Rachael Lucas

  • Contact
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Autism Workshops
  • Create Courage e-course
  • Book Coaching – write the book you’ve always dreamed of

the story of a book cover

April 4, 2017 By Rachael

 

Rachel Vale, the brilliant artist behind the cover design for the State of Grace, has written a blog post for me (I like this delegation lark – I should have been off having a painting day in exchange, but in fact I’ve been gardening) about the thought processes that led to the gorgeous cover…

the state of grace - rachael lucas

The cover for The State of Grace was a really great project to work on. As with all cover designs I kicked things off by reading the book – I absolutely loved it! We follow Grace, a teenage girl with Asperger’s, and see how she deals with everything life throws at her. It’s written with great humour, which I wanted to reflect within the design as well as sympathetically referencing Asperger’s. The story also raised questions for me over what is ‘normal’? A lot of the emotions, anxieties and questions Grace deals with feel relevant to absolutely everyone with regards to whether we ‘fit-in’.

So book read and notes made (my keyword list included cat, Doctor Who, pattern, horse . . .), I generated some typography. I knew immediately what I wanted this part of the cover to look like. I can’t quite explain why – sometimes it will take a few attempts and I’ll be working on the typography and image together so that they evolve as one creation. But even without any imagery, I already knew that this had to be big, bold and simple, and to look hand-drawn, therefore giving it a human element.

Typography done, I hit Google and Pinterest for research and image-collection. I wanted to find out more about Asperger’s, and if there was anything visual I could generate that may nod to the syndrome, along with finding a voice for Grace.

Repetitive pattern of behaviour and interests came up quite a lot. So a sort of repeat pattern felt like something I could definitely work with. I generated numerous ideas that included various themes. Some were better than others (as is often the way), but what they all seemed to be lacking was Grace. I needed to revisit her and her journey.

Grace experiences emotions around many different relationships, with her mum, sister, best friend and love interest. A lot of these are conducted to some degree via texting – something we all do and can all relate to. I use emoticons nearly as much as I use actual words whilst texting these days, so a visual take on that felt like something that could appeal to all. For me this idea felt like it relied on simplicity however, so the almost 3D nature of emoticons on modern mobile phones felt too complex – it was the emotion element that I needed, not a fancy rendered graphic.

Using a more ‘old skool’ approach of keyboard characters (brackets and semicolons, etc.) contained in a circle to resemble more recent emoticons felt much more like the right route. A smiley face for the main pattern made me think of Grace immediately. Grace is happy – she’s just a little confused sometimes, so a confused emoticon felt like the perfect way to suggest not fitting in. The change between the two emoticons is subtle (a closed bracket vs a forward slash depicting the mouth), which is perfect, as changes in human emotions can also be so subtle and difficult to read. Obviously I didn’t want this to be so hard to read that it was missed altogether though, so I highlighted it in a different colour. The typography from a couple of months earlier sat perfectly atop my pattern – it’s always nice when these things come together.

Some of the best book covers for me are the ones that don’t try too hard. They rely on a simple and clean concept, and the more you add means the less you actually say. For me The State of Grace does just that. At a quick glance you get it – well, I hope you do! I’ve a copy on the shelf next to my desk, and every time I catch a glimpse of it it makes me smile. I hope it does the same for you. 🙂

the state of grace by rachael lucas

 

The State of Grace is published by Macmillan Children’s Books on the 6th of April.

Whip-smart, hilarious and unapologetically honest, The State of Grace is a heart-warming story of one girl trying to work out where she fits in, and whether she even wants to.

A sweetly funny look at first love, family and faking it told from the perspective of a heroine with Asperger’s and her own particular way of looking at the world. (Red Magazine Online)

This brilliant coming of age novel for young adults is set to become a classic. (AGA Magazine)

Buy here:

Waterstones

Amazon UK

Hive

Book Depository (with free world wide delivery)

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Related

Filed Under: Books and Writing Tagged With: books, cover design, rachael lucas, the state of grace, Writing

Comments

  1. Sand says

    April 5, 2017 at 10:41 am

    Fascinating! Great incite into the design process and a fabulous cover. Hoping it does it’s job well, I’m sure it will 🙂

  2. Sand says

    April 5, 2017 at 10:47 am

    Ugh :/
    I have fibro…it screws with my brain…once I was awesome at spelling…now my brain works differently…plus I can no longer see the errors consistently…though sometimes, after a short delay, the mistake will scream at me and the shame and anxiety washes over me.
    “Oh that happens to me all the time.” people will say. “It’s no big deal!”
    It is to me. It has become a symbol of all that I’ve lost.
    Incite or insight? Sigh…

