When I was writing the first draft of THE WITCHES OF WILLOW COVE, I knew very early on that the story would begin on Halloween night. I also knew, just based on where I wanted to take the story after the opening scenes, that Halloween probably needed to be on a Thursday night so that my characters would go to school the next day and deal with some of the fallout with their classmates before the weekend.
As I eyeballed my rough outline at the time, I also figured the story would take my characters through the fall and winter, ending at some point in the early spring. That meant I might also be writing scenes that took place on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and probably during some school vacations as well. All right, I thought, let’s just look at the calendar and see when Halloween next falls on a Thursday night. The answer: October 31, 2019.
So, for the sake of convenience, I decided to set my story in 2019. The action would begin in the fall of 2019 and end in the spring of 2020. And it held up pretty well, though I did take some liberties with a few dates here and there to make some parts of the timeline work better.
This is all a long-winded way of explaining that October 31, 2019, seemed like the perfect day to do the official cover reveal for THE WITCHES OF WILLOW COVE, which we did over at the excellent blog Pop! Goes the Reader.
Below is an excerpt from that cover reveal, in which I also share some behind-the-scenes artwork from our incredible cover artist, Lvente Svebo:
In THE WITCHES OF WILLOW COVE, six middle school girls from a small New England town discover they not only have magical powers, but also share a secret connection to the 17th century Salem Witch Trials. Then a mysterious stranger named Miss Winters arrives and offers to teach them everything she knows about witchcraft—for reasons that may or may not be entirely benevolent.
It’s a story with a large cast of characters, and I knew very early on that I wanted as many of the major players as possible represented on the cover. And because the book begins on Halloween and takes place mostly in the fall, I also envisioned the cover being a little bit spooky and autumnal, too. Something at sunset, maybe. Lots of reds and oranges. A scene that evokes that almost-magical atmosphere of late fall in New England.
I was incredibly excited when I learned that Levente Szabo would be creating the cover art, because I’d loved his previous work on THE EXPLORER by Katherine Rundell and THE DISASTER DAYS by Rebecca Behrens. I remember suggesting an idea I had in mind—the six young witches, their wands lit, following Miss Winters up a grassy hill at sunset—and my nervous anticipation when the first concept sketches arrived. Would his ideas match my vision for THE WITCHES OF WILLOW COVE?
Nervously, I clicked that first attachment, then breathed a huge sigh of relief. His take on the scene was exactly what I’d hoped for: moody, fall-ish, and more than a little bit spooky. Here’s a look at that early concept art.
Original cover concept for THE WITCHES OF WILLOW COVE.
But Levente had another idea for the cover, too—one that responded to my ideas but took them in a totally different direction. And reader, that second sketch was everything. Here were my six young witches confidently facing forward, wands out, ready to take on the world. Here was my fierce, brave, loyal, impetuous, defiant main character, Abby Shepherd, leading the way. Here was the cover concept my story begged for, even if it wasn’t the one I’d originally imagined. Take a look at that second piece of concept art below.
Alternate cover concept for THE WITCHES OF WILLOW COVE.
I was blown away. Because with just this simple rough sketch, he’d nailed it. The mood. The setting. The body language. Everything was just…perfect. This was my book!
As the cover went from concept to polished art, he made some more tweaks. At some point, there was a suggestion to add a tree to give the top of the cover more color and heft. And when my publisher, the incredible folks at Owl Hollow Press (led by the fantastically collaborative Emma Nelson), paired Levente’s artwork with the title design of Milorad Savanovic, it all came together in a finished product even better than I’d dared hope for.
And now here they are: The Witches of Willow Cove, ready to make their official debut. I hope you love this cover as much as I do—and I hope you’ll check out my book when it comes out on May 26, 2020. Or better yet, pre-order it today!
Final cover art for THE WITCHES OF WILLOW COVE.
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