Friday, June 27, 2014

Cover Reveal, Interview & Giveaway: I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

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I hope everyone is as excited as I am about a new release by Heather Demetrios! Today we’ve got the brand new cover to show off to you guys, and a Q&A with Heather as well as a giveaway! So let’s see the new pretty!!

Cover Reveal, Interview & Giveaway: I’ll Meet You There by Heather DemetriosI'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on February 3rd 2015
Genres: Contemporary, YA
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If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.



Q&A with Heather Demetrios



Describe I’ll Meet You There in a Tweet (140 characters)!

Every single word of I’ll Meet You There gutted me. Here is my heart, in paper and ink. I’ve never loved a book so much. 

What was your initial reaction to the cover design? What do you like best about it?

I was thrilled…and relieved! My editor was on the phone with me when she sent the cover comp over. She knew how important the cover of this particular book was to me and she wanted to talk me through it – I could almost hear her crossing her fingers that I would be over the moon. I’ll Meet You There came right from my soul and a lot of it is autobiographical, at least emotionally, so I would have been devastated if it had looked like a cheesy summer romance. I had VERY strong opinions when we talked about cover possibilities and I truly couldn’t be happier after seeing this gorgeous design. There are a lot of things that go into making a cover, and many people who have to love it, so I really had no idea what it would look like. When I saw the cover, I felt like, “Okay, they get this book. They get me.”

Months ago, I’d given Rich Deas, the designer, a link to my Pinterest board for the book – which you can check out here – in order to help him get the right feel. He’s fantastic. A real artist. I know he’s worked so hard to give us something beautiful, something accessible and literary at the same time. What I like best about it is that it really captures the feeling of the book: not just the setting, but the tone as well. The book is gritty and hopeful and romantic and sometimes sad: somehow Rich was able to get all of that into one startling image. I confess I did a happy dance when I saw that there wasn’t a photo of a boy and girl on the cover. More on that later.

Here’s the other thing: I consulted a lot of Marines and Soldiers when I was writing this book and I am SO HAPPY that I’ll be able to send them a book that they wouldn’t be embarrassed to be caught reading in public. I just couldn’t see a bunch of Marines sitting around holding a book with a girl and a boy kissing on the cover. Not that they wouldn’t like to check out a book like that…I just wasn’t sure they’d be caught dead reading it.

Did the cover change a lot from its first mockup?

The initial version I saw was different, but not hugely so. We pretty much went with this one. There were a few changes, but nothing dramatic. The biggest concern was how to get all the text on there and whether or not to add more imagery to the motel sign. With SOMETHING REAL, I saw several possibilities and there were lots of revisions. I really appreciate Macmillan bringing me into the process and using the images that inspired me as I wrote IMYT as a starting place when creating the cover.

The majority of contemporary book covers these days seem to feature people – faces, couples, hand holding etc – what do you think of the direction they went with this design?

Like I mentioned before, I was SO RELIEVED that the direction of the cover moved away from the glut of YA covers that feature people. I know there are very specific reasons why so many YA covers go that way, but that’s never been a cover that has drawn me in as a reader – the exception being my fantasy novel, EXQUISITE CAPTIVE, which comes out in October from HarperCollins. That cover prominently features a girl, but the image is so arresting, I don’t even care. I want to read that book because I want to know about that girl – I want to hear her story.

With this book, I was afraid that having a girl or a couple on the cover wouldn’t accurately capture what the book is about. It would have looked like a summer teen romance and it’s just…not that. It’s romantic, but not I wanna hold your hand romantic. I mean, this is a book with sections that drop right into the mind of a nineteen year old Marine who just lost his leg in Afghanistan. It’s a book whose protagonist lives in total poverty and might just lose her chance at a dream she’s worked so hard for – a girl who’s an artist and looks at the world through an artist’s eyes. It’s a book about longing and loss and a love so brutally raw that you’re not sure who will be left standing in the end.

Given all that, I think this design is accessible to both girl and guy readers. I think it tells you that this is going to be a different kind of book – not a quick throwaway read. And the image of the sign with the field gives you a strong sense of place – you want to check out what’s happening there. Because, of course, terribly interesting things happen at motels, no?

This is my “literary” book – but it’s not snooty, I-don’t-know-what-the-point-of-this-is literary. It’s got heart because it’s MY heart, right there on the page for all the world to see (which, by the way, is TERRIFYING). I think the cover signals some of this, which, again, is a really amazing feat by Rich, the designer.

What inspired this quirky motel setting?

The central location of the book is an old roadside motel off Highway 99 that the protagonist, Skylar, and the other major character, Josh, work at. It’s a really cool place: rundown and yet somehow homey. It’s owned by Marge, who’s kind of a mama bear. Of course, interesting people pass through, but it really acts as the place from which Sky and Josh build on their relationship. This book had so many iterations when I first started working on it, but the one constant was the motel. I don’t even know how or why it popped into my head, but I just knew I had to write about this place. I’ve driven up and down Highway 99 so many times in my life, so I guess it called to me, in a way. I’m so glad the cover features it because the motel really symbolizes the book for me. ß

Thanks so much for stopping by, Heather! I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us in this novel! 🙂
 

 

About the Author



Heather Demetrios
When she’s not traipsing around the world or spending time in imaginary places, Heather Demetrios lives with her husband in New York City. Originally from Los Angeles, she now calls the East Coast home. Heather has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a recipient of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award for her debut novel, Something Real. She is the founder of Live Your What, an organization dedicated to fostering passion in people of all ages and creating writing opportunities for youth of limited economic means. You can always find her on Twitter (@HDemetrios), ogling the military dogs she wants to adopt (but can’t because her NYC apartment is way too small). Find out more about Heather and her other books at www.heatherdemetrios.com and any social media site you can imagine.




