{BEHOLD!}

What I have been working on all this time in my Super Seeekrit lab!

Mare's War paperback

Okay, maybe not. Kate, the Knopf Book Designer of Great Awesomeness, is the one who’s been working on this. I merely pointed and said, “Oooh.” This is the paperback cover, aimed at an entirely new audience, and coming soon to a paperback in Spring 2011.

What I have been doing in the Super Seeekrit lab is working on REVISIONS, which I will get back to shortly. But first:

Check out that Tangee lipstick, people.

Tangee was the lipstick of choice for many women during WWII. Although orange in the tube, it “changes color to accentuate a woman’s natural skin tone,” or so the ads said, and allegedly goes on clear. Postwar, my maternal grandma wore something called Blue Flame which was sooo dark red, it looked black. Now, as much as I love orange, I have to admit Blue Flame works better for me. I’d love to get my hands on some of that!

Note the unique texture of Mare’s helmet. The M1 helmet, issued to the U.S. Army, was covered with bits of cork and painted that famous Army drab, so it wouldn’t catch the light. Helmets were actually made of two parts — the shell, that sat, bucket-like, right on your head, and the liner, which had, in WWII, a brown leather chin strap.

So, most people who have seen this say, “This doesn’t look like Mare!” Well, probably not; the imagination of one doesn’t ever match the imagination of the many. But, didn’t Kate do a great job with her interpretation of Mare?

Here’s to a long shelf-life for our girl, Mare.

8 Replies to “{BEHOLD!}”

  1. Lovely! It looks so much more grown-up than the hardcover, which isn’t to say I don’t like the hardcover, but this is just very different. More powerful.

    and I see you are still eschewing capitol letters…I wonder what the design logic behind that is.

    1. I think the hardcover cover is beautiful, too.
      I read somewhere that non-photographic covers are more for books that are to be used in schools, and that photographic covers don’t seem to translate well to the classroom — so I’m always pleased about my art covers. But I think “arresting” is the right word. It’s practically black and white, and that lipstick just glows.

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