The moment when your book’s cover arrives is always a heart-stopper (and even more so when your book itself is about what happens when a heart stops and restarts). So I am very happy to reveal the cover for my Eva Carter book, How to Save a Life. Or in fact, two covers – one for the UK and one for the USA.
I love both – though they are quite different.
With the UK cover, the designer did a lot of tweaking of the three figures – they’re quite impressionistic, but we added a stethoscope to hint at the medical themes in the book, and a bag to show the rootlessness of one character. We agonised about socks and hair-styles. And tried lots of different colours. I love this final colour as it’s close to the Brighton blue that the beach huts and railings are painted down here.
The American cover was designed completely separately but also has a heart motif, sets against a dramatic landscape and sky full of fireworks.
As the book begins on Millennium Eve, with a disaster unfurling as the celebrations begin, that feels so right too.
I’ve also had a sneak preview of my German cover which is very different again and also has a different title – I will share that soon.
I couldn’t ever choose between them - but I’d love to know: