Cover Reveal

THE VOICE THAT WON THE VOTE: Cover Reveal, Giveaway, and interview with illustrator Vivien Mildenberger!

ENTER BELOW TO WIN A SIGNED COPY AND A COMMEMORATIVE PIN!

By Elisa Boxer

Before becoming an author, I never understood the big deal about cover reveals. Why all the hoopla about the front of a book that isn’t even out yet?

Now I get it. The business of bringing a book into the world happens mostly behind the scenes. There’s the writing, the querying, the rejections, the offer, the contract, and the edits. When the publisher picks an illustrator, there are the preliminary sketches, more detailed drawings, and then the final art. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a glorious process, and I savor every single phase. But it’s entirely hidden from view.

Until the cover reveal.  

With just a few months to go until THE VOICE THAT WON THE VOTE hits bookstore shelves, I now get to share its face with the world. I get to introduce it to you, the reader, who will hopefully connect with its message of standing up for what you believe in even when it’s unpopular, and giving voice to what matters to you.

So here it is, friends, the cover of my very first picture book, a girl-power story featuring themes of resistance and defiance:

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Oops, older book, same themes. 

Here you go:

Illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger and designed by Jennifer Bacheller

Illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger and designed by Jennifer Bacheller

Okay granted, I might be biased, as this is my first-born book (that isn’t held together with staples) and I gestated it longer than my actual child. But I am completely in love with this cover!

Vivien Mildenberger’s old-world style illustrations are a perfect match for the historical nature of this book, which tells the little-known story of a mother from Tennessee, whose last-minute letter to her son helped give all women the right to vote.

The book is published by Sleeping Bear Press and releases in 2020, which marks the centennial celebration of women’s suffrage.

As I wrote the manuscript, I held in my mind a rough idea of how the illustrations might look. But Vivien exceeded every expectation with her ability to not only bring each scene to life, but also to capture the frustration, determination, concern, and celebration of the players in this important chapter in history.

I used to work in television news, where I’d do my reporting and my interviews, write the script, and voice the story. I’d then hand the tape back over to the videographer, who would emerge some time later from the edit booth, having seamlessly woven all of the elements together into a package that was far more engaging and compelling than my words alone ever could have been. This is exactly how I felt seeing the cover – and all of the illustrations, really – for the first time.

As an author, I really didn’t know much about the illustrator’s process. But I was curious, and thought readers might be too. Vivien graciously agreed to answer a few questions:

Vivien, I couldn’t believe it when my editor, Sarah Rockett, told me you live in Tennessee, the state where this historic vote took place! Did that give you more of a sense of personal investment in the story?

Vivien: Definitely! I’ve been living in Tennessee for nearly four years now and I love it out here. It made me feel proud to live in the state where this important moment happened! I was able to visit the capitol building, and I live on a farm not far from where the main characters had theirs. I have such an appreciation for the nature around me here, and I was glad to be able to incorporate that into this book.

How did you come up with the concept for the cover? Did you begin thinking about it right away? Or did the concept formulate as you began sketching out the story? 

Bookmark featuring an illustration from THE VOICE THAT WON THE VOTE

Bookmark featuring an illustration from THE VOICE THAT WON THE VOTE

Vivien: It was actually the very last thing I worked on! It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to develop the cover after the book is finished. Seeing the book as a whole makes it easier to tie together the important elements from the story for a compelling title piece.

I know you share my passion for women’s rights. How did that passion inform not only the cover, but your illustrations throughout the book?

Vivien: It was really important to me to visually tell this story in an engaging and respectful way. I did a whole lot of samples and experiments at first to come up with an approach to these drawings that would celebrate the time period and all the women that fought so hard to make this vote a reality. The story is so important for all of us! I really pushed myself in the sketching phase to ensure that the quieter moments of internal decision and political workings were as engaging as possible to children. I wanted the artwork to help convey the incredible and exciting power that there is in casting a vote.

How much involvement did the design team have in the cover? And how many drafts did you go through before getting to this final one?

