Smugglerific Cover

A Smugglerific Cover (& Giveaway): Cracked by Eliza Crewe

Today, we are thrilled to host the cover reveal for Cracked by Eliza Crewe, coming from Strange Chemistry in November in both the US and the UK. This is really cool too, because Ana read – and absolutely loved – Cracked ages ago when it was only a draft.

And now, without further ado, behold! The Smugglerific Cover (and summary)!

THE SMUGGLERIFIC COVER:

Strange Chemistry Cover

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Meet Meda. She eats people.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by Crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her “kind” is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it.

AUTHOR’S THOUGHTS ON THE COVER:

Seeing your cover for the first time is a surreal experience. Not only does it hit home that your story is going to be a book (a real book!), but also that other people have read it, thought about it, and have gone so far as to create art to represent it. I have two publishers, so I actually got to experience this twice. Here is the Penguin cover, published in India earlier this year:

Cracked India

Both publishers asked for my ideas for the cover, and I think I blurted out helpful suggestions like “something cool” and “I like fonts.” I did ask that if they showed my main character, Meda, that she actually look like Meda — there’s nothing worse than a character on the cover who looks completely wrong (like, say, a blond Anne of Green Gables) — but that was about it.

Fortunately, despite my uselessness, my publishers managed to come up with two totally cool, completely different concepts. I love how different they are, that Penguin’s cover is a portrayal of the characters and places in the book, while Strange Chemistry went all symbolic; that Penguin’s cover leans more horror with a shadowy Meda (who, I am assured, is not blond) in a creepy forest, while Strange Chemistry went more for the urban fantasy angle with magical flame and the secret society’s symbol. Even the crosses they used to represent the Knights Templar are different. The only thing they have in common is that they’re both dark, but as it’s a book about a people-eating monster girl, that was probably unavoidable! I am just so happy with both covers–thanks so much for letting me show them off on your site!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Eliza Crewe

Eliza Crewe always thought she’d be a lawyer, and even went so far as to complete law school. But as they say, you are what you eat, and considering the number of books Eliza has devoured since childhood, it was inevitable she’d end up in the literary world. She abandoned the lawyer-plan to instead become a librarian and now a writer.

While she’s been filling notebooks with random scenes for years, Eliza didn’t seriously commit to writing an entire novel until the spring of 2011, when she and her husband bought a house. With that house came a half-hour commute, during which Eliza decided she needed something to think about other than her road-rage. Is it any surprise she wrote a book about a blood-thirsty, people-eating monster?

Eliza has lived in Illinois, Edinburgh, and Las Vegas, and now lives in North Carolina with her husband, daughter, hens, an angry, talking, stuffed dwarf giraffe, and a sweet, mute, pantomiming bear. She likes to partially-complete craft projects, free-range her hens, and take long walks. Cracked is her first novel.

Follow Eliza on her blog and on twitter (@ElizaCrewe).

Thanks, Eliza!

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The Givevaway:

Courtesy of Strange Chemistry, we are giving away THREE copies of the Cracked. The contest is open to ALL – everybody, anywhere – and will run until Saturday, September 21 at 12:01am ET. To enter, use the form below! GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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52 Comments

  • Heather
    September 10, 2013 at 10:16 am

    Sounds creepy and fun. I’ll have to watch for this one.

  • mary anne
    September 10, 2013 at 10:41 am

    Premise sounds interesting…look forward to reading it. I like the Penguin cover – the Strange Chemsitry one is interesting but a little abstract.

  • superbwg
    September 10, 2013 at 10:58 am

    What an awesome idea. I love the combo good girl/bad girl combo for Meda, any time a character (especially a lead) is not a clear cut good or bad character I get very excited

  • Vanessa
    September 10, 2013 at 11:10 am

    I love the cover. Symbolic, colorful, bright, shiny. I like shiny. Also, the premise sounds cool.

  • Greg
    September 10, 2013 at 11:18 am

    Sounds like good paranoid fun… Particularly like the
    Us cover with the crusader cross….

