Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Cover Reveal for THE FRIDAY SOCIETY (!!!!!!)

Today is a very exciting day for me, as it is for most authors.  Today I get to reveal to you all (FINALLY) the cover for THE FRIDAY SOCIETY!

But first, I thought, you should know my game plan for this blog post.

1. I shall reveal the cover!
2. I shall reveal details of an amazing contest to win a one of a kind Steampunk necklace inspired by THE FRIDAY SOCIETY.
3. I shall write at length about what I adore about this cover and anything else that comes to my mind on the subject.

But first I want to thank some amazing blogs who are helping me in this glorious reveal:

The Story Siren
The Book Smugglers
These are two of my favourite YA book blogs, the ladies that run these sites are enthusiastic, know their stuff and have a great sense of humour - seriously go check them out.  Immediately.  No, WAIT!  Wait, check out my cover first, THEN check them out.  At any rate, I am totally honoured that they agreed to help me out today.  Thank you, ladies, again so much.

That Cover Girl
You guys have heard me go on about this blog before.  I just love how this lady dissects book covers, she's got a fantastic eye.  And I am thrilled for my cover to be dissected by her (and a little nervous).

The Steampunk Scholar
I have also mentioned this fellow a few times, as well as linked to lists of his top Steampunk books and his post about Steampunk as an aesthetic.  A true class act, and again, thrilled that my Steampunk cover is gracing his insanely fabulous Steampunk blog.





And finally . . . drum roll please . . .



THE COVER (and blurb) -



Be Your Own Hero . . .

Set in London at the turn of the last century, the novel follows the stories of three intelligent and very talented young women, all of whom are assistants to very powerful men: Cora, lab assistant to a member of parliament; Michiko, Japanese fight assistant to a martial arts guru; and Nellie, a magician's assistant. The three young women’s lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball that ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man.

It’s up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder—and the crimes they believe may be connected to it‐‐without calling too much attention to themselves.

Told with Adrienne Kress's sharp wit and a great deal of irreverence, this Steampunk whodunit introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike--well, relatively ladylike--heroines poised for more dangerous adventures.



 Find THE FRIDAY SOCIETY on Goodreads.


THE CONTEST

Here's your chance to win an amazing one of a kind Steampunk THE FRIDAY SOCIETY inspired necklace designed by Steampunk jewelry maker Lady Lilleigh.

It's really very simple, leave a comment below and I shall choose the winner by April 13th (yes that is Friday the 13th :) ).

And now a little bit about the prize:


Suspended from a 24 inch antiqued brass chain, this tribute piece to The Friday Society boasts elements inspired by the main characters: a 1 inch silver bullet for Cora; a black feather for Nellie; and brass 'throwing star' gears for Michiko. But the true appeal of this pendant is what brings it all together, three alluring ivory ladies on a small tarnished brass tone cameo. The cameo measures 0.75 inches long and the steel pendant base measures just under 1.5 inches in diameter. 



THE LONGWINDED BLOG POST

Okay.  So.  Can I just say.  I love this cover.

I mean . . . seriously.

Love.

Possibly even lurv.

Is that going a bit too far?

No, I don't think so.

First I have to obviously thank Dial, Penguin for their amazing amazingness, and then I must signal out a few people.  Obviously the first is my editor Nancy Conescu who is marvelously patient with all my neuroses.  She is also the one who kept me up to speed on every step of the cover designing process. And the next are of course the photographer and designer of the cover: Michael Frost and Greg Stadnyk. Gentlemen, I bow in your general direction.

Truly I have been beyond thrilled at how up to date Penguin has kept me with the progress of this cover.  As some of you may know, I am quite obsessed with covers, I even designed one for my fabulous author friend Danielle Younge-Ullman's novel FALLING UNDER.  So I adored being kept in the loop.

I was sent headshots of the models before they did the photoshoot - and I knew right then that Penguin was on the right track.  The girls they chose to portray my girls are spot on.  What I love best about them is that they look like real people.  They are very pretty of course, but they look . . . real, like individuals with distinct personalities.  Of this I rather approve.