Previous Post The one where I bin 35,000 words
Next Post finding myself in the mud

facebook google plus instagram pinterest twitter
my monthly letter to you, with creative inspiration,
book news, and lots more

Instagram

  • The Telephone Box Library is out in just six weeks - I’ve just looked through the final pages that have gone off to print and I can’t wait for it to be out on the shelves! It’s a story about Lucy, a burnt out history teacher who takes a sabbatical in a little village. She gets caught up in village life, and makes friends with Sam and his teenage daughter Freya, and Bunty, the extremely feisty ninety-something woman who lives in the cottage next door. When the decision is made to turn the disused village telephone box into a free library, the secret of Bunty’s work during the Second World War and her connection to nearby Bletchley Park is revealed. It’s in the shops in early January - but if you have a moment to call or visit your local bookshop and order a copy, it makes all the difference! (Gorgeous cover by @sarah_mcmenemy)
  • Winter arrived in New York overnight and the trees - which had previously just started to contemplate changing colour - dropped all their leaves in surprise. Yesterday morning the streets were carpeted and the air was that clear, crisp cold that makes you feel properly alive. And now I’m sitting on a train on the way home to everyone and I can’t wait for my own bed and a nice cup of tea. Going away is lovely, but coming home is even nicer. I’ve got pages of notes for the next two books, and lots to think about...
  • Last view of Montana, taken from the airport in Bozeman. Now I’m sitting by the window listening to New York on a Saturday evening and thinking about how to take the peace of the mountains back home with me.
  • Swipe for my last Montana sunset. I think I’m leaving a bit of my heart here.
  • Good morning from Gardiner, Montana, where I appear to have stepped into an episode of Northern Exposure. This has been a week I’ll never forget, where I’ve seen and heard wolves, met friends, and eaten the most amazing food. Next stop is New York, where I’ll be celebrating the publication of We Met in December and meeting up with my best friend from university, who I haven’t seen for 23 years. I don’t expect there will be quite so many wandering deer there, mind you. 🦌
  • Little fox on a mission. 21 wolves spotted today - the biggest pack here in Yellowstone. Oh, and hanging out with them - a grizzly bear. Huge thanks to @wolftracker for making this week such a dream.
  • Nine wolves spotted today, from two different packs - and howls heard close by from the most elusive pack here in Yellowstone. It’s been another amazing day.
  • Here I am, windswept, sunburnt, squinting at the camera, and having the most amazing time at Mammoth Hot Springs. I love Yellowstone.
  • Sunrise over Yellowstone. Today I saw eight wolves and heard lots more. This place is magical. (More in my Instagram stories.)
  • I have had a small cry at the beauty of this place. This is where I’m staying for the next five days. Tonight we are going to a talk with a lot of the biologists who reintroduced wolves to Yellowstone, and tomorrow we get up at 5 to go and look for wolves. The silence here is very loud.
  • Everything in Montana is huge. Looming mountains, gigantic trucks. I’ve had two days to recover from the long journey (and discovered that the weird spacey feeling I had wasn’t jet lag but the start of a really grim chesty cold, which is not very helpful). Later this morning I’ll be meeting our guide from @wolftracker and the other eleven people who are coming along this week, and we’ll be heading down to Gardiner, at the entrance to Yellowstone. You know that feeling you get when you look at the sky at night and realise how small you are in a huge universe? That’s what being in Montana feels like.
  • I’m drinking tea and eating M&Ms for breakfast. I think ten year old me would be very much in favour of this whole situation. This is my last alone day until next weekend, because the wolf tracking tour has another 11 guests. I’ve been imagining them and can’t wait to see if my writing mind has come up with the sort of people I expect... who travels to Yellowstone in freezing weather to spend hours hoping for a distant glimpse of a wolf? We shall see. Meanwhile, I’m going to drink my tea and then go and explore Bozeman. Last night I went to bed at 9pm and woke after what felt like a full night’s sleep to discover that it was actually only 11.25, so my jet lag processors are clearly on high alert. Managed to get lots more sleep, though, and I don’t feel seasick with tiredness any more. Hooray.

Follow Me!

Rachael Lucas

most popular posts

  • about me
  • Blog
  • Contact Rachael
  • Rachael Lucas Books
  • Autism Workshops
facebook google plus instagram pinterest twitter

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2019 · Log in