Writing a book is all kinds of exciting in its own right, and finding someone who loves it enough to publish it even more so. But seeing the cover art for that book? SO EXCITING!
When I was working on the book, my agent said she could absolutely see the cover in her head already. I think it involved a tower of cake, in fact. But what the Stripes art department came up with was so, so much better than that.
A few months ago, I saw the first ideas for the cover, and was instantly blown away. The colours! Lottie! And, most importantly, my name on a rolling pin! (I may have gone on about that last part a lot. I really, really want an actual rolling pin with my name on it.)
This is what it looked like:
Pretty awesome, right?
That’s the cover we used for the advanced proof print run – a small number of books (minus my last minute changes) that went out to bookstores and reviewers and such last month. I loved it beyond measure. My husband even had it put on a mug for me. See?
So, to be honest, I was a little bit worried when my editor told me they were redoing the cover for the actual publication. Yes, the idea of an actual photo shoot for my book was beyond exciting, but what if I didn’t love it as much? What if the girl didn’t look so much like Lottie? What if the lettering wasn’t as fantastic? What if my name wasn’t on a rolling pin any more?!
I waited, somewhat anxiously, to see the photos from the shoot. I stalked @stripesbooks on Twitter, waiting for them to post them. And then, finally, this:
My first thought, I have to admit, was: At least there’s still a rolling pin.
And then I went back to anxiously waiting. Until finally, yesterday afternoon, just as I was running out the house to take my daughter, Little Miss, to her ballet class, my phone pinged with an email. Lemon Pies Final Cover! it shouted. I dropped the ballet shoes, held my breath and opened it to find…
My name, still on a rolling pin. And, to boot, the most perfect cover I could possibly imagine for Lottie and Mac’s story. I adore everything about it, from the the pink heart ‘o’ in Love, to the shading on Lies, to the necklaces Lottie is wearing, to the smudges of flour on the rolling pin. If you wanted to know what this book is about, how it feels, tastes and sounds, this cover tells you everything you need to know.
So now, all I really need is 1) an actual rolling pin with my name on it, 2) to see my book on shop shelves this May, and 3) for you guys to read and enjoy it.
I really hope you do!
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