2014 Book Cover Trends in Contemporary YA

While surveying a list of upcoming contemporary YA  releases, I noticed some interesting trends. Gone are the girls with hair across the face (so 2013 y’all).  Since I’ve yet to read even a single contemporary YA released in 2014, I can’t tell you the popular topics (except romance, always). 

But here are some trends I gleaned while scrolling through hundreds of book covers. 

1. Maps, maps, maps. Whether we’re trying to go somewhere, or to leave somewhere, we need a map. I’m guessing we’ll see some road trip books.
2. Hearts. Maybe this never went away. But a ton of contemporary YA features hearts this year. Love.
3. Stars. Not the kindergarten-drawing type, but the glinting ones with purple galaxies around them (see Across the Universe if you don't know what I mean). This is a trend in YA lately, not just book covers. Books about space and aliens seem to be gaining popularity lately. Seems to be popular for titles too (The Fault in Our Stars, etc)
4.  Kisses. Yowza, it looked like the romance novel section of the library where I was embarrassed to go with my older sister when I was that age. Now, it’s all over YA covers. Most are a tad more tasteful than romance novel covers. (Found more than a few upside down kisses, too…thanks, Spiderman).
5. Threesomes. Not that kind, you perv. I’m hoping this isn’t indicative of a surge in love triangles, since I’m sick to death of those. But lots of YA covers this year have moved from the single face, to the kiss, and beyond. Crossing my fingers it signals an increase in friendship novels.
6. Cursive. Titles (whole or single words within the title) are turning to cursive just as schools are turning away. Will young people be able to read this strange new font? Lol…  
7.  Last but not least…there is always a random object that seems to pop up on covers, even when it has little to do with the book. And…this year’s random-object winner is…the dandelion! I know, it’s nothing new. But its popularity has only grown this year. Look for lots of dandelion fluff on covers this year.

Have you spotted any trends I failed to mention? Feel free to share!

Writer Wednesday: Book Spotlight on WHITE CHALK by Pavarti K Tyler

Welcome to a White Chalk Spotlight from Novel Publicity! This posts includes and excerpt, book blurb, and information about the author, Pavarti K Tyler. I just got my copy today and can't wait to read it. Look for a review coming soon.

An Excerpt

Too cold for me to be out, drenched in a thin sweatshirt, I trudged home after school. November had betrayed me with its promises of clear skies, and I’d skipped the bus.

Mr. Harris pulled up, his oversized body squished into the too small car. When the window rolled down, warm air tinged with the scent of coffee invited me in.

“It’s a little cold for you to be walking, isn’t it, honey?” He peered out the window, brows pulled high to his forehead, appraising my appearance.

“Can you drive me home, Mr. Harris?” My teeth chattered as I spoke.

“Come on, get in. But you know teachers aren’t supposed to pick up students on the side of the road.” He chuckled softly to himself.

“I know. I won’t tell anyone. Please? I’m just so cold.”

In the car, I kicked my soaked backpack out of the way of the heating vent and slid my feet out of my shoes. My toes had gotten so cold I half wondered if they’d be tinged with black—gangrene setting up shop. I leaned back and closed my eyes, letting the warmth of the car envelop me. When I opened them, I realized Mr. Harris hadn’t started driving again.

Instead, he sat staring at me. Parked in the middle of the road, his eyes roamed my body as I shivered.

Cold? Lust? I didn’t know, but the feeling of power spreading through my chest as he took in the curve of my hips made me bold. I sat up and pulled the wet sweatshirt over my head, revealing the T-Shirt beneath.

Mr. Harris shifted in his seat. His gaze fell upon my breasts and the sound of his breath sped up.

“Mr. Harris?” I asked, the temptation of seducing a teacher thrilling me.

“Yeah?” His voice was hoarse.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“What?” His body snapped to attention as he remembered where he was. “Oh, right… um….” He shifted position again.

“Really, I appreciate it.” I laid a hand on his arm and rose up in my seat, leaning forward so I could kiss him on the cheek—innocently, like kissing an uncle or cousin. But I knew it wasn’t, and when I pulled away, the dark intensity of his eyes told of desire I’d only been hoping to find.

About the Book

[caption id="attachment_3210" align="alignleft" width="200"] Click to buy on Amazon[/caption]

Evolved Publishing presents an intimate glance inside teenage angst and confusion, and one talented but troubled girl's attempt to make sense of life, in the coming-of-age tale, "White Chalk," by award-winning author Pavarti K. Tyler. [Literary, New Adult, Women's Fiction]

Chelle isn’t a typical 13-year-old girl—she doesn’t laugh with friends, play sports, or hang out at the mall after school. Instead, she navigates a world well beyond her years.

