Wednesday, January 2, 2013

New Cover changes




The new covers for The Eternity Cure and The Immortal Rules were revealed last week.

 

 

 

And while many liked the new look, there have been questions over why the covers were changed in the middle of the series, and why the designers went with a completely new look than the original cover. 

 

There are several reasons why the decision was made to change the look of the series

 

 

1.  The absence of dystopian:  During teen panel polls about a new cover, it came to light that no one who saw the original Immortal Rules cover thought it was dystopian.  That the only message they received from looking at the cover was "vampire."  And since the Blood of Eden series is very much a dystopian as well as a vampire story, the designers wanted to shift the focus of the cover to portray a dystopian series instead of purely vampire.

 

2. Majority rules: After several new cover concepts were designed, a number of polls were held with teen readers to find out which cover they liked best.  The overwhelming majority chose the new covers, both for their looks, and because they accurately represented the dystopian feel of the book, according to the core audience.   

 

3. Whitewashing controversy: After The Immortal Rules was published, readers began to express concern that the main heroine Allison Sekemoto, who was of Asian descent in the story, was not represented correctly on the cover.  That the girl on the cover of The Immortal Rules and in the Blood of Eden website was Anglo-European, and clearly not Japanese.  Harlequin Teen heard reader's concerns, took them to heart and decided to re-vamp (no pun intended) the entire series to accurately portray both Allison and the content within.  Also, a new cover model was chosen, one who correctly represents Allie, and will either appear on the back of the cover, or on the inside flap.

 

So you see, the decision to re-create the series' look was not made lightly, and was done with as much audience participation as possible.  We hope that you like the new covers and, even though the change happened in the middle of the series, understand the reasons behind it. 

 

The Eternity Cure will be out April 23, 2013.  And here is a little tease of what is to come.

In The Eternity Cure, new vampire Allison Sekemoto has come to terms with what she is and what she must do to survive: prey on humans. She knows she is a vampire, but she is determined not to become a monster. But then she meets someone who challenges that belief, telling her all vampires are killers, encouraging her to embrace her savage instincts. And as she gets closer to rescuing Kanin, the lines between human and monster blur even further, and Allison must decide to either cling to her rapidly fading humanity, or succumb to the darkness within."


 
 
 
 
 
 

27 comments:

  1. Yay, the cover that I voted for won! But I still think that the girl on the cover, and the original cover, was fine. It was the dark one with the yellow ring I didn't like because, honestly, it looks like yellow crack. Or a ring of yellow salt, like in that show Supernatural.

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  2. Congrats on the new covers! They look great and I fully support the decision! I just bought The Immortal Rules on amazon and am eager to read it!

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  3. Phew, I like these much better. My biggest qualm was the whole crying blood thing. These are lovely though.

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  5. Hmp, well, yes. Fine. (This is my resignated, sulky tone, yes?) Your argument sounds mildly valid.
    BUT, "Majority rules"? That's called Tyranny of the majority, thank you very much.

    Still, can't wait to keep up with Allison, regardless the cover.

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    1. Isn't most of our government chosen by the majority?

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    2. Yeah, there is also the other part of the story; when a large group gets away with their choice, there is not really an option for the rest of the group but to follow.

      As in, 51% could have chosen any given thing, hence there's "Tyranny" over the other 49% who were not d'accord.

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  6. Thanks for clearing this up, as I was curious why they decided to change at this late date. Love the new covers!

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  7. I definitely prefer these covers over the previous one.

    I guess they will have to redesign this whole website then?

    http://www.bloodofeden.com/index.html

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  8. The new covers are awesome! :D
    Though I did think Allison was Japanese because of the last name... lol :p
    T_T Now I'm curious what the new Allison looks like. To the bookstore I go... when I can. To marvel at the new cover(s). *o*

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  9. I kinda agree with TheBookworm... but at least I understand now. Thanks for the explanation!

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  11. I beyond love these new covers!!! This is the first time I have EVER been happy with a cover redesign! They're just lovely. The first reminds me of the show Heroes. Now with all that said, it's my biggest pet peeve when my series don't match... any way Harlequin would consider sending out a new dust jacket by request to those of us with the old covers? I remember a series did that somewhat recently, was it Nightshade? Anyway, that would be so cool. Congrats on such pretty books!

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  12. I was terrified by the old cover. So glad the new ones are like these!

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  13. I LOVED the old cover. The only thing I take out of the new cover is "witch" because of the freaking yellow circle. Disappointed :/ I would understand the "white washing" thing, but the model could have been changed... Sigh, at least I got to have the original cover.

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  14. I think that the original cover was nice BUT I do agree that the new cover also adds a dystopian feel to it and I like it. :) I don't like the sequel's cover though... Light blue? And it won't match my original!! :'( *sigh*<3

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  15. Cover or no cover, it's the story that counts! and i know it will be AWESOME!

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  16. The new covers are so much better. I'm a little miffed that an Asian model wasn't chosen to feature on the front of the cover because as things stand, there is a severe lack of POC on covers in YA lit and the designers could have taken this opportunity to put a POC on a high-profile book.

    Julie, I know you've said before that you weren't upset about seeing a girl of white origin on the cover of your book, but being Asian (I'm half Asian myself) anyone would be upset about this whitewashing. I was upset myself when I saw Allie was Japanese and the model on the cover was definitely NOT.

    Therefore the new design comes as a large improvement over the original and I can't wait to see Allie's proper model in TIR with the new cover :)

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  17. Hi Julie!

    I was wondering where you got Ash's real name and what the meaning of Ashallyn and Tallyn are. I love the names and probably will name my children them... :)

    Thanks!

    -Anna

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  18. I never really liked the original cover of The Immortal Rules, but the new covers suck even more (no offense). As stand-alones, the new covers look good, but together, they just look weird.

    Regarding the book's content, I think the first cover was better in representing the novel. Yes, Immortal Rules is a dystopian novel, but it didn't really focus on it being dystopian. It focused on the vampires and rabids and how the humans are affected by this, and while the setting is dystopic, it wasn't the main idea. I wish the covers were never changed. I really want to know what book 2 would've looked like!

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  19. Well, I like the new covers. But what bothers me more: Will the hardcover edition in the first book change the dust jacket?
    Because would be a BIG SHIT if we buy the first book, with a different cover.

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  20. Meh, sorry, but the new covers are kind of boring IMO. So generic. I loved the original cover. The only thing that bothered me was that the model was not of Asian decent. The crying blood didn't scare me (what are we, 2?), and didn't scream vampire to me. Oh well, still love the book and can't wait to read the sequel.

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  21. I LOVE the new covers!! Now I need to go out and re-purchase the first book so my set will match. I think they did a great job with the changes. I prefer a cover that doesn't have the character representation on the front. Leaves more to the imagination. :) I Can't wait to read The Eternity Cure!!

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  22. A little late on the conversation on this one but I have to add my two cents. I Think the cover change is a smart idea and you are not the first to have this done. As a bookseller I had a harder time selling this book to teen boys despite the fact that I felt the story was gender neutral. Some boys see a girl on the front of the book and think it will be girly, romance stuff inside. I noticed that the Phillipa Gregory book "Changeling" changed covers when it went into trade paperback as well taking away the girly cover. It is always a good idea not to limit your audience with the cover picture.

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  23. I am still wondering who the second model is. Could any of you give me her name?

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