Behind the scenes cover shots for shooting the book cover of "Careful"

Here are some behind the scene cover shots from shooting the book cover for "Careful."

(When crafting ideas for the cover I wanted to show one single item that was symbolic to the book and would be simple and precise. Estella's charm necklace stood out to me because it's a reminder of her youth and the things she left behind. I studied jewelry ads but then went for more edge, some mystery and grit. Estella dies early in the book and dirt came to mind because an emotional scene in the book is her funeral, which her spirit attends, and it's hard for her to watch her body being lowered into the ground. Once I bought the charm necklace and waited 2 weeks for it, I then went to Home Depot on 23rd St. and got some dirt, also I dug up some dirt from the parks by the East River too. I imagined the dirt as the dirt pile on top of Estella's casket, at her grave, in the cemetery.)

photos and cover shot by Robert Milazzo

My illustrator of my graphic novel "Model Life," Jazmin Ruotolo, created the title graphic for "Careful," and I love it.

I wanted the title graphic to look fluid and pretty, cursive-like and as if Estella's auburn hair was blowing in the wind and creating the letters, but also having an intriguing darkness to it. The style of the title graphic will also flow and be carried through on the covers the next books "Quiet" and "Invisible.

I'll share behind the scenes shots of the back cover soon.

~IJ

Submit to win a signed copy of "Careful" and a Marc Jacobs lipstick pen, deadline August 16th!

The book trailer for "Careful."

Listen to a podcast reading of "Careful" here.