Cover Interview: The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

Every Friday, I bring you a new cover interview and hope to introduce you to books you want to read, or the very least make you more excited for the book. This week's pick is...  

 The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

March 5, 2013 by Tor Teen

Goodreads

16-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Dusty is a magical being who feeds on human dreams.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder. The setting is Arkwell.

And then it comes true.

Now the Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target. 

Guys, every cover I've hosted for these interviews are absolutely gorgeous, but this cover is my favorite, I swear it is. At first I didn't really think it was great, but now that I've gotten used to it and all that, I absolutely adore this cover. It is gorgeous. Mindee is very lucky. ;) 

About Mindee Arnett:

 Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares.

You can visit her on the web at her website, or her blog, or Twitter, Goodreads, or Facebook.

(Go stalk her! She's amazing!)

And now, the interview!

I love your cover. I love how freaking UNIQUE and Nancy Drew-ish it is. And purple. Purple is amazing. What is one cover that you absolutely freaking love (besides your own)?

Oh, this one is easy. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. I love everything about this cover. It’s so atmospheric and spooky and it completely reflects the feel of the book.

You Tor authors and sharing love for Kendare Blake and Anna! I LOVE IT. If you had to pick, what is your favorite part about your cover? I love that the pine is a tree (!) and the purple. . . and well, everything about your cover is wonderful!

Ugh, now for a hard one. I love it all, too! But my favorite detail is probably the way the title is a part of the branches. It’s a detail you don’t notice at first, but once you do it really packs that “wow” factor.

I never noticed that until you pointed it out and let me say: I love that. Did you have any say in your cover?

Yes, I did actually. My editor sent me a cover art concept form to fill out which we then presented to the art department at Tor. Some of it was basic information such as descriptions of the book’s setting and main characters, while other sections asked for comparison covers (I totally included Anna Dressed in Blood) and any scenes within the book we wanted to reference. Basically, the brief was my chance to emphasize what I would like the cover to include and what I didn’t want. The bird, which more specifically is a phoenix, is an example of something I knew I wanted on the cover. I also wanted the cover to reflect the whimsical, magical feel of the book — no brooding, angst-y heroines in fancy dresses allowed. There is very little teenage angst in The Nightmare Affair. It’s about a murder, true, but it’s more a light and fun than anything dark and heavy.

No lie, phoenixes remind me of Harry Potter, even though I knew about them long before I read the books. When you saw your cover, what did you do?

Honestly, I didn’t react at all. I was in complete shock at first. It wasn’t anything like I expected, and yet it was so perfect and so different. I was blown away. I’m in love with it.

I AM TOO. Describe your cover in three words.

Whimsical, spooky, fun.

Describe The Nightmare Affair in three words.

Whimsical, spooky, fun. (Do you see how that works? That’s the sign of good cover art!)

Haha! I love teasing because it’s always fun to watch people squirm—can you say anything teasing about The Nightmare Affair?

Expect a lot of M & M = Magic and Mystery. There might even be a little mayhem, too. And if you’d
like to see some of the prior version of the cover, be sure to check out the post over at tor.com.

Thanks, Mindee! I cannot wait to get my greedy little hands on THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR. And I am definitely expecting M&M!

Also! if there is an author/cover you'd LOVE to see interviewed, I have set up this handy dandy form. Please help me out! If you love this series, and want to see more interviews, fill out the form. It's all anonymous, so if you are an author and want extra publicity, fill out the form! I still retain the right of final decision on who I email, though. :)