Illustrator Victo Ngai and The Time Out of Time Cover

It's blog tour time! Illustrator Victo Ngai talks us through designing her eye-catching cover for the first book in Maureen Doyle McQuerry's Time Out of Time saga. Ngai has been named one of Forbe's 30 Under 30 for Outstanding visual artists. Victo is short for Victoria and she often illustrates covers for the New Yorker.

 

Time out of time

the horned man rides

with the forest queen,

the greenman dies,

the heavens bear witness,

the great wolf flies

and Timothy James stands alone. 

 Over to Victo…..

I have been working on a new book series called Time out of Time by Maureen Doyle McQuerry. Book 1 Beyond the Door has just come out!

Time out of Time is an imagination packed fantasy story which draws inspiration from Celtic mythologies. Our hero is a shy bookish boy named Timothy who is fairly certain nothing interesting will ever happen to him. However, everything changes on one dark spring night. A mystery knocks on his door and starts revealing his role in an ancient prophecy…

Time Out of Time: Beyond the Door - full cover illustration by Victo Ngai

Choosing a moment from a book as cover is always a fun challenge. It has be a true representation of the story without spoiling the plot, while being visually stimulating. I decided to go with the Wild Hunt because:

a) There’s a giant golden flying wolf, who wouldn’t like that?

b) We introduce our main character - Timothy. 

c) The chase set the stage of adventure and the storm set the mood of danger.

d) It’s a perfect moment to show the parallel existence of Timothy’s ordinary world and the fantastical world “beyond the door”. 

This art has been featured on the American Library Association Booklist cover, what an honor! 

An early sketch by Victo Ngai

Another sketch by Victo Ngai

 

Big thanks to Maureen McQuerry for this great story, Chad Beckerman and Editor Howard Reeves for all the great input.

I hope you would enjoy the book as much as I do!

 

Don’t forget to decipher the secret code which comes with the book! 

 

******

 

 Thanks to Victo Ngai for this. I love that cover!

 

Time Out of Time: Beyond the Door by Maureen Doyle McQuerry is published in the UK by Abrams.


Next stop on the tour - Serendipity Reviews on 16th June.


 

 

Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie - Cover Reveal & Exclusive Extract

Jeff Norton read an early extract from his Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie to us at a Faber brunch earlier this year. The audience response, including ours, was loud and frequent laughter. We delighted to host an exclusive extract and the cover from his forthcoming novel.

“My name is Adam Meltzer and the last thing I remember was being stung by a bee while swinging at a robot-shaped piñata on my twelfth birthday. I was dead before the candy hit the ground.”

Here's Faber publicity introducing the novel:

Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie is narrated by the hilarious Adam Meltzer - pre-teen, worrywart, and now zombie. Adam's family gets the fright of their lives when he turns up at their door desperate for a shower . . . three months after his funeral. When most people think zombies, they think of eating people, and unintelligent monsters.

But Adam doesn’t like germs. Or dirt. Or things being disorganised. So waking up as a zombie was definitely not in his plans, and the idea of eating people is disgusting. Getting stung by a bee doesn’t normally lead to becoming a zombie, and it seems incredibly unfair that it’s happened to Adam.

Soon Adam's back at school trying to fit in and not draw extra attention to himself, but when he sees his neighbour Ernesto transform into a chupacubra, and the beautiful Corina (Adam's number one mega-crush) turns out to be a (vegan) vampire, undead life is never going to be the same again.

A hilarious adventure caper - if Ferris Bueller met Shaun of the Dead - all about friendship and being yourself . . . even if you're undead.

 

And, now, here’s a never-seen-before extract from the novel:

 

The object of Adam’s undead affections turns out to be a vampire.

 

“Corina hovered in the night sky, silhouetted by the full moon. And then she flew straight towards us.

She actually flew.

It was incredible to watch. Sure I was relieved that she wasn’t going to smash into the ground and that I wouldn’t have to make a police statement, but I was also gripped with envy.

She could fly!

‘That’s not fair,’ I uttered.

Ernesto grunted, ‘Huh?’

Flight was the one superpower I’d always wanted; and Corina Parker had it. I mean, not event NinjaMan could fly. And he was the best. But somehow my weirdo, Goth European neighbour could defy gravity.

‘She’s flying this way.’ I said. ‘Stand up straight.’

‘Just great,’ Ernesto sighed. ‘I finally get to talk to her and I’m covered in scales.’

He had a point. He was not about to make a good first impression. And the scales were the least of his problems. But then again, I wasn’t exactly ready for the yearbook photos.