Life in Dawson, ND spins on as she grasps at people, pleading for someone to save her—to return her to the simple childhood of unicorns on her bedroom wall and stories on her father’s knee.

When Troy Christiansen walks into her life, Chelle is desperate to believe his arrival will be her salvation. So much so, she forgets to save herself. After experiencing a tragedy at school, her world begins to crack, causing a deeper scar in her already fragile psyche.

Follow Chelle’s twisted tale of modern adolescence, as she travels down the rabbit hole into a reality none of us wants to admit actually exists.

About the Author

Award winning author of multi-cultural and transgressive literature, Pavarti K Tyler is an artist, wife, mother and number cruncher. She graduated Smith College in 1999 with a degree in Theatre. After graduation, she moved to New York, where she worked as a Dramaturge, Assistant Director and Production Manager on productions both on and off Broadway. Later, Pavarti went to work in the finance industry several international law firms. She now lives with her husband, two daughters and one very large, very terrible dog. She keeps busy working with fabulous authors as the Director of Marketing at Novel Publicity and penning her next genre bending novel.

White Chalk (Evolved Publishing) marks Tyler’s third full length novel and promises readers familiar with her work the same mind bending experience. Her other projects include: Shadow on the Wall (Fighting Monkey Press) and Two Moons of Sera (Fighting Monkey Press). Shadow on the Wall has received many awards: Winner of the General Fiction/Novel Category of the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Winner in the Fiction: Multicultural category for The 2012 USA Best Book Awards, and Finalist in the Multicultural Fiction category for the 2012 International Book Awards.

White Chalk has been hailed as “brave”, “raw”, and “destroyingly beautiful”. In line with novels such as White Oleander, Thirteen Reasons Why and Gemma, White Chalk invites you to witness one girl’s heartrending story of confusion and desperation.

You can find out more about Pavarti K Tyler here:

Website: http://www.pavarti.com

Twitter: PavartiDevi

Facebook: Facebook profile

Blog: http://www.pavarti.com

Cover Reveal: Clarissa Wild's FIERCE

Title: Fierce

Author: Clarissa Wild

Publication Date: January 27th 2014

Genre: New Adult Romance

Fight for your dreams. Fight for your life. Fight for love. 

Nerdy girl Autumn Blakewood is the prime example of a goodie two-shoes. She studies every night, is never late for class, and always follows the rules. She has never felt the need to step out of her comfort zone. That is, until she meets Hunter. 

 Hunter Bane is a cocky, confident bad-boy, who's nothing but trouble. He’s a dangerous distraction to everyone around him. Sexy and strong, Hunter enjoys the swooning effect he has on women. Especially those who aren't used to attention, like Autumn. 

 Autumn finds it hard not to give into Hunter’s advances, even though it all seems like a game to him. Trying to understand him is impossible, because he shrouds himself in mystery. 

What she doesn't know is that Hunter has more baggage than anyone should have to carry. When she discovers he's in an illegal frat club to save the one person that matters to him, Autumn realizes this could mean the end of her undeniable connection to him. Even their lives are at risk. 

But it's too late to turn back now ...

When he
comes up the steps, his gaze is already set on that one empty spot beside me.
I’m squeezing my legs together, as he sits next to me. My instinct is to scoot
far away, but I can’t; there’s nowhere to go.

I feel
watched, which isn’t strange, considering his gray eyes are practically trying
to penetrate my skin.

Anger is
seething inside him, I don’t have to look at him to know; I can feel it flow
out of him like a radiator that’s burning up.

God, I want
to die.

He keeps
staring at me, as if he has nothing better to do. My heartbeat is rising, and
I’m starting to feel really sweaty. I don’t know why he’s doing this, but it’s
freaking me out, and I don’t like it one bit.

“Don’t you
have to pay attention?” I say, avoiding his eyes.

“To You?
Yes.”

His words
make my insides broil.

“The
teacher has already started talking.” I point to the front, but Hunter doesn’t
even flinch. His eyes are still on me like a hawk zooming in on his prey.

“I don’t
care.”

I swallow,
gathering the courage to turn my head and look at him. The moment my eyes make
contact with his I’m drowning. Drowning in amazement. Drowning in fear.

Fear of the
unknown.

“But your
grades …” I stammer.

He snorts,
and a smile curls the corners of his mouth while he shakes his head. “Yeah,
right.”

