I'm really excited to be part of the blog tour for Rachel Vincent's new Soul Screamers novel Before I Wake. If you haven't read this series yet you really should - they are seriously awesome! My review for Before I Wake is here and you can read my reviews for all the books here.
For her stop today, Rachel has kindly answered some questions, put together by Mira Ink, on the covers of her books...
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1) How much influence do you have in terms of the book jackets?
Rachel: Um…not a lot, actually. There’s this big, multi-page form I fill out, which contains details about the story, the themes, the characters, and any big scenes I might like to see depicted, but after that, it’s up to the art department to work its magic. For the US edition, I did ask for a specific color for the last Soul Screamers novel (With All My Soul) and I got it! And it’s beautiful, for which I’m forever grateful to the Harlequin art department. ;) But I usually don’t see the UK covers until they appear on the internet. Fortunately, they’ve all been beautiful!
2) Are you happy with the jackets so far, do you feel like they are an accurate reflection of the series?
That’s kind of a two-part question, since the US and the UK each used different covers. So here goes:
I think the US covers don’t really reflect much about the actual stories. For instance, in the entire series, Kaylee has only worn one formal dress, but she’s in a dress on every cover. But I do want to point out that a cover’s job isn’t to illustrate an actual, literal moment from the story (though they can, and some do). A cover’s job is to attract the right readers for the book, and sometimes that means reflecting the tone or feel of the story, rather than the plot or characters themselves. And I think/hope that the US covers do that, for the US audience.
A couple of the UK covers—particularly the first, with Kaylee screaming—have represented the actual story a little better. I love the fog, which is actually in the books! Again, there are no butterflies or dragonflies in the stories, but again, it’s the tone the covers are trying to convey, not literal events. And all of them are beautiful, and they stand out from the other, darker covers on the shelves, so I’d say they’re doing their job!
3) Do you prefer the US or UK covers (if you don’t mind saying!)?
My favorites vary, and I actually like them all. But I like the UK cover for MSTTake a little better (Kaylee’s screaming) and I love what the French art department has done with that same art for their cover of If I Die. I like the UK cover for If I Die better than the US, because I don’t really care for the style of that green dress, but I love the symbolism of the US version, with Kaylee turning away from Nash, and him reaching for her. And I love the pattern of brightly colored dresses on the US covers, which makes for a stunning collection, when you see them all together!
4) If you had to choose one of the covers as your all-time favourite, which would it be?
So far, my favourite is the cover of the Volume Two omnibus (US), which shows Kaylee in motion in a beautiful black dress. It’s the inverse of the Vol 1 cover, which had a white dress on a black background. Which was my editor’s idea, I believe. And it’s beautiful!
For the record, I haven’t seen the final-final US cover for With All My Soul, nor have I seen the UK version, so those may very well wind up my favorites. ;)
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Thanks Rachel!
I also love both the US and UK covers. The US ones are really beautiful and I do believe they definitely attract people to pick them up. But for me the UK ones just have the edge - I feel they 'fit' the story just that little bit more as well as being appealing to look at. I especially love the first book in the series - with Kaylee screaming!
Do you have a preference over US or UK? And do you have a favourite cover from the series?
For her stop today, Rachel has kindly answered some questions, put together by Mira Ink, on the covers of her books...
---
1) How much influence do you have in terms of the book jackets?
Rachel: Um…not a lot, actually. There’s this big, multi-page form I fill out, which contains details about the story, the themes, the characters, and any big scenes I might like to see depicted, but after that, it’s up to the art department to work its magic. For the US edition, I did ask for a specific color for the last Soul Screamers novel (With All My Soul) and I got it! And it’s beautiful, for which I’m forever grateful to the Harlequin art department. ;) But I usually don’t see the UK covers until they appear on the internet. Fortunately, they’ve all been beautiful!
[US Covers]
2) Are you happy with the jackets so far, do you feel like they are an accurate reflection of the series?
That’s kind of a two-part question, since the US and the UK each used different covers. So here goes:
I think the US covers don’t really reflect much about the actual stories. For instance, in the entire series, Kaylee has only worn one formal dress, but she’s in a dress on every cover. But I do want to point out that a cover’s job isn’t to illustrate an actual, literal moment from the story (though they can, and some do). A cover’s job is to attract the right readers for the book, and sometimes that means reflecting the tone or feel of the story, rather than the plot or characters themselves. And I think/hope that the US covers do that, for the US audience.
A couple of the UK covers—particularly the first, with Kaylee screaming—have represented the actual story a little better. I love the fog, which is actually in the books! Again, there are no butterflies or dragonflies in the stories, but again, it’s the tone the covers are trying to convey, not literal events. And all of them are beautiful, and they stand out from the other, darker covers on the shelves, so I’d say they’re doing their job!
[UK Covers]
3) Do you prefer the US or UK covers (if you don’t mind saying!)?
My favorites vary, and I actually like them all. But I like the UK cover for MSTTake a little better (Kaylee’s screaming) and I love what the French art department has done with that same art for their cover of If I Die. I like the UK cover for If I Die better than the US, because I don’t really care for the style of that green dress, but I love the symbolism of the US version, with Kaylee turning away from Nash, and him reaching for her. And I love the pattern of brightly colored dresses on the US covers, which makes for a stunning collection, when you see them all together!
4) If you had to choose one of the covers as your all-time favourite, which would it be?
So far, my favourite is the cover of the Volume Two omnibus (US), which shows Kaylee in motion in a beautiful black dress. It’s the inverse of the Vol 1 cover, which had a white dress on a black background. Which was my editor’s idea, I believe. And it’s beautiful!
For the record, I haven’t seen the final-final US cover for With All My Soul, nor have I seen the UK version, so those may very well wind up my favorites. ;)
---
Thanks Rachel!
I also love both the US and UK covers. The US ones are really beautiful and I do believe they definitely attract people to pick them up. But for me the UK ones just have the edge - I feel they 'fit' the story just that little bit more as well as being appealing to look at. I especially love the first book in the series - with Kaylee screaming!
Do you have a preference over US or UK? And do you have a favourite cover from the series?