Thank you!!! You have made me very, very, very happy.
Since the day I first announced this contest, people have been asking me which of the three covers was my favorite all along. PEOPLE, IT WAS THIS ONE. The other covers were beautiful, but I came to prefer this one, for its elegance, its modesty and most importantly for its botany. I loved the vivid hue of the bright purple cover, too (it was a tough call for me on that one) but I felt that it was maybe too showy for my heroine Alma (who lived her life fascinated by the less spectacular creations of the world, and who was especially enraptured by the smaller mosses and field flowers depicted on the cream cover.) And as for the woman in the field of ferns...I found it rich and compelling, but I think it's always risky to put a figure on a book jacket, as it can interfere with the reader's own imagination for the character. I prefer to leave it to you, to dream up Alma's appearance in your own minds.
I will be honest with you. I never thought I was going to win this one. I thought for certain that the popular vote would go the way of the showier, snazzier covers. But you have surprised and touched me. You came along with me on this, my dear readers, and you selected the jacket I wanted: the quiet one, the elegant one, the thoughtful one, the timeless one.
Sono grata.
Here's a little video I made for you, officially presenting the new cover. (Please note my nice new orange sweater! You didn't know I had sweaters that weren't sky blue, did you? Well, today is just full of surprises, isn't it?)
