Guest Post: Cover Lovin' with Susan Dennard

Cover lovin'--had me a blast!


Okay, enough Grease references. Just like catchy musical numbers can haunt our heads for days, catchy covers will stay with us until we just have to read the book behind such a beautiful face.


Sure, the old adage is not to judge a book by its cover, but honestly: who doesn't?


Personally, when I'm browsing the shelves of a bookstore--or even just some Goodreads shelves--the ones that get me tend to be simple.


Take Marie Lu's upcoming Prodigy cover. It's iconic, eye-catching, and hints at the story within.

Or what about Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys? Stunning!

But simple isn't the only thing I like. Some colors instantly draw me in--like you might notice a similarity in palate for these covers...

Clearly I have thing for starscapes...or purples and pinks.


Then again--all starscapes and simplicity aside--a kickbutt girl (or team of girls) will almost ALWAYS entice me to buy. Just check out these covers, and tell me they don't suggest a pretty rocking story inside.

Of course, while a great cover will usually work to draw me in, I'll also pick up a book
with a cover I didn't like if I've heard the story is good.

You tell me: how much does a book's cover entice you to--or repel you from!--picking up a book?

Susan is a reader, writer, lover of animals, and eater of cookies. She used to be a marine biologist, but now she writes novels--and not novels about fish, but novels about kick-butt heroines and swoon-worthy rogues. She lives in Germany with her French husband and Irish setter, and you can learn more about her crazy thoughts and crippling cookie-addiction on her blog, twitter, or facebook. Her debut, Something Strange and Deadly, will be available from HarperTeen on July 24, 2012!

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.