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Here\u2019s the official cover for Pyr<\/a>\u2018s release of Ian McDonald\u2019s forthcoming YA novel \u2014 BE MY ENEMY<\/a>. This is the followup to his terrific YA debut PLANESRUNNER<\/a> \u2014 a Sidewise Awards finalist, and runnerup in this year\u2019s Locus Awards for Best YA Novel.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a little behind-the-scenes that shows why art directors are one of the most valuable links in the publishing chain.<\/p>\n

I turned in my catalog version of this cover and Lou Anders<\/a>, Pyr\u2019s art director, suggested a couple of tweaks. All and all, he thought we were good to go.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I kept feeling like I had fallen short of the best solution. Way short. Not Lou\u2019s fault. My fault. And it nagged me. A lot. For weeks.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s July 13th and it\u2019s almost time to go to press. The smart call would be to keep my mouth shut and let my submitted cover go to press. But I\u2019d been telling Lou that I wasn\u2019t sure if I\u2019d gotten it right yet.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re at San Diego Comic-Con and we\u2019re about to have lunch, and I say to him again, \u201cI\u2019m still not sure about that cover. You mind if we brainstorm together here?\u201d Bear in mind that this cover is already pretty much turned in. No one in their right minds should be revisiting this cover this close to deadline.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re trading images and phrases back and forth for about a minute and Lou says, \u201cGimme something to write on \u2014 fast.\u201d I hand him a grocery receipt, and he scribbles this tiny little scrawl.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

He says, \u201cBe my enemy\u2026..be my valentine\u2026..you see?\u201d<\/p>\n

I saw a stick figure holding a gun (maybe running? maybe breakdancing?) surrounded by a heart \u2014 were we talking about a roadsign of sorts?<\/p>\n

Lou said, \u201cNo, I\u2019m seeing a guy like this (points his index and middle fingers like pistols and crosses his arms across his chest).<\/p>\n

And then \u2014 that\u2019s when I saw something he didn\u2019t \u2014 I saw a skull-and-crossbones cross-pollinated with a valentine. Lou said later he wasn\u2019t thinking \u2018skull-and-crossbones\u2019, but he just let me run because it made perfect sense. I don\u2019t think he saw the abstraction coming either. As is often the case when I work with Lou, my \u2018A\u2019 plus his \u2018B\u2019 often equals a \u2018C\u2019 that\u2019s more than the sum, and more than we first imagined.<\/p>\n

I took that Lou Anders thumbnail home, and started over from scratch. Several days later, I was finished and the new final cover was born. Grace Conti-Zilsberger finished the layout of the rest of the jacket . She did a great job on-the-fly.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m glad Lou and I didn\u2019t compromise. I\u2019m glad lightning finally struck both us \u2014 even if it was almost too late. Whew. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Ian McDonald<\/a> is one of the best writers in all of genre fiction. BE MY ENEMY is going to blow readers\u2019 minds. Heads up, folks \u2014 if you haven\u2019t read PLANESRUNNER, snag it now so you\u2019ll be ready when BE MY ENEMY arrives in September.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"