Cover reveal - Dark Nebula by W J May

Hi all, The Paperback Princesses are excited to be part of the cover reveal tour for Wanita J May's 2nd book in The Chronicles of Kerrigan Series - Dark Nebula. 
What do you think?  I just love it.

Published: December 15th, 2012

 

Nothing is as it seems anymore.

Leery from the horrifying incident at the end of her first year at Guilder Boarding School, Rae Kerrigan is determined to learn more about her new tattoo. looks Her expectations are high, an easy senior year and a happy reunion with Devon— the boy she’s not supposed to date. All hopes of happiness fade into shattered dreams the moment she steps back on campus.

Lies and secrets are everywhere, and a betrayal cuts Rae deeply. Among her conflicts and enemies, it appears as if her father is reaching out from beyond the grave to ruin her life. With no one to trust, Rae doesn’t know where or who to turn to for help.

Has her destiny been written? Or will she becomes the one thing she hates the most-- her father’s prodigy

Here's a little bit about Wanita herself:

 

Her first book, Rae of Hope - from the Chronicles of Kerrigan, published by Mitchell Morris Publishing debuted Oct 2011. Dark Nebula is available December 15th, 2012.
She is represented by Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency. Wanita is a writer of Young Adult, Fantasy Fiction and where ever else her little muses take her.

Wanita May grew up in the fruit belt of Ontario - St.Catharines. With a crazy-happy childhood, she has always had a vivid imagination and way too much energy. The youngest of six -- four older brothers, and a sister -- taught her at a young age to be competitive in all aspects of life.At sixteen, she began competing in athletics (track and field) and before she turned seventeen, she was representing Canada in high jump. She continued to compete, breaking Canada's JR High Jump record (1.92m - 6' 3 1/2" for those metric-ly challenged). She attented University of Toronto, and Kansas State University - winning CIAU's and becoming All-American 6x - NCAA Indoors Runner Up + more.


But you're not interested in her athletic career - unless of course you're curious to know she stands 1.70m (5'7") and has jumped 20cm over her head on more than one occasion. She's represented Canada at the World Championships, World Jrs., won Francophone Games, and loved every minute of every competition. From the grueling workouts, the crazy weights she lifted on her back, the days she thought her lungs were going to spit out of her mouth for lack of oxygen, the traveling around the world and the opportunity to read - her favorite past time.

Life continued with her husband (a distance runner from Liverpool, UK, who she met at KSU) and then their first, then second and finally third child. Their house became full of more imagination and stories. Wanita and her husband run an online business, dealing in antiques and collectables - particularly jewelry and porcelain

After her father passed away in 2009, from a six-year battle with cancer (which she still believes he won the fight against), she began to write again. A passion she'd loved for years, but realized life was too short to keep putting it off.


Her LINKS:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-WJ-May-FAN-PAGE/141170442608149
Twitter: @wanitajump
Website: www.wanitamay.yolasite.com
Email: wanitamay@aol.com
Book Trailers: http://www.youtube.com/user/wanitajump

 

What's in a cover?

Hi folks, did anyone miss me when I was gone? In case you weren't aware of it, and you probably were not, I have been in England for the last 12 days visiting my parents. I had a lot of fun, but as always, as much fun as it is to be away, it's nice to be home.

One of the things I did while I was away was visit a few book shops for a look around. I couldn't buy any books though, as the luggage allowance on my flight was really small, and as we are all aware, books are really heavy. It was very interesting to see what was on the YA shelves, although it was a bit of a challenge, because when I asked where the YA books were, all I got was blank looks - 'oh, do you mean 'older teens'?', was the response I usually got. Most of the books that I saw were the same as we see in Canada, but in general the area devoted to YA was much, much smaller than what we see here. But the big difference is the covers and two sets in particular come to mind. Now, I don't know about you, but I absolutely love the covers for the 'Hunger Games' trilogy over here, but tell me, what do you think of these?

They are a bit blah aren't they? They don't have nearly the same impact as our North American covers. I know Christinabean and I have talked before about covers, but sometimes the differences really surprise me. Does anyone know why they change the covers when they change countries?

Now, what do you think about these covers for Michael Grant's 'Gone' series?

When you see them they just burst off the shelf and the edges of the books are coloured to match the print on the cover, which is almost neon. Aren't they just amazing. (Although I have just realized that they don't look as effective on the screen as they do when you actually see them.) It was really difficult for me not to buy these, but it would have cost me at least another $20 for excess baggage if I had, and they were already more expensive than here. I wonder how much it would cost to have them shipped from Amazon UK?

I'd love to hear what you think about the covers. Which ones would you buy if you had the choice?

Cover Rant

Please bear with me while I do a little rant...

I hate to say it but I do judge a book by it's cover. In fact, I did not read The Hate List by Jennifer Brown for the longest time because I did not like the cover. (Note to self - must do review on The Hate List). I love beautiful covers and I feel that if marketed correctly, they allow the reader to envision a part of the story as it unfolds. Emotions and feelings created by a cover can help conceptualize a time and place in a reader's mind.

I have an ARC of The Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon. While I absolutely LOVE the cover on this book, my TBR pile is sky high and sadly, I have still yet to read it. However, judging from the cover and the title, I can infer that the book has a little something to do with Asian culture in perhaps a historical timeline. The cover tells me it is a fantasy and it looks exotic.

Recently, the cover has undergone a major change. There has been much debate in the Blogosphere about publishers and the covers they choose (take a look at the controversy over Liar by Justine Larbalestier.  Justine comments on it on her blog).

To the left is the old cover of Silver Phoenix and to the right is the new cover. What is your opinion? Which do you like best and why? The publisher has commented that the new cover appeals to a wider audience but shouldn't the cover convey a more detailed message about the book? I feel the first cover says more. What do you think?

I visited Cindy's website to find out what her feelings were. She supports her publisher's decision 100%. I'm certain she doesn't have much say in these changes but I personally feel that the first cover conveys more. It is dynamic and displays the character's ethnicity.  What are your thoughts?