Cover Art That Makes You Smile

When I’m at a bookstore, I can spend hours staring at the books on the YA shelves. I literally salivate when I walk the aisles thinking of which books I’m going to read next and how nice my book is going to look one day when it gets its own cover and it’s sitting pretty on the shelf next to the others.

One book, Zombies Vs. Unicorns, has a cover that has always sucked me in, so naturally, one day I finally broke down and bought it. When I say “sucked me in” what I really mean is that I couldn’t stop coming back to it no matter how hard I tried to ignore the little zombie and unicorn duking it out on the front and the super cool illustration in the background. That really says something about the cover, doesn’t it?

Being an artist of the graphic design persuasion, I fully understand the point of cover art so I get seriously peeved when someone misses the mark and, conversely, I do a mental happy dance when they get it right. I also get a good kick out of classic covers that are redone as part of some huge marketing campaign like this one that was redone for Wuthering Heights. (Bet you can’t guess where it’s hanging out on the shelves):

Really, though, I do enjoy redesigned books covers. The Penguin Threads Classics cover redesigns by Jillian Tamaki that are coming out in October of this year are some serious eye candy. You might have to shield your eyes from their stunning gloriousness.

Also, I might have to buy them just for the pretty.

My Teenage Mind

In an attempt to better understand a teenager's mind I've been doing a little research by reading the diary I kept when I was sixteen.

And HOLY cow. It's hilarious.

When I'm not completely mortified by the things I said, I'm dying laughing. You would, too, if you read some of things you wrote when you were so young and full of life (and attitude and sass.)

I read somewhere once that the human brain doesn't fully develop until people are in their early 20s and I have to tell you, my research has pointed to this.

Let's take a quick look at our specimen:


March 2

Dear Myself,

Goodness, what the heck am I going to do with myself? I must be the biggest dummy in this entire world.

[Subject shows early signs of bad grammar and self-loathing common with age group.]

Well, to start things off I guess I'll tell you about Fred* It all started one Friday when he asked me to the 70's dance that our school was having that Saturday. So I went with him and had a good time and he asked me out again. So we went out the next Saturday and the next and the next and the next.

[Subject encounters Variable A. Subject now in danger of losing sound judgment and logical thinking.]

Then we spent Valentine's day together. I guess I could say that I care about him more than I cared about anyone else in the world.

[Study terminated. Subject completely infatuated and talks of nothing else but Variable A for the next seventeen pages.]


I think we can easily deduce that teenage girls think about boys a lot.

And I mean, A LOT.

But I already knew that.


*Names have been altered for posterity's sake.

The Writer Has Caved

Today, I’m celebrating a recent momentous occasion by posting my very first blog entry.

Allow me to introduce myself:

Name: F.E. Sewell

Occupation: young adult fiction fancy pants writer. Okay, this is more fantasy than reality, but one can dream, right?

Actual Occupation: Graphic Designer

First Story You Can Remember Writing: A short story about fairies and elves trapped in a forest dungeon. I was eight, I think.

Likes: mopeds, sailboats in the summer, zombies, reading, writing fiction, the South, strawberry cupcakes with pink sprinkles, science fiction, artsy things

Dislikes: moldy strawberries, swimming in seaweed, artificial sweeteners, airplanes, sleeping on my left side, books about two-stroke motorcycle engines

Inspired by: color theory, young adult fiction, J.K. Rowling’s ability to build a thoroughly entertaining and imaginative world that everyone is obsessed with

Thinking: Florence Welch sounds a lot like Neko Case

Reading: A POETRY HANDBOOK by Mary Oliver

So, there you have it. That’s me in a nutshell.

Welcome to my blog!