part of a books appeal whether we like to admit it or not, and the age old adage “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” is less relevant now than it has ever been! Therefore, we’ve taken it upon ourselves for this new feature to quiz a whole lot of chick lit authors, some who have been around the genre for a good few years, some debut authors, about the importance of their book covers, and what they mean to them. We hope you like the feature!

This week on ‘Cover Stories’ is debut author Christine Stovell, whose book Turning The Tide was released earlier this year and which I really enjoyed! Take it away, Christine!

“My heart was pounding as I waited for the file marked ‘Turning the Tide – Visuals’ to download. This was the moment I’d dreamt of for years; my first sight of that all-important cover art for my debut novel. Months of work going into … what? I’d expected a few tears, but not of disappointment! My initial reaction was that even Katie Fforde would struggle to shift some of these, let alone a complete unknown like me!

Nipping a potential Authorzilla moment in the bud, Lyn Vernham, Choc Lit’s Marketing Director, quickly explained that these were concepts, initial thoughts on how my novel might be represented. In fact, one of the joys about working with the Choc Lit team is how much care goes into creating the right cover. A couple of weeks later, when the final design arrived, I couldn’t have been happier. I’d always visualised Harry, my heroine, as a lone figure fighting to preserve everything she holds dear about her sleepy seaside town, and there she was, bless her, sitting on a rock gazing towards the place she loves. I also love the colours which perfectly evoke the mood of the book.

What the photo can’t convey is how well-produced Choc Lit books are; the matt silver font used for the title of Turning the Tide looks beautiful and the novel’s something I’m really proud to show off. When I held a copy of my book for the first time I shed a few more tears – but this time they were of pure happiness!”

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Cover Stories: Sasha Wagstaff

Posted on Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010 by Chloe

A brand new feature on Chicklitreviews.com is Cover Stories! We have noticed that book covers are a huge part of a books appeal whether we like to admit it or not, and the age old adage “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” is less relevant now than it has ever been! Therefore, we’ve taken it upon ourselves for this new feature to quiz a whole lot of chick lit authors, some who have been around the genre for a good few years, some debut authors, about the importance of their book covers, and what they mean to them. We hope you like the feature!

Our first Cover Wars “star” is the lovely Sasha Wagstaff, author of Changing Grooms and Wicked Games. Please let us know your thoughts on Sasha’s book covers in the comments, the pictures of them are located underneath the article!

“I can still remember how ridiculously excited I was when I first saw the cover proofs for my debut novel ‘Changing Grooms’. All those months of writing and editing the book – not to mention getting a publishing deal in the first place – had now reached the thrilling stage of seeing an actual cover, one that would be seen sitting on store shelves all round the country. All of a sudden, my soon-to-be-published novel felt very real – and the cover and how it looked seemed doubly important!

Would it be how I imagined it, was my first thought. I had toyed with the idea of something wedding-themed but I hadn’t got much further than that in my head. I wondered if an elaborate, tiered cake might be used…or bride and groom cake toppers fighting, perhaps. I really had no idea, nor did I have a clue what sort of colours would be used. All I hoped for was a cover that wasn’t too girly. Don’t get me wrong; I love a pastel cover and a good chick-lit read as much as the next girl, but I didn’t feel it would be right for Changing Grooms, somehow.

When I finally saw the stark, white background with the striking gold wedding band with little horns and bejewelled tail, I was over the moon! I loved the Jilly Cooper-esque feel of the cover and I thought the tails and horn hinted perfectly at the naughtiness within the book. And I thought the back cover blurb set out as a wedding invitation was brilliant…a stylish touch that really seemed to pull the main elements of the novel together, as well as giving the reader a sense of the characters and the part they might play in the story. I was told the cover really stood out on the shelves, which was fantastic.

As Chick Lit Reviews noticed, the cover for my second novel, Wicked Games, underwent a dramatic change. The original version was a lovely blue one with pink writing and a glittery star – very different from Changing Grooms. It was really pretty and maybe a little younger in feel but after the release of the hardback, my publishers had a change of heart and reverted back to a white background with a single, key image. Whilst I liked the original blue one, as soon as I saw the revised version with the title picked out in orange flames and the gorgeous ruby-red heart beneath it, I was sold. The jewelled heart reflected Ace and Iris’s Romeo and Juliet-style romance and the gold ring / halo above the heart was both a nod to Changing Grooms, as well as hinting at the wicked / angelic themes running through the novel. I think it’s perfect for the story and I had received extremely positive feedback about it.

Personally, I believe book covers are incredibly important – all of us judge a book when we first see it and it plays a crucial part in whether or not we buy and read a novel. As for me…I think I’ve been very lucky. I love both of my covers and believe they match the tone and content of my novels beautifully. And I really can’t wait to see the next one!”

Thanks so much Sasha!

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