The Making of GILDED's Cover

I am so pleased to finally be sharing the cover of GILDED with you. It's been a long time waiting, but I think the wait was well worth it.

I have to say when I first saw this final cover I almost cried because it was so perfect and so beautiful. I really think it captures the feel and tone of GILDED.

My editor and cover designer wanted to have a symbolic cover because they felt it would appeal to a broader audience. So we brainstormed ideas of symbols in the story.

Some of the words we came up with: taekwondo, archery, gold bracelet, dragons, the samjoko (mythological three-legged bird). I also sent my editor and cover designer the Pinterest page I made up for GILDED.

At first the design was more of the actual samjoko symbol that is found on the ancient Korean king's tombs as seen here:

This creature was considered the most powerful mythological beast in the Koguryo Period and it plays a big part in GILDED. 

Yet my publisher was worried that those who weren't familiar with Korean mythology wouldn't be able to recognize this symbol is that of a three-legged crow.

So my publisher hired Cliff Nielson to draw the crow as an actual bird. And I think he did an amazing job. Here's a peek at what he did:

To see the full cover, go to YA BookCentral for the full reveal. My publisher is graciously giving away a Kindle paperwhite to a lucky winner!


CHRISTINA FARLEY, author of Gilded was born and raised in upstate New York. As a child, she loved to explore, which later inspired her to jump on a plane and travel the world. She taught at international schools in Asia for ten years, eight of which were in the mysterious and beautiful city of Seoul, Korea that became the setting of Gilded. Currently she lives in Clermont, FL with her husband and two sons—that is until the travel itch whisks her off to a new unknown. Gilded is her first novel. For more details, check out her website at www.christinafarley.com.

Finding Focus: Tips For Writers, Plus A Print-Ready "A Gift Of Time" Certificate For Writing Parents

One of the many things I've learned over the past few years is the importance of focus. I can get far more accomplished in one solid hour of uninterrupted time than I can in five hours of constant interruptions. I believe this even more of a challenge to writers (and illustrators!) these days than ten years ago, mainly because of the Internet.

Ten years ago, it took longer to get rejection letters for our work because they usually came by snailmail. While this could be frustrating, it also gave us more time to work on a new project while we waited to hear back from an editor. Now...

For many of us, email is another potential source of constant interruption. I don't know about the rest of you, but I used to feel compelled (yes, COMPELLED) to check email constantly, just in case something Important came in that needed an immediate response.

There are many problems with this strategy, and one is that others start expecting you to do this and get antsy if you don't respond right away. Which makes you feel that you need to respond because you know that they know that you know...well, you get the idea. The obvious solution: Don't check email so often. But if you're like me, that's easier said than done. What if it's my agent with a book offer? Or my editor or art director with the feedback I've been waiting for?

My solution: I've started using AwayFind, a service where you can get an alert message when you get emails from certain addresses or with subject headings containing particular words or phrases, avoid getting alerted for group mails and much more. There's a free trial version, but I've signed up for the monthly Pro account and am very happy with it so far; I'm checking email FAR less often.

Another tip: don't answer phone calls when you're in workmode. I figure if it's important, they'll leave a message or send an email. 

However, I know this just isn't possible sometimes, especially for parents with young children. Here's a print-ready gift certificate (click image or here for the PDF) that you can use as a gift for a writing parent, or hint strongly to your loved ones that YOU'D like this as a gift:

Happy writing all, and good luck on finding your focus in the coming year.

- Debbie

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Debbie Ridpath Ohi is the illustrator of I'M BORED, a picture book written by Michael Ian Black, published by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, chosen as a New York Times Notable Children's BOok.

Debbie blogs about writing and illustrating for young people at Inkygirl.com. On Twitter: @inkyelbows.

Congrats to Carmella on her TO THE STARS! picture book deal with Charlesbridge

We at MiG Writers are soooo excited for Carmella on the sale of her first picture book! From the announcement in the Dec. 2nd Publishers Marketplace:

Carmella Van Vleet and astronaut Kathy Sullivan's TO THE STARS!, the inspiring story of Kathy Sullivan, a little girl curious about science and the world who grew up to become the first American woman to walk in space, to Karen Boss at Charlesbridge, by Marie Lamba at the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency (World).

Congrats from MiG Writers to both Carmella and her agent, Marie Lamba of Jennifer DeChiara Literary.