And then I was sent the first relatively quick mock-up of the cover.  It was shocking how quickly the turnaround happened from the photoshoot to the mock-up, and how they seemingly threw it together sans effort.  Of course I say "seemingly" because it is clear a lot of work went into it.  I saw it, and I was immediately all, "Can I share it can I share it!"

And Penguin was all, "Silly rabbit, we aren't done yet!"

"We aren't?"

And so a few weeks later I was sent another one.  Small changes had been made that made big differences (an example I can offer you is they added the blueish glow to Cora's goggles).  And again, I was all . . ."Can I can I?"

And they were all, "No."

Finally, and finally, we get what we have here today.

And I said, "Can I!"

And they said, "Yes." :)

And such love, my friends, such love.


That isn't the end of this blog post though, in case you thought you could move on now.  No.  Now we must dissect what Adrienne loves about this cover.  Because the wonder of blog posting is that there is no word limit.  So dangerous when it comes to me.

What I love about this cover:

1.  The three girls.  Let's meet them shall we?  From left to right - Nellie Harrison (magician's assistant), Cora Bell (personal assistant/lab assistant to a member of Parliament), Michiko Takeda (fight assistant to a self defense guru).

I've already talked about what I like about how the girls look (though I should add I also adore their outfits . . . and weapons).  What's also fantastic about them, is the way they are posing.  They look tough.  They look like they have agency, that they can take care of themselves. Which is good.  Because they do and can. :)


2. The pinwheel effect.  Okay, note to self, adding a pinwheel automatically makes stuff look awesome.  It's subtle, but present.  It both draws the eye into the middle of the page, and explodes out in fantastic fun times.  It adds a wonderful sense of energy.  Love it.


3. The London skyline.  Because it's the London skyline.


4. The grainy effect.  Look up close, the picture has been made to look slightly weathered. Cool?  Yes, yes it is.


5. The font(s).  Font, to me, is often far more important than any other element on a cover.  It can make the difference between whether a cover is seen as professional or not.  And it can dictate the intended audience for the book.  I love both the fonts on this cover.  I love the title, I love how strong it looks, how cool, both contemporary and classic.  And I love my name.  I mean, I love seeing my name on a cover of a book in any font really (it's kind of overwhelming every time when you do see it - and maybe just maybe I got choked up seeing it on this cover for the first time), but this font is also just plain cool. I don't know why, but I love that the A isn't pointy.  Yeah, I know, but I do.


6. The border.  Now I have had the honour of being bordered by many a great object.  With ALEX we had octopus tentacles.  TIMOTHY we had a dragon:



And this time, well this time we get a supremely kick-ass Steampunk mechanical piece.

That border might be just about my favourite part of the cover.  Not quite my fav, we'll get to that at 7.  But still.  Yes it is all kinds of Steampunk amazing, but what I love about it the most is that it really looks mechanical, like a real machine where one piece influences the other, and not just like there are some random gears hanging out together 'cause, you know, they're gears and they've got that in common.  I also love how the border makes the whole cover have a kind of movie poster vibe.  And as a fan of movies, you can understand why this would make me happy.

Lastly I love the accidental continuity.  That I get to be border girl!  All my books have borders (despite being published by different publishers and being different genres), and I love borders, and I love my books.  So it's like such a love fest man.


7.  And my number 1 (which I guess is number 7 for some reason) thing I love about this cover is . . . wait for it . . .

This:








??

This is a screw.

There are four of them, one in each corner of the cover.  Making the cover look like it's been screwed onto the book.  It might not be grand, it might hardly be noticeable at first glance, but it's this kind of small detail I absolutely adore.  It demonstrates care, and I think wit as well.  The cherry on top of the sundae. 



So there you go.  I've likely gone on long enough.  But, guys, seriously, I am beyond excited.  Every step along the way makes this all so much more real.  And it's been a while since I've had the pleasure of doing a cover reveal, and it's all kind of an emotional mess for me.  I am so excited, so grateful, and so . . . okay I'll be honest . . . terrified (in a good way of course :) ).

I remember blogging about the book deal a year and a half ago.  And now it has a cover.  That's pretty darn cool.  Pretty darn cool indeed.



(don't forget to enter the contest!!)


47 comments:

Josin L. McQuein said...

