EVERNEATH Covers from Around the World

I thought it would be fun today to show a couple of the other covers of EVERNEATH from around the world. 


First up, we have the U.K. version. Close to the U.S. version, but different fonts and stuff. You can compare it with the U.S version on the sidebar. 

Then we have the German cover. Definitely staying true to the Persephone myth, with the pomegranate in view. Every time I see this one, I literally have a craving for pomegranates. Someone once mentioned that there's a device you can use to easily get the seeds out. Does anyone know what that device is?

Germany also did this thing where they sent out the book to bloggers with a dust jacket that had previous blogger comments on it:

I borrowed the images from german blogger Bella's Wonderworld.

I love that idea! I wish every book I ever wrote would be wrapped inside the good things people have to say about it. I'd love to be able to read the comments. Does anyone know a little German? 

No, not that kind. The other kind.


Speaking of, if you read and liked EVERNEATH, feel free to tweet me or email me! I love hearing from readers.


If you didn't like it, send an email to J.Sandusky@PennState.edu.*


So, what do you think of these covers and stuff? Please only nice things, because my U.K. and German publishers read my blog too.


And if you have nothing to say on the covers... what are you doing for Thanksgiving? I am having one dinner on Wednesday night, and another dinner on Friday. I'm free on Thanksgiving. Not that you have to invite me to whatever you're doing. 


*Just kidding. I totally made up that email, so please don't send any emails for reals. 

How my Blog Dressed to Match my Cover, and Some Other Covers I Love.

Hey y'all!

Do you notice anything different around here?

No, I haven't lost weight. But thank you.

It's my blog! After the big Cover Reveal last Friday, I received a lot of suggestions that I should dress to match my book:

Since there's no way I could rock that dress, or even squeeze into that dress, I decided to dress up my blog to match. What do you think?

Also, I have to give a big shout out to the world wide web for all of their support over the cover. And let me tell you, that cover took a lot of work. First, I had to find the girl. Then, I had to shop at JC Penny for the dress. Then - this was the hardest part - I had to search the world for some smoke/cloud/fog action...

Okay, I had nothing to do with the cover. Huge thanks for the cover team at HarperCollins. Did you know there are graphic design guys that specialize in smoke?

Anyway, since I've sort of been cover-obsessed this past week, I'd love to share with you some of my favorite covers of recent and upcoming books:

First up, IMAGINARY GIRLS by Nova Ren Suma:

I think Nova should totally dress to match.

It's so darn lovely. And mysterious.

Next up, and keeping with the water theme, THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER by Michelle Hodkin. 

Some guys are hot enough that you wouldn't mind being pulled under with them.

Seriously, I don't know what it is about underwater shots, but they are so awesome!

And, now, we have an upcoming book, INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows:

Um... you have something on your face... near your eyes...

I think this cover is so different than anything I've seen lately! I love the colors, and I have to know why her eyes have wings!!

And, in keeping with the "winged creatures on the face" theme, here is another one I love, LUMINOUS, by Dawn Metcalf:

It says something good about a person when butterflies love her.

Oh, man. So so pretty!

This is why I love hardcover books so much. They are works of art! So, what are some covers you love? 

Also, a reminder that if you'd like a chance to win an arc of EVERNEATH, stop by CranberryFries and Windy's blogs. All you have to do is assemble the right phrase to tweet. It's sort of like a treasure hunt, and who doesn't love a treasure hunt?

The German Cover for my Book... Maybe. Or Maybe Not. Sprechen sie deutsche?

Lately, my Google alert has been going a little crazy with stuff about my book in Germany. When I click through, I see this:

Roughly translated means "Forever Longing".

I don't know if it's a placeholder for another cover, or if it's the actual cover, but I either way I still love it. It's completely different than my American cover but I think it's awesome. (I've seen drafts of my U.S. cover, and it is simply brilliant, but I can't share it yet) .

The German translation is set to release simultaneously with the U.S. version, and I'm lucky to have enthusiastic editors over there. Some German bloggers have been blogging about it, too. I have a difficult time figuring out what they're saying, seeing as I don't speak German and the Google Translation is apparently overseen by a first grader.

Upon hearing this, my mom said, "I know a little German..."

Which made me want to say, "Me too. He's right over there."

A little German.

But I totally didn't say that.

So, my mom took a look at the blogs, and apparently the synopsis of my book goes something like this:

"So... Nikki is... somewhere... stuck in the Unterwelti, and she... something... so she returns home... her boyfriend Jack ist Nikki's große Liebe so, he is Nikki's great love. Cole ist ein Unsterblicher... so, he's a never-die-er... immortal?... and he wants something."

Thanks mom. I couldn't have put it better myself. I will alert my editor that we now have the perfect jacket copy for the back of my book. 

So, what do y'all think of the German cover?

Speaking of my cover, my editor says we should have something to share in the next few weeks. I can't wait. The design team at HarperCollins has done an amazing job, and I'm so happy I won't have to pretend to love my cover... because I love it!

For now, enjoy this scene from that classic TOP SECRET! When I was growing up, I was convinced this movie should've won Best Picture.

In Which Two Ninja Cats Re-enact my Tennis Match... And Good News about my Dad!