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Giveaway

Thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books, I’ve got 5 ARCs (Advance Readers copy) of I’ll Meet You There for giveaway!


  • Open to US and Canada only
  • Giveaway ends July 13th, 2014
  • Full contest terms and conditions found on Rafflecopter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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53 Responses to “Cover Reveal, Interview & Giveaway: I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios”

  1. Leanna

    I can’t enter, but just stopped by to say that this looks and sounds great! I love the sound of the quirky motel setting!

  2. Nick @ Nick's Book Blog

    This is such a gorgeous cover! I love it so much and yay for some uniqueness when it comes to YA contemporary. Also, Heather sounds really enthusiastic about the book and I can tell it’s going to be awesome.
    Thanks for sharing, Giselle!

  3. Christina R.

    LOVE the cover! It totally matches the summary and how it’s a place not many people want to be stuck in but the bright colors suggest hope 🙂

    Thank you 🙂

  4. Chenise J.

    I absolutely love simple covers and this one fits the bill perfectly! Something Real was fantastic so I’m really looking forward to Heather’s follow up!

  5. Sarah

    I am loving this cover…seems to totally match the vibe of the story. Which sounds awesome by the way. Fingers crossed that I’m one of the lucky winners! 🙂

  6. Jessica R

    That cover is so great! And I love that, like Heather said, it’s different. It’s pretty unique in the world of YA. I don’t think her Marine friends will mind being seen with that at all 😉 It looks like it represents something a very intriguing story, and I really like that about it!

  7. Lili

    This setting sounds awesome! I love the cover because it is so unique. It matches the book, is appealing to the eye, but it’s also simple. And it doesn’t follow any cliche cover trends so yay!

  8. Angela C.

    I love the cover! I’m happy there aren’t people on the cover because almost all contemporary covers are like that now. This one stands out! And it’s colorful too. ^-^

  9. Larissa

    Ahhhh I really would like to read this story! First off, the cover is totally gorgeous c: I think it speaks far more to the story within than two people kissing ever could. I’m very interested in the motel setting and how it provides the location for two very different (yet not so different) people to meet and for a relationship to flourish.

    This one just seems like it’s gonna be a really emotional read (: It’s definitely on my TBR now! I hope I’m lucky enough to win this giveaway.

  10. Lily

    So excited for a new Heather book. I admire her writing so much and can’t wait to have another example of what quality YA can achieve!

  11. Stephanie

    I love this cover. It evokes a whole bunch of feelings. I didn’t even know the summary and I wanted to read it. Now that I know the premise I REALLY REALLY WANT THIS!!!

  12. Pili

    I love the cover! It’s so different from the rest of the YA contemporaries that it simply makes me want to read it! I’m so gonna be keeping an eye on this one!
    Great interview!

  13. Katie

    I really love the cover of this. I loved Something Real and its cover as well, and I can’t wait to read this book. I like the insight that the interview gives into the cover and story. Thanks for having the giveaway.

  14. Kelly

    I adore the cover and the summary sounds interesting. I love how the interview told more about the process authors go through when they pick covers for their novels.

  15. Ashley Jellison

    It looks amazing!!! Look at that beauty! I need to add it to my shelf to admire daily;)

  16. Katie

    I really like this cover! It seems to resonate with the book’s description and its characters, and I–for one–canNOT wait to read this book. I feel like I’ll be able to relate on such a deep level with Skylar.

    Thanks for hosting the giveaway! =)

  17. Bruna Santos

    This cover is absolutely gorgeous! The letters, the plaque, just pure awesome 🙂 Thanks for hosting this giveaway 😀

  18. Ashley @ Book Labyrinth

    I adore this cover!! While I don’t care for kissing covers, I don’t mind “couple covers”… however they definitely get to feeling more than a little generic. I love that this one is unique and represents a different part of the book. Just the feel of it is awesome.

  19. Wendy Darling

    I love the quirky motel setting, and how different this cover looks! I just finished my first Heather Demetrios book, EXQUISITE CAPTIVE, and now I’m eager to read everything else she’s written. Thanks for the giveaway and fun interview, ladies!

  20. starryeyedjen

    OMG, it’s perfect! I can’t wait to read about the motel and Skylar and Josh! I’ve read Something Real and I’ve got Exquisite Captive coming up, but I’m super excited to know there’s yet another Heather Demetrios book on its way!

  21. Yaseena

    I had never heard of Heather Demetrios before I read this interview and saw a review of her last book. I’ll Meet You There sounds like a great read. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!

  22. Caitlin

    I really like this cover, though I’ve seen a similar design already. However, I like this cover a lot more and I’m definitely excited to read it 🙂 thanks for the chance!

  23. Tammy

    The cover is an eye catcher. You have to pick it up to see what it is about. The book summary sounds really good. Thank you for the giveaway!

  24. Kierra

    AHHH!! The feels!! I love the sound of this book so much! And that cover is so unique and fits perfectly with the premise of the book. Can’t wait to read it!!

  25. Lina

    I fist saw this cover in Kelly’s (from Effortlessly Reading) book cover guessing game so I was really relieved when I first found this cover! After reading your Q&A, I appreciate the cover even more for it’s grittiness and hope.

  26. Stephanie H.

    I LOVE the cover! And I love the interview. I am really looking forward to reading this book. I recently read Something Real, and love Heather’s writing. I will be checking out all of the books she has published. 😀
    Thanks for the giveaway!

  27. Jen@Fefferbooks

    Love that bright, punchy cover so much. I came across the book on Goodreads a few weeks ago and was drawn to it because of the cover, so well done!

    Love this interview. 🙂

  28. HNGC Library

    Just finished Something Real and love this author – can’t wait for my students read her books.