Steampunk Charlie's Angels for the win!

That was how I pictured the girls in your book from the description, and now it's even more so from the cover. This book sounds awesome.

Helen K said...

With all its intriguing elements, the cover has great texture. It looks like I'd be holding an old leather tome. A deceptively tactile experience.

Could I reprint your cover and comments about what you love about it at canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.ca? I'd like to share this with my readers who are mostly teachers and school librarians, I think.

Lady Lilleigh said...

GAH! I'm DYING to read this!!!!! Now we have to wait for it to be out in print??? Somehow, I just know it's gonna be well worth the wait. :D

Unknown said...

Very awesome cover! I want Cora Bell’s outfit! I agree with you that they look like real people. I love how they fit together but not.

The pendant is pretty awesome too. The feather is a nice touch.

I’m in a steampunk bubble right now so I can’t wait to read you book. I just added to my tbr pile. Good luck with its release.

@StephLrx from tyngasreviews.com

Adrienne said...

Thank you all so much for you lovely comments! It really means a lot to me. This is kind of like my book's coming out party, and I'm introducing it to all you lovely suitors :) .

HelenK - please do! And thank you!

Brandy M said...

The cover speaks to the content of the book. Definately a WIN

Arooj H said...

I literally JUST found out about Friday Society right now, and I wanna read it SO BAD. That cover is so awesome! Kind of reminds me of Charlie's Angels, haha.

I would totally love love to win the necklace, it's so pretty...I've always wanted to get some kind of a steampunk jewlery.

KMR said...

That's a cover to be proud of! Makes me want to pick up the book. Congratulations!

Unknown said...

Gives me lots of food for thought, that's for sure! Congratulations - can't wait to read it!

Gretchen Alice said...

I cannot WAIT to read this. The cover is gorgeous!

Monica said...

Love the cover and can't wait to read it! There can never be too many books with kick-a$$ female characters, and The Friday Society looks like it will live up to the task. The cover does look like a movie poster, but at the same time, it has a "good old book" vibe. That's some kind of awesome.

Jonathan C. Dietrich said...

Congrats. Looks like a lot of fun! How scary is the book? (My daughter might enjoy it)

cdb said...

Pick me! Pick me!
The pendant is drop dead gorgeous!
Just like the cover...OMG awesome!
Truly. I love it...and am happy to share in your relishment. (made that word up just for you!)

Congrats, toothpaste, if it's ever made into a movie you could star in it, eh?

CaroleB from Verla's

heavenisabookstore said...

I haven't read a ton of Steampunk as I am new to the genre, but so far I am in love with it. It really touches that kick butt part of the woman in me. And this book, with different point of view and women will be even easier to go with as I am sure we will each find a character to relate to. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

free_reverie said...

This cover is so fantastic- now I DEFINITELY can't wait to read it.

Amanda Stock said...

Amazing cover, Adrienne! I can't wait to read the book :)

Realm Lovejoy said...

Nice cover! Congratulations! And love the steampunk necklace.

Alden said...

Nice cover! Best of luck to you! I look forward to reading this someday.

SR Lawrence said...

This is so awesome, I can't wait to see it in print, or Kindle or something!

(Also, this is me, entering the contest! >_> ) :D

Sarah said...

I've added the book to my wish list. I will be looking for it when it comes out later in the year. That's a long time to wait.

Cool cover. And I will now go check out the kids books I saw in your post. I have a nephew about the right age.

Jasmine Stairs said...

I am baffled as to how I didn't have this book added to my TBR already. it looks exactly like my cup of tea! And the cover is beautiful. :D

Sage said...

It is an amazing cover. And may I just say that looking at it, I want every single one of these girls to be my friend. Which is an excellent way to start out a book!

alikatr said...

The necklace is absolutely breath taking!! Would love to be to wear that.

K. W. Ramsey said...

Very much with the awesome looking. I love the steampunk aesthetic and have always been a fan of women with swords.

I hope it is successful beyond your wildest imaginings.

Samantha Morel said...

