Jennifer L Armentrout | Story Behind The Cover of OBSIDIAN
March 3, 2012
A lot of people have asked how I came to know the models featured on the Lux
Series, and like everything revolving around OBSIDAN, it just... sort of
happened. Actually, the editor and I on the series have deemed Obsidian a trail
of ‘stupid smart' that kind of worked out in the end. When I sat down to write OBSIDAN, namely create the
character Daemon Black, I had a very clear picture of him in my mind: tall, dark
hair that waved, broad cheekbones, full lips, and a sort of exotic beauty to how
his features pieced together. The next character I created was Katy. In my mind,
she was of average height, but compared to Daemon's insanely tall height, she'd
looked very small. I wanted her to be a very pretty girl, but also have an
innocence to way she looked. Once the story was complete and the wonderful team over at Entangled started
looking for the perfect image, Liz Pelletier stumbled across two cover models
that she knew right off matched the description of the characters. She told me
about them and how she was going to feature both "Daemon" and "Katy" on the
cover. I was doubtful at first, because it's so rare to find people who ‘see'
the characters the same way you do. Despite being convinced she'd found the perfect models, Liz was pretty positive
that I'd hate the cover, because of the whole ‘sexy, hawt, teen candy vibe it
had', and I was also a little skeptical. But then she showed me the cover. And I was blown away. Both of the models looked so much like Daemon and Katy that I was bit giddy. And
yeah, there's nothing wrong with the sexy, hawt, teen candy vibe either. The
only things different about them, compared to my descriptions, were the eye
colors. No problem. The male model was given green eyes in production (the magic of
photoshop), and I actually changed Katy's eye color from brown to gray in the
book to make it work. I was really pleased with the choice, and the readers
also seem to really see these two models as the ‘perfect' Daemon and Katy. This was last year. Now we know that the couple used for the covers are quite...popular as YA cover
models. There's even a Goodreads thread dedicated to the "Guy and Girl from the
Obsidian Cover." And they're in singles ads, shoes ads, tanning ads, and so
on... But I didn't care. I loved them Katy and Daemon. Then Monday February 20th, the night before the Shadows novella
released, something amazing happened. I got an email on my public account from
someone claiming to be one of the models on the Lux Series covers. At first I
was like, "Yeah, right..." There are a lot of... um, strange people in the world and I assumed that this
was one of those people. But I responded back, explaining that I thought it was
very cool if he was who he said he was. Well, as it turns out, the email really was from Pepe Toth and Sztella Tziotzuiz
(I believe her name is pronounced like Estella). Of course, I was super giddy
at this point. Who knew? The cover models were real! And better yet, they were
together and engaged in real life. And double better yet, they are probably some
of the most adorable, sweetest, and romantic couples I've seen in a long, long
time. When I asked if they'd do an interview for the readers of the Lux Series, they
accepted. One of my favorite parts of the interview was about how they met and
got engaged. From Pepe Toth: ‘We met first at a birthday party when we were 12! We saw
each other 2 years later and started to speak after I invited her for a date. It
was a very decisive and special day. We've been engaged since 2010 August. It
happened on Cyprus when we went diving at an amazing place where the sea is very
clean and sky blue. A day before I stowed away a bottle of champagne with two
glasses under the sand in the shoal water marked with two stones. While we were
diving, suddenly I said to Sztella I found something, something deep
down...Something very shiny. I swam down and brought up the ring for her. And
now you know her answer...' Okay. How incredibly romantic and swoon-worthy is all that? You can view the
full interview here: Meet Pepe and Sztella. Meeting and getting to know both Pepe and Sztella has been a great experience,
and we're currently working with them to do some more things in the
future—photos, trailers, and a possible signing event with them in
attendance in the States, which I think will just be so much fun. It's also been
interesting reconciling the characters Daemon and Katy with the real models
behind the pictures. Hopefully we'll get to share more about that in the
future. Now, here is another teaser from ONYX! It takes place in Chapter 1, and Daemon
is up to... well, being Daemon. ~~~~ "You okay with all of this?" I whispered to Daemon.
He shrugged. "Not like I can stop her."
I knew he could if he wanted, which meant he didn't have a problem
with it.
"Cookie?" he offered, holding a cookie full of chocolate chips.
Upset tummy or not, there was no way I could refuse that. "Sure."
His lips tipped up one side and he leaned toward me, his mouth
inches from mine. "Come and get it."
Come and get...? Daemon placed half the cookie between those
full, totally kissable lips.
Oh, holy alien babies everywhere...
My mouth dropped open. Several of the girls at the table made sounds
that had me wondering if they were turning into puddles under the table, but I
couldn't bring myself to check out what they really were doing.
That cookie—those lips—were right there.
Heat swept over my cheeks. I could feel the eyes of everyone on me,
and Daemon... dear God. Daemon arched his brows, daring me.
Dee gagged. "I think I'm going to hurl."
Mortified, I wanted to crawl into a hole. What did he think I was
going to do? Take the cookie from his mouth like something straight out of an R
rated version of Lady and the Tramp? Heck, I kind of wanted to and I wasn't sure
what that said about me.
Daemon reached up and took the cookie. There was a gleam to his
eyes, as if he just won some battle. "Times up, Kitten."
I stared at him.
Breaking the cookie into two, he handed me the larger piece. I
snatched it away, half tempted to throw it back in his face, but it was... it
was chocolate chip. So I ate it and loved it. Connect with Jennifer! http://twitter.com/#!/JLArmentrout
http://jenniferarmentrout.blogspot.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/jenniferlarmentrout
www.jenniferarmentrout.com One commenter will win an e-copy of OBSIDIAN
Comments
37 comments posted.
