Clover ― the “pretty” vampire of the title ― is a Bardot-esque blonde who dreams of the (now-dead) girl she once was four years ago before becoming a fanged bloodsucker. She is being kept prisoner by her brother, Marcel, who fears Clover will be hunted by the outside world (and who may have other, more selfish motivations as well). Clover’s curiosity, however, will not be suppressed: impetuous, sensual, strong-willed, and fearless, she plans her escape. The resultant havoc would make Dario Argento proud.
For this installment of #bookcovercrush, we talked to author/ illustrator Katie Skelly and cover designer Keeli McCarthy about their design process for My Pretty Vampire. The book follows Clover, a vampire who escapes captivity at the hands of her own brother to find freedom – and human blood – in the real world.
Skelly tells NPR she started by sending McCarthy a few ‘60s-era movie posters and book covers for inspiration.
She also sent an illustration of Clover for the cover.
Skelly: “I had been looking at covers of Leiji Matsumoto’s Sexaroid comics, which always feature these long, languid women with tons of hair draped across the composition.”
McCarthy: “I knew the strong diagonal pose and curling hair would frame my title text perfectly, and I set to work drawing type. … The psychedelic swirling type was my first idea and I ended up sticking with it. I tend to draw and re-draw over and over again until I’m totally happy with sizing, weight and proportion – I’ve learned over the years to get it right on paper and not rely too much on fixing things in Photoshop. I played with a dripping letters motif and finally settled on just the single droplet coming from the A. …
I chose the deep lavender, pink and red color palette because it felt lush, sexy and feminine while maintaining the ‘60s pop feel of the interior art.“
Skelly: “I wanted to communicate an idea of taking pleasure in your own body and enjoying your space, which are sensations the titular character, Clover, experiences over the course of the book.”
Now for the big reveal – here’s the final cover:
- Sydnee
Images provided by Katie Skelly and Keeli McCarthy