This is fantastic! :D Grace definitely sent me a link to this saying 'Guys! We look fierce here!' Haha! When Grace is back in Canada, she, Kate and I will definitely have to take photos dressed up and posed a la Friday Society/...Difference Engineers, or something :)
Hope you're well! Can't wait to read the book :3
PS. LOVED 'Alex and the Ironic Gentleman' - such a fun read :) I can't wait to get my hands on 'Timothy and the Dragon's Gate' :3

Larissa said...

I love love love this cover. Congratulations, Adrienne! I can't wait to have a shiny (slightly weathered-looking) copy of my own!

Christina Farley said...

ADORE the cover! It's perfect.

Jaya said...

But but but--choose from the comments for the win...does that mean choose by quality? or from a hat? I vote for hat choosery! J'aime le cover très :) xo

de Pizan said...

Awesome cover. And book also sounds great!

Danielle B! said...

I really like the cover! My favorite part is the uber cool outfits and kick-butt attitude. Thanks for the giveaway!

Ray Dean said...

Three Girl Fridays :D Wonderful cover... awesome premise... things are truly looking up for Steampunk :D thanks so much for letting us know about your book! Congrats!!!

FairyWhispers said...

the necklace and book totally match each other, Intriguing

=)

regards,

maidenhealer@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

I love the necklace, cover and book. I can't wait to read it. Tore923@aol.com

Kelly said...

The cover is awesome. The necklace however is amazing. I love the symbolism to it, never seen anything like it! Totally shows the kick butt attitude!! Thanks for the giveaway and sharing the cover. Can't wait to read it!!
delivery.RN at gmail dot com

Michelle said...

That is such a beautiful necklace. And it goes really well with the cover. I love everything steampunk, including your book. It's just so awesome!

Missie said...

Sounds like a super fun book, and the cover and necklace are both beautiful!

Melissaa!?! @ Rambling of a Book Nerd said...

First time hearing about this book & it sounds interesting.The cover and necklace are both pretty spiffy.:)

Lisa Shafer said...

I found this through a retweet. I've signed up to follow your blog and will follow your tweets as well. This book looks amazing. Wow.
It'll be on my amazon wishlist for sure.

Unknown said...

I like it. Reminds me a little of the the three girls from Final Fantasy X-2 (I'm a nerd I know). I like how you dissected each aspect of the cover.

Erin Latimer said...

I discovered you on Steampunk Canada, thrilled to find another Canadian writer and lover of steampunk. I'll be watching for your book when it hits shelves, can't wait to read it! :)

May-Day_Aura said...

This book looks awesome! I love the cover. It would certainly make me pick up this book to check it out! =)

Adrienne said...

Wow. Guys. I am overwhelmed by all your comments and your enthusiasm! Thank you all so much, it truly means so much to me.

:)

seeCHOsmile said...

Love the cover, it's so badass!! Can't wait to check out the book! The necklace is beautiful as well :D

Sally@Always Lost in Stories said...

I love that cover- I'm definitely intrigued to read the book now! (I love the screw as well!)
Please enter me to win the pendant
:D
sallycrofts@hotmail.com

Taurean Watkins said...

Hi Adrienne,

You may not remember me, but we've corresponded at length before, and while I came off mean and spiteful, which I am sorry for, I was listening, and while I still fight excessive negativity, I'm in a better place now.

Well, I'm in the blogosphere now, still plugging away on my new book, and trying to stay positive, despite a rough start to the year.

Seeing writers I admire and respect move ahead on their path makes it easier to move forward on the slow crawl through my own.

I'm so glad this cover reflects your book.

Like you, font choice and typography is very important to me, because it does affect how professional the book comes off, and you definitely have every right to be proud of how it all shaped up.

I'm very big on details, especially in things that I have a hand in, often to the point of overwhelming my old critique group, but if you're going to commit months or even years of your time on something, you don't want it looking half-baked.

I also stopped by to tell you,
you've won an award!

It's not exciting as your cover reveal, but I hope it keeps you on cloud nine that little bit longer.

Take Care

Taurean (aka C.J.R., I go by my real name now)

P.S. I hope you'll check out my blog sometime when you get a spare moment.

ML said...

This looks awesome! Congrats on the superb cover. Love everything about this!

JP Hawker said...

I'm looking forward to picking this one up... and the cover does looks awesome! XD