x

I shot the cover for Lauren DeStefano’s amazing novel, Wither, earlier this year, and just completed the shoot for the cover to the sequal. The second shoot was even more over the top than the first set up. I love this cover (designed by Lizzy Bromley at Simon and Schuster), and the premiss of the story is extremeley compelling. Check it out on Lauren’s website.

And now for 8 Questions with Lauren DeStefano:

x

what is the natural talent you wish you had?

I don’t know if this is considered a talent, but I’ve always wished I had better handwriting. In
elementary school, my teachers would put me through something I can only call a Penmanship Bootcamp, and I failed horribly. I can scarcely read my own grocery list.

x

what makes you happy?

xA combination snowy day, purring cat, and a good literary tragedy I can get lost in.

x

what makes you miserable?

Mornings. I avoid them when at all possible.

x

what’s the first book that influenced you?

There are so many wonderful books I read in my childhood that have stayed with me, such as the American Girl series and the Ramona Quimby books. But I have to say the first book to leave a permanent footprint with me was The Other Side of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon. It’s perhaps the first adult  book I read, and I was mystified and at the same time horrified by the characters. The ending is one that still takes my breath away over a decade later.
x

what’s your favorite motto or saying?

“There is no satisfactory explanation of style, no infallible guide to good writing, no assurance that a person who thinks clearly will be able to write clearly, no key that unlocks the door, no inflexible rule by which the young writer may shape his course. He will often find himself steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion.” ~ This comes from Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White
x

What are you reading?

Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald.
x

What are you listening to?

Dice, by Finley Quaye
x

what did you think when you first saw your cover for Wither? (I know, that’s cheeky of me… )

When I saw the cover, I wasn’t thinking in words so much as in bright lights and exploding rainbows and harpsichord music.

x

Thank you, Lauren.