What if I totally grossed her out?

But when Corina touched down and looked at me, she didn’t even bat an elongated eyelash at my decomposing skin. It may not have been eye contact, but it was the closest I’d ever got to acknowledgement of my existence in an entire year.”

 

Extract ends

 

 

*******

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judging a Carnegie book by its cover - we're split!

More Carnegie 'coverage'. The three of us (M, Little M and Daddy Cool) are split on how we feel about these covers. Some of us love them while others show much less enthusiasm.....What do you think?

The Flask - Nicky Singer

 

 

M: Didn't like picture of a girl's face.

 

Little M: Didn't like the photo either but liked the flask illustration.

 

 

The Traitors - Tom Becker

 

 

M & Little M: Too jumbled, too grey, confusing, looks like stitches

 

Daddy Cool: Liked it. Looks like someone's in prison counting days.

 

 

Dying to Know You - Aidan Chambers

 

 

M: Didn't like the goldfish.

 

Little M & Daddy Cool: Really liked the goldfish.

 

 

 

 The Prince Who Walked With Lions - Elizabeth Laird

 

 

Little M: can't read the text easily; looks Lion Kingey.

 

M: Liked the warm colours and the African setting/influence that reflects the story.

 

 

Itch - Simon Mayo

 

 

M: Quite interesting but didn't like the interactive thing; couldn't see the point of it.

 

Little M & Daddy Cool: Loved the interactive thing.

 

 

All Fall Down - Sally Nicholls

 

 

Daddy Cool: Didn't like the font.

 

M & Little M: Like it.

 

 

This Dark Endeavour - Kenneth Oppel

 

 

M: The colours and the suggested texture around the keyhole were creepy.

 

Little M: It's cool; like the keyhole.

 

The Terrible Thing That Happened To Barnaby Brocket - John Boyne

 

 

Little M & Daddy Cool: Can't read the text; looks all superheroey; too much colour blending.

 

M: Actually, I haven't got any strong views either way on this one.

 

 

*****

 

What do you think?

 

 

 

 

Judging a Carnegie book by its cover - and then changing it

Book covers change all the time and for lots of reasons. It's interesting to see that some of the covers for the Carnegie 2013 shortlist have been changed. We've had a look (and we also have a giveaway featuring one of them with its new cover)....

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

 

Previous cover

 

 

We didn't like this cover.

Little M: looks boring
Daddy Cool: thought Marcus Sedgwick was the book's title
M: didn't like the girl in a nightgown with her head cropped off; didn't think it reflected the multi-layered narrative very well.

The new cover

 

 

 

Little M: I prefer the old cover.
M: It looks wonderful and I thinks it suits the story much better. You can read M' s review of Midwinterblood here.
We have 2 copies with the new cover to giveaway. See end of this post for details.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

 

Previous cover

 

 

Little M: It's cool; the falling plane with a bloodstained cloud.
M: It looks cliched - but I like it, the grey and the red, the lipstick circle

The new cover

 

 

Little M: I prefer the old cover. The new one looks too modern for the time period of the book's setting. The photo of the girl makes you think one of the characters looks like that and you might have imagined her different.

In Darkness by Nick Lake

 

Previous cover (hardback)

 

 

M loved the hardcover version. It looks like a piece of art and seems to take a lot of inspiration from Haiti and African influenced art. The new cover is also nice and probably reflects the main character, Shorty, in a more contemporary way than the previous cover.
Little M: It's okay but a bit too busy. I often don't like bright yellow on book covers.

New cover (paperback)

 

 

Little M: I prefer the new one. I like the boy's realistic looking face rather than the drawn silhouette.
M: I like this cover too. I find both covers appealing.

A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle

 

Previous cover (hardback)

 

 

We didn't like the hardback cover for this novel, which is the copy we have. For us, it was confusing because it's a bit messy; looks like it's trying to be old-fashioned but isn't; looks weirdly like the print is out of register and is difficult to read the way it's blended into the design; not fond of that shade of yellow and it's too bright. However, the new cover is quite appealing and M thinks it reflects the story in a way that will appeal to a younger readership who will enjoy the story most.

The new cover (paperback)

(note: this is not the cover on the Carnegie site)

 

 

 

Little M: I prefer this one because it is not as jumbled so it's easier to see what's happening in the picture. I like the silhouettes. But, the author's name is way too big because it makes you think that Roddy Doyle is the name of the book.

M: I prefer the new cover. Yes, it looks very much like a Michael Morpurgo cover and is startling similar to Soldier Dog (another longlisted title this year) but I think it suggest more about the story, especially the greyhound's transparency. That is clever.