Vivien: I really enjoyed working with my designer at Sleeping Bear, Jennifer Bacheller, and she gave me a lot of space to explore the directions I wanted to take for this book. The cover sketch was pretty much one and done, with only minor changes from the sketch to the final! I think by the time we started working on the cover for this project, the art already had a very clear direction and the title piece felt like a natural continuation of that.

Below, from bottom to top, you can see the cover’s evolution. Our initial title was A VOTE IS A VOICE, which is the first line of the book

Preliminary cover sketches by Vivien Mildenberger

Preliminary cover sketches by Vivien Mildenberger

Anything else you’d like readers to know about the cover, about the rest of the book, or about you? 

Vivien: I’m beyond grateful to have had the opportunity to illustrate this important project and I’m so excited to share the book with everyone!

Vivien, I’m so excited too! Thank you so much for taking the time to share a peek into your process.  

Now for the giveaway! 

Win this commemorative pin to celebrate women’s suffrage!

Win this commemorative pin to celebrate women’s suffrage!

To celebrate our cover reveal, I’m giving away a signed copy of the book once it comes out in March, along with one of these yellow rose enamel pins while you wait for your book to arrive. Yellow roses are the symbol of women’s suffrage, and play a key role in the book.  

To enter once, leave a comment below.

To enter twice, leave a comment, share this post on social media, and tag me.

You’ll get a third entry if you do all of the above plus tag a friend who might be interested! 

I’ll pick the winner on Wednesday, November 13, and I’ll announce that winner here and on social media.  

Good luck, and thanks so much for celebrating this milestone with me!

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Elisa Boxer is a Maine-based, Emmy-winning journalist and columnist whose writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, Inc., and Fast Company. Having worked in newspaper, magazine and television journalism, Elisa is thrilled to bring her reporting and storytelling skills to the world of children's literature. She is especially drawn to stories of unsung heroes like the ones featured in her first book, THE VOICE THAT WON THE VOTE: How One Woman’s Words Made History.

Connect with author Elisa Boxer:

Website: Elisaboxer.com
Twitter: @eboxer
Instagram: @boxerelisa
Facebook: Elisa Boxer, journalist & author
Linkedin: Elisa Boxer

Connect with illustrator Vivien Mildenberger:

Website: vivien.mildenberger.com
Twitter: @vvmildenberger
instagram: @vvberger

COVER REVEAL: Dozens of Doughnuts by Carrie Finison

By Carrie Finison

I am thrilled to share the cover of my upcoming picture book, DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS, illustrated by the amazing Brianne Farley, which will be published by Putnam in July 2020.

TA-DA!

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It’s what my daughter calls a “wrap-around.” I have no idea if that is the proper term, but here’s the cover in its full, honey-dipped glory—front and back.

Jacket design and interior layout by Marikka Tamura.

I can’t tell you how incredible it is to have characters that have lived in your imagination for so long brought to life on the page. Allow me to introduce you!

The big bear with the tiny pink apron is LouAnn. She’s a baker and she has cooked up a doughnut feast as a late fall, pre-hibernation treat for herself. YUM! But just before she takes her first bite, the bell rings—ding-dong! Her friend Woodrow drops by. LouAnn is happy to share her doughnuts, but as soon as they sit down to eat—ding-dong! Clyde is at the door. One by one, LouAnn’s friends come over until it’s one big party. LouAnn makes batch after batch of doughnuts, always dividing them equally among her friends. (Yes, there’s some math involved.) But LouAnn makes one BIG miscalculation: She forgets to save any for herself!

You can imagine how a “hangry” bear might behave.

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It’s OK, LouAnn. We’ve all been there.

Presenting this cover is only one of many milestones that this book (like any) has gone through to get the publication. Every story is different, but it’s fun to look back on the twists and turns, and I thought I would share some of the milestones in the DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS journey.

May 28, 2015: An idea!

I recorded the idea for DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS in my Storystorm idea document. Tara Lazar’s Storystorm challenge (which at that time was called PiBoIdMo, and took place in November) was long since over, but I use the same document all year to record my ideas. I even brainstormed a few possible stanzas/rhymes that I thought might work (NONE of which made it into the final manuscript).

