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.