Here’s a tidbit from dinner conversation had on a foggy winter’s eve in St. Paul with editorial director extraordinaire @andrewkarre and author extraordinaire Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. Vaun had asked what I was working on at the moment:

DC: “Good design doesn’t come from {scornful expression while gesticulating & remembering a recent book jacket creative process} moving shit around on a computer screen…” *

AK: “No, it comes from {commiserating scornful expression while also gesticulating} crawling around on dirty linoleum floors…” **

DC: “…throwing a crumpled piece of paper on the floor and not thinking about the asbestos in the tiles you’re currently lying on to take a picture of said crumpled paper.” ***

The result of that particular creative process:

Perfectly Good White Boy © 2014 Carrie Mesrobian 

published by CarolrhodaLab/Lerner Publishing Group

 

* mostly verbatim

** probably not quite verbatim, but close

*** don’t remember if this was actually said, but know it was in my head at the time. And asbestos tiles are only harmful when you start breaking them apart or remove them. I hope.

If you want more (half literal, involving floors) dirt on this cover process, click here.