Ever wonder what the design process is like for a book cover?
This past week was the cover reveal for SKIN HUNGRY, my new age gap romantic comedy play that’s releasing on Audible on November 30th. Today, I thought it would be fun to take you behind-the-scenes this week and show you how this particular cover came to be. Sound good? Let’s go!
First of all, let it be known that THIRTY-SEVEN emails went back and forth between me and the brilliant Najla Qamber of Qamber Designs & Media. (Seriously, I checked my inbox just now. Thirty. Seven.) So it’s definitely a process! This was our 5th collaboration and we have many more to come over the next six months. She delights me to no end with her talent and creativity and her sensitivity!
I started by telling her about the play and the images that were floating around my brain for the potential cover. The play centers on a romantic relationship between a 74-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man. We considered featuring them on the cover, but decided it would be best to let the reader/listener envision what they looked like. However there is also a storyline between a man and his cuddle therapist (yes, it’s a real thing!), so we thought showing a man and a woman in a “spooning” position (which has some strong symbolism throughout the play) would be a nice choice.
There is a “Sexy Scrabble” scene in the play so I thought using classic Scrabble tiles for the title would be cool. After a bit of back and forth, Najla emailed me with these beauties:
I think they are sweet, wistful, melancholy. There is definitely some yearning and melancholia in the play that I was interested in pointing towards, but like most of my work, there is a ton of comedy. I was about to move forward with version 3, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it somehow didn’t feel quite like “me.” We decided to start from scratch, let go of the Scrabble tiles — I was feeling like something more graphic would work better for the vibe — and put the joy and comedy first with just a hint of the dark underbelly hiding in the play. So here’s where we went next:
I had asked for a bold and bright background with two figures reaching for each other. The concept of being “skin hungry” is when someone hasn’t been physically touched in so long their skin actually starts to hunger for it, so I liked the idea of them reaching but not touching. I also asked if the title font could morph into a plug at the end to foreshadow one of the actions in the play (if you’ve already read the play… you know what I’m talking about).
This definitely started to feel like we were on the right track. I had been curious to try the red background, but once I saw it, it sort of read as horror to me, especially with a title like Skin Hungry… I didn’t want anyone thinking there were flesh-eating zombies in this play! (For the record there are no flesh-eating zombies in this play).
Next, I asked if we could change the figures to those classic Male/Female signs you used to see on public restroom doors (get ready for two epic scenes in public restrooms!) and if we could make them huge so they take up the majority of the cover. I also asked that we change the color of the figures to something that could read as a skin tone. That process took us from version 4 through 6 and 7:
Getting closer!
Version 7 was really starting to feel right! Thankfully Najla continued to be patient and wonderfully accommodating at this point as I keep asking for tweaks. I wanted to see what it would look like if the figures’ arms reached toward each other on a diagonal instead of on the straight line. Also, I was craving a crispness to the cover I felt like we hadn’t quite found yet. I mentioned I was looking for something that really popped like the cover we collaborated on for These Walls Can Talk. That’s when Najla added some sharper outlines and detailing to the plug, the figures, and the title to make things “pop” more.
And she delighted the hell out of me giving me a whole bunch of color combos to consider:
When I saw version 10, I got that happy gut feeling of “that’s the one!”
I made the tiny request to have the guy and girl switch sides so you could see her skirt more fully, and THEN… we started to look at options for the back of the print version! (haha, have you made it this far? Still reading???)
I was excited by version 12 with another male figure. In Skin Hungry there is an element of a love triangle between 74-year-old Ruth, her 43-year-old son Jim and her 23-year-old boyfriend Rowan (yes, you read all that correctly), so I asked for the male figure on the back to reach up toward her to symbolize Jim and how he feels left behind by his mom’s new relationship.
And that led us to this FINAL, beautiful, playful end product you see here:
Awesome, isn’t it?
And of course because I’m all about the audio, Najla adjusted the design for the audio play release featuring the names of our amazing cast:
Phew! Cool, huh?
I’ll be honest, this cover was the trickiest we’ve done together so far. But also such fun.
I love the way working with a designer challenges me to get clearer on what I’m trying to convey with my writing. And seeing another artist like Najla doing what she does so well and applying it to something I’ve made is such a trip!
I’m super grateful for the collaboration with her and her team.
And to you all for supporting Skin Hungry when it arrives on November 30th!
PREORDER SKIN HUNGRY, AN AUDIO PLAY
GET A SIGNED SKIN HUNGRY PAPERBACK
*reposted with author’s permission*
About the Author
ERIN MALLON is a playwright, author, and narrator of over 500 audiobooks with a special affinity for the romance genre. Her debut romantic comedy novel, Flirtasaurus, released in July 2020. Erin’s plays have been presented with Urban Stages, New Georges, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, The Collective, Cherry Picking, Great Plains Theater Conference, Samuel French #OOB Short Play Festival, Project Y Theater, Dreamcatcher Rep, Mile Square Theatre and more. Erin’s play Branched (dir. Robert Ross Parker) premiered with InViolet Theater at HERE Arts Center in NYC and is in print with Original Works Publishing. Her play, The Net Will Appear is an Honorable Mention on the 2016 Kilroys List and had its Off-Broadway Premiere at 59E59 Theaters in NYC starring the great Richard Masur. Other full-length plays include: Good Riddance, Hand Me Down, Stunning Displays of Prowess, Skin Hungry, The Other White Meat, Come Find Me and These Walls Can Talk, which can now be enjoyed as an audio play on Audible.com.