I played in my first single's tennis match in, like, 15 years. It was a real cat fight. To demonstrate the results of said match, I hired two cats to act it out. Watch the short video to deduce the outcome. (I'm the black cat, btw).


Funny cat fight - Watch more Funny Videos

After the match, my opponent said, "Never give up. You'll get there eventually."

So I hit her in the head with with my racquet, as any gracious loser would do. It was the first time all night I actually hit the sweet spot. *self-five*

My parents, who came to watch the "Slaughtuh of their Daughtuh '09" congratulated me after the match, and then shared some good news, which I will now share with y'all...

MY DAD'S KICKING PANCREATIC CANCER'S ARSE! Okay, so they didn't use those exact words, but you get the picture.

His latest tumor marker is 26!

To explain what that means:
-Oct. 31st, 2007, diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer (or "PanCan")
-Given stats like "97% chance of death" and "3 to 6 months" and dreck like that. He was all "Whatev's, Them there are fightin' words!"
-Jan 2008- Undergoes "Whipple" surgery (check out my description of this here)

So now, every four months, they check his tumor marker. (Upon diagnosis, his tumor marker was like 3,000). Below 32 is considered normal.

He is 26! Go Dad!

For those of you who prefer pictures to words, I made a representational video. The part of my dad is played by "Chuck Norris", and the part of Pancreatic Cancer is played by "Random Cheesy Dude in White Car."

Check it out.




Finally, as a follow-up to our intellectual discussion regarding covers that thrill and chill versus covers that suck and blow, I decided to post the ones deemed thrilling by our commenters.

Here they are. Many of them came from Writer Peep Kim, who is an awesome blogger and even better writer. (She knows books.)









Truly beautiful covers. I admit to buying every single one of these books.

Enjoy your weekend! I plan on celebrating the number "26" with my Dad. What are y'all doing?

I'm Never Gonna Blog Again... Guilty Hands have got no Type Skillz. And Some Cover Art

I apologize in advance, this post is kind of ranty...

GUILTY FEET
So, ideas come to me mostly in three different places.
1. In the shower. (By far the most common)
2. Driving in the car.
3. When I'm trying to go to sleep. (These ideas seem totally brilliant at the time, but usually end up being totally useless. Remember this post?)

When I'm working it through in my head, my surroundings tend to get a little blurry, and that's what happened last night when I was driving home. (I know, safe driving, right?)

I was basically auto-bot driving - letting the creative fluids flow - when I started to get a little antsy, and then a little itchy. I pulled at my ears and scratched the back of my head like a dog infested with fleas. Something was clearly buggin', but I was so absorbed in the story in my head, it took me a while to realize just how squidgy I was.

It wasn't until my neck broke out in hives, and I was pulling at the collar of my shirt that I finally left the scene in my head and yelled at my steering wheel, "Why am I so freakin' peeved?!"

Then I noticed the song playing on the radio. Seether's cover of George Michaels' Careless Whisper.

(If you were lucky enough to forget this song, you can refresh your memory below. Otherwise, don't bother)

There was only one way to explain my symptoms; I was having an anaphylactic reaction to the line "Guilty Feet have got no rhythm," because I was subconsciously incorporating it into the dialogue in my head, and I kept thinking to myself, Who says lines like this?

"Rhett, you came back!"

"Yes, Scarlett, but I'm afraid I'm never gonna dance again. It appears guilty feet have got no rhythm."

"Oh. Okay. Did we dance before?"

It was bad enough having to dance to George Michael's version at my seventh grade stomp with Jimmy "Moist Hands" Perry. Now, 5 years... okay, ten years later... give or take...a lot... I have it stuck in my head again.

What does guilt have to do with rhythm? Michael Jackson never had a problem with rhythm, and you'd think if anyone had guilty feet...

I literally pulled a jaw muscle, the incident bugged me so bad.

FAVORITE LINE FROM THE NEWS LAST NIGHT:
"Lightning strikes happen, as this video shows..."

Ummm... thanks for the alert?

FAVORITE "SUMMER THEME," ALSO FROM THE NEWS LAST NIGHT:

"Let's make this a Cryptosporidium-Free Summer!"

Like the "Summer of '69" and the "Boys of Summer", this new theme is just begging for a song.

Whew. Thank you for listening. I feel better now.

BOOK COVERS

So this post veered off topic rather quickly. Originally I wanted to discuss in depth book cover art, but this post is too long already. So, to make a long post short (too late)...

My friend Valynne discovered this blog about look-a-like covers. It's pretty fascinating.

I'm a sucker for a good cover. My all-time favorite cover is for Wicked Lovely.
I will buy any book with a cover like that.

Conversely there is one art theme that makes me scratch behind the ears and pull at my collar: crazy babies.

Now, these books may all be wonderful, but I will never find out.

1. Crazy babies falling from the sky, about to be impaled by a house.
2. Gigantic crazy babies, faceless and coming for me.
3. Babies conspiring against me. Always a strong prophylactic.
What covers do you love? Any that totally stick out?

So, I signed up for a tennis tournament, and my first match is on Thursday night. Sometimes I feel like I'm cruisin' for a bruisin' and I wonder why I put myself through such humiliation. Wish me luck.