June 3, 2015: Draft 3 shared with the Poets’ Garage, my online poetry/rhyming critique group

I don’t usually draft that quickly, especially with a rhyming story, and looking back—it was waaay too early to share with anyone. But I was excited about the idea and the draft maybe wasn’t ALL terrible . . . only MOSTLY terrible.

July 16, 2015: Draft 6 shared in a peer critique group at a writing retreat

This was a huge moment for the manuscript because one of the other writers who was also a teacher (I’m looking at you Marcie Atkins!) suggested that I shift the story slightly so that it could be used for math instruction—showing each batch of 12 doughnuts divided equally, first by 2, then 3, 4, and 6. Brilliant!

July 22, 2015: Draft 12 shared with the Poets’ Garage . . . again

These people are saints!

January 15, 2016: Draft 29 shared with my picture book critique group

Looking back, I am SHOCKED that I did not share the manuscript with my picture book group earlier in the process because I rely on them for everything! At the same time, I was getting critiques from other sources and I’m glad I could preserve my regular group’s “fresh eyes” until later in the process on this story.

February 17, 2016: Draft 40 sent for an editor critique at the New England SCBWI conference

The number of drafts is getting high, isn’t it? When I work on a story, I save a new draft every day that I work on it. Some of these drafts represent substantial new work. Others might involve changing only a line or two.

April 30, 2016: Received editor critique at the conference

This was another vitally important step. The editor was very enthusiastic about the manuscript, had tons of great suggestions for changes, and expressed interest in seeing a revision. Yay!

July 1, 2016: Draft 54 sent to agent for feedback

I signed with my agent, Linda Epstein, in January 2016, and was excited to share this manuscript with her.

July 15, 2016: Draft 56 sent to picture book critique group . . . again

After revising a little based on my agent’s feedback, I sent it through my picture book group again. 

July 13, 2017: Draft 62 sent out on submission by agent

Did you notice a WHOLE YEAR went by? That’s because I had other manuscripts already lined up and going out on submission. Some of those got traction and even “came close” to an offer, but none of them quite made it. In July of 2017, we decided to dust off DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS and give it a chance.

October 30, 2017: Second round of submissions by agent

During the first round of submissions, we had strong interest from a couple of editors. But after being patient and nudging for a few months, my agent got tired of waiting and fired off round 2.

November 15, 2017: An offer is made!

One of the round 2 editors was VERY interested in the story, and suddenly some of the round 1 editors were also very interested and then everything happened really fast. (Yes, fast!) I was thrilled to accept an offer from Putnam.

This seems like the end, but actually it’s only another beginning, because then I got the editorial letter (January 2018), revised multiple times, sharing with my various critique groups each time (they’re still saints!), and through several rounds of edits with my editor until finally Draft 89 was accepted as final. Whew!

Then there was the happy moment on May 3, 2018, when I learned that Brianne Farley would illustrate, and the deal was announced in Publisher’s Weekly on May 10, 2018. Then things were quiet for a long time (on my end!) until I got a peek at some sketches on January 28, 2019. From there it was just a hop and a skip (for me, not Brianne) to final art on July 29, 2019, and a final jacket on September 11, 2019.

And—WHEW—today, October 21, 2019, we get to share that cover far and wide, just 4.5 short years after my initial story idea. And there’s only a teensy bit more waiting before we can finally, FINALLY, share the whole book with you in July 2020!


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Carrie Finison writes poetry, stories, and picture books for children. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in Highlights, High Five, Ladybug, and Babybug magazines. Her debut picture book, DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS, will be published by Putnam in 2020, with DON’T HUG DOUG following in 2021. She lives outside Boston with her husband, son, and daughter (who all love doughnuts), and two cats who allow her to work in their attic office. She is represented by Linda Epstein at Emerald City Literary.

Follow author Carrie Finison:
Website: www.carriefinison.com
Twitter: @CarrieFinison
Instagram: carriefinison
Carrie’s newsletter: Get notified about DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS publication, events, giveaways, and more.

Follow illustrator Brianne Farley:
Website: www.briannefarley.com
Twitter: @briannefarley
Instagram: briannehfarley