Re: Jennifer L Armentrout | Story Behind The Cover of OBSIDIAN
WHAT GOOD KARMA FOR YOUR ROMANCE..LIFE IMITATING ART! (Silvana Moscato 9:03am March 3, 2012)
Cool! I love the preview for Onyx, i can't wait! Thanks for the chance to win an e-copy!!! Alyssa S. (Alyssa Sooklal 10:05am March 3, 2012)
Love the preview of Onyx! I would love to win a copy of Obsidian..Thanks for the chance!!! (Christy Mullins 10:21am March 3, 2012)
Great prize....great luck with your newest release... (Bob Sandoval 11:22am March 3, 2012)
I like that you paid enough attention to change the eye colors of the book to match the cover. (Sue Farrell 11:53am March 3, 2012)
The hot alien living next door marks me. (Jack Davis 12:26pm March 3, 2012)
The cover of Obsidan is great and it's really cool that the cover models are a real life couple. I would love to win the book. (Julia Stover 12:41pm March 3, 2012)
I am from west Virginia and this book caught my attention. Sounds like a great read. (Tabitha Monroe 12:43pm March 3, 2012)
I've missed the X-Files. I always thought Mulder was at least part alien. :) This book sounds like a lot of fun! (Sandy Fielder 12:47pm March 3, 2012)
I'm dying for Onyx! I want to know if Bethany and Dawson are really gone! They can't be! They just can't! I almost cried reading that teaser. I don't want to wait 6 months! :( (Stormy Bailey 12:57pm March 3, 2012)
Love the teaser and can't wait to read the book. Love the cover. (Linda Henderson 12:58pm March 3, 2012)
Playful and sweet what a great combo for a "storybook" cover. (Alyson Widen 1:21pm March 3, 2012)
I do like the cover of Obsidan, the couple look like they belong together (Ha,who would have thought). I'm glad you kept Daemon's eyes green. I'm love green eyes and with Katy's grey, Wow, great combination. This book sounds fantastic, can't wait to read it. Thanks (Margie Gagarin 1:41pm March 3, 2012)
Love the preview of Onyx!!!! I also love the cover! Thanks for the contest! (Debra Wright 1:58pm March 3, 2012)
Thank you for contest!! I love the preview of Onyx!!! Can't wait for a chance to read it!!! (Cynthia VonWald 2:14pm March 3, 2012)
Sounds like great fun! Blessings, marjorie (Marjorie Carmony 2:35pm March 3, 2012)
I just read your post, and everything I read immediately warmed me up on such a cold and blustery day here up North!! I would love to read your book, but unfortunately I don't own a Nook, so I guess that it leaves me out of the running. I love romance stories, and wish the contests were in e-format or print choices. I guess I'm just going to have to keep my eyes peeled for the book. It sounds like the type of book I'm looking for, and will have it on my TBR list!! (Peggy Roberson 2:42pm March 3, 2012)
I would love a chance to win! thanks you. (Mary Hay 3:47pm March 3, 2012)
Sounds like a great read. Thanks for giving me a chance to win it. (Linda Hall 5:08pm March 3, 2012)
Great cover and excerpt.
Good luck and happy writing! (Tracie Travis 5:33pm March 3, 2012)
Love the banter between Daemon and Katy. Would love to read in entirety. Thanks for the opportunity! (Lynne Mauro 5:34pm March 3, 2012)
Can't wait to read this; sounds like a book you can't put down until finished. (Mary Smith 6:37pm March 3, 2012)
Sounds like a great read! (Cheryl McEwen 7:11pm March 3, 2012)
wow it grabs you and you get the feeling that you can't out it down. Love the cover (Patricia Kasner 8:14pm March 3, 2012)
Sounds like a terrific book! Can't wait to read it! (May Pau 8:44pm March 3, 2012)
I enjoyed reading about how you pictures the characters. Obsidian sounds intriguing. (Gladys Paradowski 8:59pm March 3, 2012)
Oops. I meant "pictured the characters." It has been a long day. I pulled up weeds in my front yard and I am tired. LOL (Gladys Paradowski 9:00pm March 3, 2012)
What a great story. (Donna Simmonds 9:37pm March 3, 2012)
Thanks for the giveaway. This story sounds like something I would really enjoy. (Jennifer Beyer 10:18pm March 3, 2012)
This sounds like a great story. Congrats on finding your perfect models for your cover. (Kathleen Yohanna 10:57pm March 3, 2012)
Oh my gosh that is the cutest story I've read in a long time!! I read so many series that it's getting to the point where I'm being choosier about starting any new ones but I love a good cover and even more, a good real life romance! So I'm definitely inspired to pick up Obsidian now and start the Lux series:D Thanks for sharing both the cool backstory and the excerpt:) (Bella Franco 2:31am March 4, 2012)
There just aren't anymore guys like that anymore, shouldn't be so hard to find one now a days right? but lovely story! and awesome teaser! I really wanted that cookie too! D: (Ornella Russo 11:01am March 4, 2012)
That does look like a fun book from the excerpt! (Jenny Schwartzberg 3:57pm March 4, 2012)
HEA can happen, thanks for your blog. And a chance to win. (Carla Carlson 4:53pm March 4, 2012)
That is too cute and too cool for your cover models ^^ Looks like a great read too! I'll have to go search it out! (Alyssa m 11:59am March 5, 2012)
How cool - lovin' it! Yes, I agree that HEA's do happen - and I love this book already - thanks so much for sharing with us! (Felicia Ciaudelli 12:29pm March 5, 2012)
i loved obsidian.im so obsesded with this book.and i think you just killed me with that teaser. (Sage Witten 7:51pm June 4, 2012)
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