Cover Reveal!

Cover design by Connie Gabbert

I paint with a light brush when describing what my characters look like. I try instead, especially through dialogue, to convey who they are. In terms of physical description, I only give readers a few specifics, and leave the rest to their imaginations as the story unfolds.

So I was fairly gobsmacked when my editor shared artist/designer Connie Gabbert's cover depiction of Izzy, who is the main character and narrates How to Build a Heart.

"Oh my god. It's her!" I exclaimed. Out loud, to the empty room, as I stared at my computer screen. Well, maybe Frisbee (The Dog) was there. But probs not. I talk to myself. A lot. I'd like to tell you it's an occupational hazard (Writer Who Spends Too Much Time Alone) but I've been doing it for years.

But I digress.

I. Love. This. Cover. The expression on the girl's face completely conveys what Izzy feels most of the time. That will change as the plot unfolds, but for most of the book ... that's her.

Intrigued? Head over to Bustle for the first chapter! And if you want more, mark it as a To Read on Goodreads!

How to Build a Heart is a Fall 2019 book, with an on sale date of January 2020.

Almost there ...

So you've seen the spine ... and a bit of the inside ... and now here's the BACK of the galley. Call me ridiculous, but you know: a lot of work went into putting all that together! And I'm not talking about the novel itself:  a whole bunch of people are working hard to get this Book Baby out into the world.

So to the whole crew at Algonquin Young Readers and Workman Publishing: THANK YOU!!

Cover reveal and first chapter tomorrow, Friday 4/5 online at Bustle!

Inspiration

Hogan's Heroes

Stories come to me from a whole lot of directions, but I think it’s fair to say How to Build a Heart draws most heavily, of all my books, from my personal experience and from family. Not only the one I grew up in, but also the one I chose. Meaning: my husband.

Conrad Gustav Schneider is a Southern boy from North Carolina. He loves Tar Heels basketball, barbecue and biscuits. With a name like his, you’d expect him to be from Mainz or Berlin, but he grew up in Davidson, with a mom who could trace her roots back to Andrew Jackson.

His dad, however, was Fritz from Berlin. Long story about how he met Conrad’s mom, but suffice it to say it wasn’t easy growing up with a German dad and a name like Conrad when one of the most popular television shows at the time was Hogan’s Heroes. (For those who haven’t had the pleasure: this was a sitcom set in a Nazi POW camp, in which the hilarious, clever allied prisoners constantly outwit the bumbling, ridiculous Colonel Klink and Sergeant Schultz. It ran from 1965 to 1971: Conrad’s prime “growing up” years.) 

I won’t detail the bullying he endured, but his perceived outsider status, combined with being part of the first class of North Carolinians to attend integrated, “bused” public school from grades K through 12, has always helped Conrad see the world differently than people for whom identity was clear and simple and inclusion unquestioned. 

The first page of a galley often includes an author letter, where we have a chance to share what inspires a particular book. As I said, I can’t point to just one starting point for any of my novels, but without a doubt the immigrant experience and the challenges of learning a new language and finding your place in a new culture … which were part my family’s story as well as Conrad’s … played a big role in How to Build a Heart.

Most readers will never read the galley, or this letter, so as part of the run-up to the cover reveal on Friday, I’ll share it here:

Shorter is Harder

Page Proofs

Synopses slay me. Honestly? I'd rather write War and Peace than draft a 250-word summary of my latest book.

Choosing the important details and figuring out what to leave on the editing room floor (sorry: that's a metaphor from the pre-digital age, back when we cut tape with a razor blade) is sooooo hard.

So I'm in awe of the publishing pros who have brought my books into the world and SUMMARIZED them brilliantly, in promotional materials and book jackets and ... most recently ... the back-of-the-galley copy.

How to Build a Heart is at that "galley" stage, stepping tentatively out into the world (is it unfortunate that Mary Shelley's Creature from Frankenstein just popped into my head?) with a shiny new cover and a few residual typos. Galleys are basically pre-publication advertising in book form, and while I'm pretty sure THIS cover (coming Friday!!!!!) won't change, in the past I've had galleys with covers that ultimately changed or ... in the case of Jersey Tomatoes ... no cover at all.

I'm incredibly grateful for all the folks at Algonquin Young Readers who are working with me on this latest novel. There have been moments when I've felt they understood my characters better than I did!  Here's what you'll find on the back of the galley for How to Build a Heart:

        All Izzy Crawford wants is to feel like she really belongs somewhere.

Her father, a Marine, died in Iraq six years ago, and Izzy’s moved to a new town nearly every year since, far from the help of her extended family in North Carolina and Puerto Rico. 

When Izzy’s hardworking mom moves their small family to Virginia in Izzy’s junior year, all her dreams start clicking into place. She likes her new school — even if she is careful to keep her scholarship-student status hidden from her well-to-do classmates and her new boyfriend. And best of all: Izzy’s family has been selected by Habitat for Humanity to build and move into a brand-new house. Izzy is this close to the community and permanence she’s been searching for, until all the secret pieces of her life begin to collide.

How to Build a Heart is the story of Izzy’s journey to find her place in the world and her discovery that the choices we make and the people we love ultimately define us and bring us home.

Stuff's Getting Real

Spine for How to Build a Heart

Galleys!!!!

Also known as Advance Reader Copies. Uncorrected Proofs.

Also known as OMG THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!!!

In other words: my next book, How to Build a Heart, toddles out into the world this week. On Friday, April 5th, Bustle will reveal the cover and first chapter. Meanwhile, reviewers/book bloggers/bookstore owners/other bookish folks will receive their paperback Advance Copies from my publisher, Algonquin Young Readers. I’m not a NetGalley subscriber, but probs you’ll find it there as well. 

It’s my fifth book but wow, this never gets old. My editor popped a few copies in the mail to me and I just keep … petting them. I know, it’s weird, but that’s what I do. I stand there, stroking the cover in semi-disbelief.

Speaking of: artist/designer Connie Gabbert created the beautiful cover for How to Build a Heart. You might recognize her work from the terrific cover she did for Erika Sanchez's I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter:

When I visit schools and talk to students about writing and publishing (I mostly like to talk about writing; they mostly like to hear about publishing) they are always amazed that the vast majority of (traditionally published) authors don’t choose the covers for their books. A small army of art, sales and marketing experts pretty much steers that ship. So … it’s huge, absolutely HUGE, when they decide on a cover and … you like it. Or, if you’re lucky, LOVE it.

Which I can honestly say, I do! I am in love with the cover Algonquin has found for How to Build a Heart. I can’t wait to show it to you!

In the meantime, the photo above is a bit of a “spine teaser.” Throughout the week I’ll share other parts of the Galley, including the book description, a brief letter describing my inspiration for this story, a scan of the back and finally … the cover.

Stay tuned …