MONSTER DOWN DEEP COVER...UNCOVERED.
My journey to publishing. This Month: The Cover Reveal!!
No, this isn’t the cover. But this is where the cover started.
When I first had the idea to write a story about a girl discovering an ancient fish, one of the first things I did was visit the nearest aquarium, OdySea. That’s where I snapped this picture of a Blue Wrasse. He stared at me like he had a lot to say. I didn’t realize it that day, but he became the inspiration for my monster down deep. He’s why the fish in my book is named Blue.
But for my story, I needed a fish with features that didn’t exist in the known world. I got help from Drew, a marine specialist at OdySea.
Blue ended up with two unique features: Pupils that refract with light. (Bony fish have fixed pupils.) And feet with spiny bones that can move independently like fingers. (Not a thing fish can do.)
Last month I shared my drawing.
From here, Pushkin Press handed the project to an illustrator (they hired) to create the cover art. Along with Blue, there are two main characters--Cassie and TJ. How to incorporate them and keep Blue the focus?
The process took months. The first version had different colors and Blue was missing some fins. But the concept changed very little, I think, because it was spot on. (To borrow a British expression.) I haven’t loved all of my covers, but I love this one. I’d love to hear what you think!!
The book will be released in the UK in February (only 3 months away!!) and the US in June. More on all of that to come. But having a cover always makes it feel real.
HERE IT IS:
