Judging a Book By Its Cover

Last week, I got to the bit of the publishing process that made this whole thing seem the most real: I got to see the very first sketches for my cover art! I hope to be able to share at some point soon, but let me just say that I'm absolutely delighted with them. For one thing, there's something very, very cool about seeing my characters for the first time. For another, I really think the artwork totally captures the spirit of the book, even elevates it into something more.

I love art and have always been fascinated by people who can put pencil to paper, or brush to canvas, or mouse to screen, and create a recognizable image. I am, shall we say, artistically challenged (please see below for proof - a series of sketches I've entitled Daydreaming of Snitches While At Office Meeting). I've been asked quite a few times by friends what I think the cover of my book would look like and I've always answered the same way: I really have no idea but I'm excited to see what someone who is visually gifted can come up with. I was not disappointed.

NOT my cover art, but an example of why I should never attempt any sort of artwork.

Interestingly enough, I came across this cool article from the UK's Guardian today, all about good cover art vs. bad cover art. It talks about the power of aesthetics: for example, how many times have you been drawn to pick a book off of the shelf or display table simply because it visually caught your attention? Thanks to my very good fortune, I think my book will fall into the category of good cover art. Which means I owe a huge thanks to the art director, and of course, the extremely talented illustrator she was able to get!