Tuesday, September 1, 2009

My Very Own VERY FAKE Debut YA Book Cover

I noticed that most--or is it all? --of my last several posts have been about young adult fiction. I didn't really plan that. I've always been a fan of YA, and do regularly read novels of that genre, but I guess I read more YA than usual over the summer. Not to mention I find writing reviews for YA easier than non-YA fiction, so I just went with it.

I've also read a slew of other non-YA fiction this summer--in fact, it was my most productive summer reading yet! So if you want to know what I've been reading, I do keep a running list at the happily ever after . . . book archives. It's also a spot for me to keep notes on books before I get around to writing reviews. IF I ever get around to writing the reviews. ;) You can click on the link or click on the little graphic on my sidebar with the girl carrying the huge stack of books that looks like this -->

Now on to my debut YA book cover!

In my recent travels to one of my favorite YA book blogs, Tales of a Ravenous Reader, which happens to be my dear friend Nancy's very informative, very successful blog, I found this neat activity to create your own debut YA book cover. It looked like fun, so I gave it a go. Within 10 minutes, I had my very own, albeit very fake debut young adult book cover!

I confess that when I did the random name generator part, I must have hit refresh at least twenty times looking for a really catchy pen name, but in the end I kept the first one that came up. It was meant to be. Also, with the FlickerCC generator, I didn't use the first photo that came up because it was a picture of an adult male wearing only a sarong and I didn't think it was very YA, so I went with the second photo. I don't care if that's cheating, the second photo was perfect!

I think the title and cover art would be great for a young adult paranormal. Or maybe a novel about a troubled teen fighting depression or trying to overcome a tragedy in her life.

What do you think?

If you decide to do your own, be sure to let me know here so I can come by and check it out.

To create your own debut YA book cover, follow these directions:

CREATE YOUR DEBUT YA COVER

1 – Go to “Fake Name Generator” or click http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/

The name that appears is your author name.

2 – Go to “Random Word Generator” or click http://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml

The word listed under “Random Verb” is your title.

3 – Go to “FlickrCC” or click http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php

Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.

4 – Use Photoshop, Picnik, or similar to put it all together. Be sure to crop and/or zoom in.

5 – Post it to your site along with this text.



6 comments:

  1. Fun! I'll have to try it. I've been reading a lot of YA and middle-grade fiction recently. I just reread my favorite book growing up: Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. Before that I read The Chronicles of Christomancy II by Diana Wynne Jones. I'll have to look at your list to get some good ideas for my next book!

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  2. OOPS! Something went wrong there. Just wanted to say that I'm currently reading YA (if New Moon counts as YA :) and then I'm picking up another YA - Graceling!

    Ciara - I just loved the Chrestomancy books!

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  3. Ciara: Yours came out great! We have Dealing with Dragons on our family bookshelf but I don't think any of us has read it.

    orannia: LOL, Yes, New Moon counts as YA. Do you like it so far? Ahh... Graceling has been on my shelf for months and months. I hope to get to it this fall.

    Looks like I should check out the Christomancy books! =)

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  4. On August 20, 2009, my new fantasy novel, Gateway to DreamWorld was released.

    Synopsis: On their way home from baseball tryouts, Brad Colby and his two sons are involved in a terrible car accident that leaves six-year-old Pete in a coma. When Pete awakens, the family is crushed to learn that he is paralyzed.

    Meanwhile, Pete’s eight-year-old brother, Jason, has been having powerful dreams that lead him to a mysterious realm known as DreamWorld. Jason discovers that all of his desires can come true in DreamWorld, but the time is fast approaching when he will have to choose between his two worlds.

    And when more devastating news strikes at the heart of the Colby family, Jason and Pete set out on a desperate attempt to find the Gateway to DreamWorld and save their family. With time running out on their dangerous path, will Jason and Pete’s fear of the Unknown keep them from reaching the paradise of their dreams?

    I invite you to order your copy now from Amazon.com or Barnes&Nobles.com at a discounted price.

    Please help by spreading the word to your friends who enjoy reading a good book and be one of the firsts to pick up your copy of Gateway to DreamWorld.

    Thanks for your time and I hope you enjoy the fantasy.

    Brenda Estacio

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  5. lol How cool is this? Great cover Christine.

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