Midwinterblood Giveaway - UK only

 

There are 2 copies of Midwinterblood featuring the new cover up for grabs!
 

- To enter, please e-mail wesatdown2 (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject line MIDWINTERBLOOD
OR leave a comment and a way for us to contact you for your address (if you win).

- If you are younger than 13, please get parental permission to enter.

- This giveaway closes on Sunday 19 May 2013.

- 2 winners will be picked at random and will be contacted by e-mail.

- UK postal addresses only.

 

You can read M's review of Midwinterblood here.



Judging a Carnegie book by its cover - we're not so keen

Last time we did a bit on covers, we showed off the Carnegie 2013 longlist covers that we liked. This time it's the covers that didn't quite do it for us. In all cases here, the cover has put at least one of us off from reading it. For us then, the judging a book by its cover seems to work in a negative rather than a positive way. Good job we tend to look inside the covers too - although bright green.....

Black Arts - Prentice and Weil

 

 

Too animated (as in graphics not behaviour), unrealistic, too young, uninteresting

 

 

A Waste of Good Paper - Sean Taylor

 

 

Doesn't look like crumpled paper; dull; not keen on the font

 

 

15 Days Without a Head - Dave Cousins

 

 

Looks like a joke or toddlers book. We have seen an American edition which we prefer.

 

 

Goblins - Philip Reeve

 

 

Really don't like the bright green; cartoony; monstery; goofy

 

 

Maggot Moon - Sally Gardner

 

 

Although M liked the overall starkness and the coloured eyes on this cover none of us liked the thing coming out of the head. And the maggots....It makes more sense after reading the book, but still.....There is an adult version of this cover too and we have a wonderful post that shows all the different ideas and steps that went into designing these covers.

Maggot Moon is the only book on today's list that any of us have read: and it's absolutely fantastic. If you don't like the head-thing, get a copy with the adult cover. A similar case in point for us was A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. Neither of us liked the children's illustrated edition....but we quite liked the adult cover and bought that (and thoroughly enjoyed the novel).

Judging a Carnegie book by its cover - we like

We promised we'd try to give as many of the books on this year's Carnegie longlist a bit of 'coverage' (haha!). We reviewed quite a few of them but today we're looking at the covers that we liked the most. Just because we liked the covers doesn't always mean we liked the book or have even read it yet! Also, we never actually read any of them because of their covers!

A Face Like Glass - Frances Hardinge

 

 

M: It looks....magical (but not in a wandy sort of way). There's a lot of detail and mood creation which reflect the novel. There's something about this cover that I find mesmerising.

Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater

 

Little M: It's cool; there's the shadow of a horse with squiggles and swirls in a heart shape.

 

A Boy and a Bear in a Boat - Dave Shelton

 

 

Little M: This one's cool. It looks like it has a real tea stain and that something's drawn on it. It reflects the book: tea stain and the map.

M: It's clever and makes all of us laugh when it fools people. I also keep looking at little bits of it; I even hold it up and turn it around.

Illustrated by the author, A Boy And A Bear In A Boat recently won a Kitschies 2012 Inky Tentacle (an award for cover art among the year's most progressive, intelligent and entertaining works that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic).

Far Rockaway - Charlie Fletcher

 

 

M: I like the colours in the text and the swirls. It's an interesting cover.

 

Wonder - RJ Palacio

 

 

Little M: The deformed face reflects the story.

M: I like the bold, contrasting colours and simple lines on a face that is clearly different. It stands out.

 

Unrest - Michelle Harrison

 

 

Little M: I like the burning words.

 

 

Jasmine Skies - Sita Brahmachari

 

 

M: I liked the colours in this cover. They're warm. I like the swirls, they're inviting. And there are lots of little bits of detail that suggest an interesting story.

 

Little M: I like the colours; it looks like the sun's setting. The border has got so much going on but it's fun to look at.

Soldier Dog - Sam Angus

 

 

Little M: I like the shadow; it's mysterious and reflects the novel.

 

M: It's a sentimental cover. Similar to a Michael Morpurgo book: you just know you're going to sob.

 

The Seeing - Diana Hendry

 

 

Little M: It's creepy and ghostly; it looks interesting.

 

M: The boy's face reminds me of Harry Potter (although the book is nothing like that really).

 

The Brides of Rollrock Island - Margo Lanagan

 

 

M: I like the pastel colours; atmosheric (although the draped woman is a bit unsettling).

 

 

The Broken Road - BR Collins

 

 

M: Like The Brides of Rollrock Island, I like the pastel colours; looks interesting and appealing and makes me think of something hidden and faraway.

After the Snow - SD Crockett

 

 

M: It's bold and I like how the illustration looks like it's printed on canvas (but isn't).

 

Call Down Thunder - Daniel Finn

 

 

M: The colours are inviting: oranges, yellows, reds. It also looks like it's on textured canvas (but it's not). and I like the little shadows of running characters.

 

The Weight of Water - Sarah Crossan

 

 

Little M: I like the texture of it.

 

M: I like the small size, the matt texture and the blue text inside (okay, that last bit's not the cover!).

 

 

Sektion 20 - Paul Dowswell

 

 

All three of us (M, Little M and Daddy Cool) thought this was a good cover that looked interesting.

PS. We liked some more covers on the longlist but we're saving those for a slightly different post :)

 

 

*****

 

Next time, covers we weren't so keen on.

Maggot Moon uncovered - twice

Continuing with our Carnegie 2013 longlist adventures, here's Maggot Moon.

Sally Gardner's award-winning Maggot Moon drew inspiration from the 1969 moon landing conspiracy theories and explores aspects of totalitarian propaganda. Here, we look at the messages hidden behind Maggot Moon’s two different UK covers. Jet Purdie, Hot Key Books’ art director, takes us behind the covers once again.

*****

“Hot Key Books Managing Director Sarah Odedina expressed an interest in Brazilian Cordel style wood carving for Sally Gardner's Maggot Moon cover and put me on to a talented illustrator friend of hers called Julian Crouch.

I knocked up a dramaticcally cropped Cordel style rough with what I thought was the most striking image in the book – Standish Treadwell's different coloured eyes. One blue one brown.

 

(M: Standish is the main character & I loved that image in the book and the cover.)

 

We then commisioned Julian Crouch who created some lovely Cordel style cover art.

Illustration by Julian Crouch

 

I hand drew some cyrillic / Russian / propaganda style title type.

I decided to use Cyan (blue) and black and avoided red as I thought it too obvious. I like to work with a limited colour pallet and the blue already existed in Standish Treadwell's eye.

The first version's cover, published for children

 

 After Sally Gardner won the 2012 COSTA Children's Book Award we decided to print an adult version of the cover.

 

(M: This adult definitely enjoyed reading Maggot Moon)

For the adult version I took inspiration from Russian match boxes that featured space race images of rockets orbiting the moon. I love the poor quality printing and the fact the images had to be illustrated so graphically due to the tiny size of the matchbox label they were printing on. When the illustration are enlarged they reveal all kinds of beautiful imperfections.

 

(M: I wonder what they say? My Russian’s a bit lacking....)

For the adult version of Maggot Moon I re-drew various sections of dozens of the Russian government issue match boxes and merged them together. In my mind the rats symbolise Standish and his best friend. The proportion of the moon is intentionally unrealistic in comparison to the rats… but you'll need to read this wonderful book to discover why that might be.

The book was purposefully distressed and printed on uncoated paper to give the feeling it was printed in the mid 1950s when the story is set.

 I hope you love it as much as I do.”

- Jet Purdie

 

******

M: Oh, I loved Maggot Moon. Probably, I prefer the original cover, maybe because I loved the story from the first time I read it. But now, I’m looking at the adult cover a lot more curiously too....

You can read my review here.

 

Zenn Scarlett - Cover Reveal

Sci-fi, teen main character, and training to be a vet – who looks after alien creatures in space! With a few mysterious escapes, disappearances, accusations and strange voices thrown in, seventeen year old Zenn Scarlett is on a serious rescue mission on Mars.

Ticking all of the plot boxes for Little M, this one’s been on our wishlist for months so  we’re delighted to take part in our first ever cover reveal for Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon. It’s being published in May 2013 by Strange Chemistry, Angry Robots’ newish Young Adult imprint.

I read and reviewed Katya's World which was published by Strange Chemistry last year. I thought it was a good, adventurey sci-fi for teens so I'm hoping Zenn Scarlett will match it.

Ta da!




Zenn Scarlett cover art by ARGH! Oxford

And here’s a pic of the author, Christian Schoon. Zenn Scarlett is his debut novel.

 

Author Christian Schoon

 

Little M thinks he looks farmy and film-like, which is probably just as well since he lives on a farm in Iowa, USA and he’s written scripts for Walt Disney studios. Apparently there are lots of horses on his farm too, so that’s a bonus point for him....!!

 

 

Little M thinks the cover for Zenn Scarlett looks and sounds cool. Do you?