  • jennie
    September 10, 2013 at 11:20 am

    I’m a fan of the Strange Chemistry cover, it’s a nice change of pace. As for the story, I can’t wait to get my hands on it, I love the ambiguity of good vs evil in the Meda.

  • jennie
    September 10, 2013 at 11:20 am

    I’m a fan of the Strange Chemistry cover, it’s a nice change of pace. As for the story, I can’t wait to get my hands on it, I love the ambiguity of good vs evil in Meda.

  • jennie
    September 10, 2013 at 11:22 am

    (sorry about the multiple comments, I took out an egregious ‘the’ and somehow submitted both versions)

  • Justine
    September 10, 2013 at 11:33 am

    The cover is striking and the copy drew me in by revealing intriguing information with each sentence.

  • Alyssa L.
    September 10, 2013 at 12:09 pm

    I think I actually prefer the Penguin cover!

  • Marie-Claude
    September 10, 2013 at 12:15 pm

    I love the cover and the premise sound creepy and interesting. I can’t wait to read it.

  • Linda W
    September 10, 2013 at 12:42 pm

    I love a cover with a symbol, so I have to go with the U. S. cover. The premise is very compelling.

  • Marg
    September 10, 2013 at 1:17 pm

    The premise definitely sounds intriguing. And I think I prefer the Penguin cover. It seems a bit more eye-catching. Thanks for the giveaway!!

  • Allison
    September 10, 2013 at 1:19 pm

    I love the Strange Chemistry cover. I’m a sucker for bright colors and a cover with no people on it–and that one’s just gorgeous

  • jillheather
    September 10, 2013 at 1:22 pm

    There are days I want to eat souls, too.

  • Emma
    September 10, 2013 at 3:09 pm

    Both of the covers look good, though I think I like the Strange Chemistry one the best. The premise sounds really interesting, too!

  • Antonia
    September 10, 2013 at 3:25 pm

    Cool typography on the cover, the picture is very eye catching. Interesting concept and badass heroine is always welcome! Great giveaway!

  • Anonymous
    September 10, 2013 at 4:24 pm

    I looove the first cover!

  • Hannah H
    September 10, 2013 at 5:05 pm

    Sounds great! I must admit, I would not pick up the book based on the first cover. Nothing at all against it, but I’m a little burned out on YA UF, and that’s what it says to me. I would scan the synopsis of the second cover, and then I would sprint to the cash register.

  • Hebe
    September 10, 2013 at 7:23 pm

    Sounds interesting and a bit different…I really like the Strange Chemistry cover, it’s a lot more fantastical than the Penguin one, which for some reason says “Swedish crime fiction” to me.

  • Barbara Elness
    September 10, 2013 at 7:37 pm

    What’s not to like about a story featuring a people-eating monster girl? And I like both covers, although I’m leaning more towards the symbolic one, I like the blue/green flames.

  • Katrina
    September 10, 2013 at 8:07 pm

    I’m not really a fan of the first cover, but I really like the second. However, I also think that neither of them fits with the blurb at all. I love it when it’s people’s nature to be gods or monsters, not human at all, but they’ve been raised as human.

  • Katie M
    September 10, 2013 at 8:45 pm

    The premise sounds awesome! I bet the heroine is really self-confident and strong. I’m not crazy about the covers though.

  • erinf1
    September 10, 2013 at 9:09 pm

    oooh… this looks and sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing!

  • Rose L.
    September 10, 2013 at 9:38 pm

    What a gorgeous cover! The premise sounds really great too!

  • Tim R
    September 10, 2013 at 9:57 pm

    I prefer the penguin cover – plays up the character, who seems to be the focus of the story, per the discussion with the author. The book sounds neat – I like the bad guy has to be good style of story.

  • hapax
    September 10, 2013 at 10:33 pm

    I love the Strange Chemistry cover; it reminds me of the gorgeous covers that Cinda Williams Chima has been getting. The Penguin cover, sad to say, looks an awful lot like every other YA cover right now. 🙁

    However, your premise sucked me right in. I am all about monstrous heroines!

