Lucky Breaks


Lucky Breaks by Susan Patron
Interior Illustrations by Matt Phelan
Paperback edition cover Erin McGuire

A few months ago the kind folks at Simon & Schuster asked me to do a cover redesign for the paperback edition for Lucky Breaks, the sequel to the Newberry Award winning Higher Power of Lucky. I had a great time reworking Lucky, the main character, and her drawing her adventures in the Mojave desert. Book covers are an interesting challenge, and the many rounds of thumbnails taught me a lot about what makes a good cover.

Many possibilities! At one point there was a donkey.

It's funny seeing your book cover on Amazon, and I got a bit more of a cheap thrill today when I saw it on the shelf at Barnes and Noble (and texted a picture to my mom, after all it is Mother's Day ;] ) in the YA section.

Still hard at work at French Ducks, as well as some other projects coming down the pipeline. Being this immersed in the book world is like running a marathon, but I think I'll make it through just fine. Oddly enough, the more time I spend on books, the less time I have to read, though I am almost done with Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth, because I will always make time for her short stories.

In my free time, Drew and I are trying to grow many varieties of hot peppers, as well as herbs and tomatoes. I've never really had a garden before, so I'm having a good time learning as I go. Hopefully I can have some personal work to post soon. I hope all are well and enjoying the warming weather.

6 comments:

Thomas Taylor said...

That's a great cover design. It should sing out on the bookshelf.

Susan Patron said...

Hello, talented collaborator! Thank you for this very appealing art!

Kendra Melton said...

Looks awesome! Congrats!!

Sarah Watts said...

Looks awesome Erin, happy to see your lifelong reading frenzy put into visual use:)

xoxo

Erin McGuire said...

Thanks everyone :) Hopefully the first of many

-Erin

Radu Prisacaru, UK Internet Marketer & Web Developer said...

Fantastic article ! UK Internet Marketer & Web Developer