And all I
can do is stare.

If looks
could kill, I would be dead.

He looks so
damn handsome when he smiles. It’s like everything around us fades and all I
ever want to see is that smile. It just makes me feel good.

But when
the smile disappears, so does my mood.

The
darkness falling over his face unsettles me.

In his eyes
I see the hurt, the worries, the insomnia. Sleepless nights have worn down his
face, making him look saggy and dull. But I know there’s so much more inside
there.

Endless
stories and an undiscovered world I’m intrigued by.

I want to
know what’s in there. Inside him. Why he’s so angry and sad at the same time.

A sudden
overwhelming feeling to grab him and hold him tight takes me aback.

He’s having
so much trouble in his life right now, even though I have no idea what’s going
on. I can see it in his eyes that something is so wrong. And I want to help him
get through it.

But I don’t
come any close. I don’t move one muscle.

I’m scared.
Scared of what he can do. Scared of his power, and his temper.

In my mind I
can still see his bloodshot eyes and the hateful look on his face. He was in
that fight yesterday, I’m sure of it. The only question is who was the one
instigating it.

I open my
mouth, but nothing comes out.

I can’t ask
him. I just can’t get the words to come out. I’m really chicken shit.

“Something
wrong?” he says.

I shake my
head.

“Then why
are you looking at me like that?”

Hunter
inches closer. I instinctively draw back, but he scoots even farther to my
side. I’m scared to death he wants to do something to me, and I have no idea
what, which makes it even scarier.

A devious
smile appears on his face, and it’s almost as if he’s enjoying this. Taunting
me seems like his way to pass time in class. I don’t like it one bit, but on
the other hand I’m excited as hell.

He raises
his head, and his nostrils flare. I turn my head, my breath hitching in my
throat. I can’t look when he’s doing this, entering my private space uninvited.

It feels as
though his nose is close to my hair, because there’s hot air flowing close to
my ear. And then he inhales.

Holy shit.

Is he
smelling me?

I’m frozen
in place from sheer panic, my heart beating like crazy.

No guy has
ever come this close to me.

He lets out
a huge breath afterward and chuckles softly. His breath lingers on my ear, and
a shudder runs through me.

“I like
it,” he whispers.

Oh. My.
Fucking. God.

My skin
tingles where his hot breath brushed over me. My groin clenches, and my clit thumps.

Why?

His whisper
does this to me. Just a whisper.

I never
felt like this before. I think just died inside.

Hunter
muffles a laugh. It’s like he can smell my fear.

He takes in
a sharp breath and moves back to his usual spot. As if what he did just now was
the most normal thing in the world.

I’m still
shaken, my body stiff from the encounter. I feel completely naked, and I know
he’s watching me.

The look in
his eyes is like that of a boy who just did something totally against the
rules. And it’s so fucking sexy I can’t stand it.

Clarissa Wild is the erotic romance author of the Blissful Series,
The Billionaire's Bet series, the Doing It Series and the Enflamed
Series. She is an avid reader and writer of sexy stories about hot men
and feisty women. Her other loves include her furry cat friend and
learning about different cultures. In her free time she enjoys watching
all sorts of movies, reading tons of books and cooking her favorite
meals.

Want to get an email when my next book is released?
Sign up here to receive a FREE short story: http://eepurl.com/FdY71

 

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Cover Reveal Wednesday: The Renegades, Book 3 in The Superiors Series

In honor of my favorite holiday (Halloween, of course) here's a bit of shameless self-promotion for my new vamp/horror novel, coming soon. As everyone knows, self-promotion gets old really fast, so I've tried to stay away from that as much as possible. But I'm a writer, so of course I'm going to get excited and want to share my AWESOME NEW BOOK COVER! I just got it back from my cover designer, the brilliant Casey Siegel, and couldn't wait to share it. It still needs a few more tweaks, but here is the preliminary:

I'm super excited about it, and I love it already. The book, The Renegades, is tentatively scheduled for release on December 3.

REVEAL Wednesday: Book Cover Preview: The Invention of Wings, by Sue Monk Kidd

If you read The Secret Life of Bees and loved it as much as I did, chances are, you read something else by Sue Monk Kidd since then. I read The Mermaid Chair. Good, but not much can surpass Bees, one of my favorite books ever.

So, I was especially excited to have the opportunity to help reveal the cover of Kidd's new book, The Invention of Wings, coming to a bookstore near you on January 7, 2014.

Without further ado...

I cannot wait to read the next novel by this fabulous author! I love the cover already.