Friday, May 11, 2007

Cover, Continued

Can you see this image on the cover of For the May Queen?


Or what about this one:
As I talked about here, here and here--oh, and here, too--Merge Press has asked if I'd like to have any input on the cover of my novel, so I've been searching high and low.

My friend Nancy has been playing around with the image I like best to try to make it more colorful, more noticeable.

I like this image because it's both playful and nuanced. It feels a little happy, a little sad--and a bunch quirky. In its original manifestation, the colors and placement were nothing eye-catching. Now, Nancy's magic has made it come alive.

I also love the image because the novel's narrator, Norma, is a redhead who does not have a "perfect" body. And because we can't see the face in the image, it allows us to imagine Norma for ourselves as we read. Finally, the flower evokes the "May" of the title--as well as girl/womanhood and sexuality.

I think it's got it all.

Do you?

7 comments:

Montgomery Maxton said...

top image, but make the girl off-centered like the bottom image.

Talia Reed said...

I agree with MM...but I like the red flower instead of the pink...it is opposite green on the color wheel...and yes, that is a cover of a book I would buy.

Collin Kelley said...

Yes to what MM says and yes to the red flower suggested by talia. I'll be interested to see the font you (or they) pick. Fonts are important, too. :)

Unknown said...

I like the second one, but mostly it has to do with her being off to the side.

Dustin Brookshire said...

I like the second picture. How would the text be positioned on it?

btw-- I'm reading your story tonight or tomorrow-ish. Life has been a little bit crazy. And I'd like to read it now, but my mother is coming in an hour for our mother's day bash (bash = me cooking her dinner).

Arlene said...

love the second one best... though it's true that placing the title, etc might be a bit tricky. good luck with the book! that is sooooooo cool!

thanks for sharing that wonderful james wright poem, too.

a.

p.s. thanks for dropping by -- i'm glad to know personal rejections are good. i've added your blog to my links ;)

Joan McMillan said...

I like the red flower better than the pink--it is much more eye-catching.
Great cover! Thanks for all your comments on my blog, Kate!! :)
Hope your mom feels better soon.