  • Llehn
    September 10, 2013 at 10:59 pm

    Both are so awesome!

  • Ella
    September 11, 2013 at 12:29 am

    Ooh, a deconstruction of the so called bad guy? Sounds interesting.

  • Anonymous
    September 11, 2013 at 12:38 am

    Meh on the cover but the premise is intriguing!

  • Gerd D.
    September 11, 2013 at 4:36 am

    The cover looks fitting, I’ll take it is meant for younger readers?

    About the description: Do I get disqualified if I admit that it read Meda’s name first as Medea… must have been my g(r)eek side…

  • Andrea Chettle
    September 11, 2013 at 8:25 am

    The cover got me interested and the story got me hooked I would love to read this book!

    Thanks for a great give away

  • Karen Akins
    September 11, 2013 at 10:23 am

    Man, I love both!! Different feels, but both draw you in. 🙂

  • LeAnn
    September 11, 2013 at 10:52 am

    I like the cover with the girl on it best. Both are cool, but that one is creeeeepy! And the premise sounds interesting. I definitely haven’t read anything about a soul eater before.

  • Becky C.
    September 11, 2013 at 10:57 am

    Like the premise, sounds like it could be different! Not sure what I think about the cover.

  • Marie Chettle
    September 11, 2013 at 1:56 pm

    Looking forward to this. Thanks for the give-away

  • Bae
    September 11, 2013 at 6:01 pm

    I love your blog and have been a reader for a long while now. I recently started my own book blog. I was wondering if you had any tips for a fellow reader! 😀
    -Bae

  • Jerry Granillo
    September 11, 2013 at 7:17 pm

    The cover art of the book looks absolutely amazing!! The description mixed with the cover art also makes me really want to delve into this book!

  • Mary Preston
    September 12, 2013 at 6:12 am

    I actually like both covers & the premise tells me I’m in for a very interesting read.

  • Katharine
    September 12, 2013 at 6:50 am

    The covers are both great although the Indian one gives a little more flavor of the book. Premise is spooky, a little Harry Potterish?

  • Jenna O
    September 12, 2013 at 1:57 pm

    The cover is awesome! Reall. I´m so interested to read this book! 😛

  • Haven
    September 12, 2013 at 2:48 pm

    This sounds like an amazing premise and I absolutely love the cover art!

  • Malin
    September 13, 2013 at 7:40 am

    This sounds like such an intriguing premise for a book, especially a YA one. As I read a lot of paranormals, it’s difficult to find books that “stand out from the crowd” so to speak, but I’ll do my best to pick this one up, whether I win a copy or not.

  • Tessa
    September 15, 2013 at 2:30 pm

    im pretty sure this is the only website i use to find books to read. this one sounds cool…as always

  • Carol Laux
    September 15, 2013 at 5:06 pm

    The cover and the premise are both very cool indeed. This book is definitely being put onto my “To Read” list!

  • Cindy A.
    September 15, 2013 at 11:19 pm

    I love the Strange Chemistry cover. The premise sounds pretty unique and interesting to me.

  • Ella Zegarra
    September 16, 2013 at 12:04 am

    looks sooooooo good!

  • Elisquared
    September 16, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    I love both covers! But I think I prefer the Penguin edition only because it adds a super creep factor to the already creepy story! Also I love the tagline for that cover as well.

    I want this book!!!

  • Jennifer
    September 17, 2013 at 2:15 pm

    I would LOVE to win this!!

  • Jennifer
    September 17, 2013 at 2:17 pm

    I think the cover is awesome. Really interesting without going over the top. The premise sounds pretty original too. Finally something unique in YA!

  • Rebekah Haskell
    September 19, 2013 at 4:12 pm

    I think the cover looks fantastic–something that would definitely catch my eye in the bookstore. I think I like the Penguin cover even better, with the cross laid over the silhouette. Both are gorgeous, and the premise sounds very interesting.

  • Andrea
    September 20, 2013 at 2:06 pm

    Love both covers, though I’m sorta leaning towards the first one. The story definitely sounds interesting!

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