Behind the Cover: WE HEAR THE DEAD

Today we'd like to welcome the fabulous Dianne Salerni whose debut novel WE HEAR THE DEAD will be published by Sourcebooks Fire this May.

And based on this blurb it's clear why the book is generating so much buzz:

Maggie & Kate Fox didn’t mean to create a new religion. It started out as a harmless prank. But soon enough, spiritualism was the fastest growing movement of the nineteenth century, and they were trapped in a life of deceit.

Lucky for us, Dianne agreed to write a guest blog about what it was like to see the cover for WE HEAR THE DEAD for the first time. Join us as we live vicariously through her.

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So … Lisa and Laura asked me: “What did it feel like to finally see your book cover from Sourcebooks?” I had to cast my mind back to my original reaction when I saw the cover last summer. As near as I can recall, I jumped up and ran excited circles around the living room – kind of like our dog. Embarrassing, huh?

I’d envisioned various covers, of course. Who wouldn’t? But I have to say this cover was unlike anything I’d ever imagined. I was struck by the bright colors and the confident, perky stance of the girl in the illustration, which contrasted sharply with the title “We Hear the Dead” and the creepy font chosen by the designers. Sourcebooks selected a title that hinted at spooks and horror, but coupled it with a cover which emphasized the performance aspect of the whole story. Looking at this cover, I think readers will know immediately that Maggie Fox is bamboozling her audience. And because the viewer is positioned behind her on the stage, readers will expect to be “in on the secret.”

Seeing the cover for the first time was awesome. The only thing better than that first glimpse of the cover was seeing it on an actual ARC. And the only thing better than seeing the ARC … will be seeing a stack of them at a book store!

I should mention that credit for the title goes to one of my fifth grade students. My editor and I were bouncing around various ideas for a title (and the design crew kept throwing them back). I mentioned the problem to my class, and one student, Emma, suggested “We Can Hear the Dead.” I threw that one into the mix in the next batch of titles I sent to my editor, and wouldn’t you know – they loved it! Not only is Emma getting a free, signed copy of the book (as soon as I get some), but I think she might just have a future in publishing!

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Total author porn, right? Follow Dianne on her journey to superstardom on her blog, Twitter or friend her on the Teen Fire Ning. Thanks for a great post, Dianne!