Your Questions About For Darkness Shows the Stars: Answered

Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm about my new book cover. Since I’ve been getting a lot of questions about it, I thought I would create a central place for asking and answering.

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions:

Q: What is this book about?

A: So glad you asked:

Generations ago,  a genetic experiment gone wrong—the Reduction—decimated humanity, giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Eighteen-year-old Luddite Elliot North has always known her place in this caste system. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. But now the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress and threatening Luddite control; Elliot’s estate is floundering; and she’s forced to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliott wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she abandoned him.

But Elliot soon discovers her childhood friend carries a secret—one that could change the society in which they live…or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she has lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen’s PERSUASION, FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

Q: When is it coming out?

A: June, 2012

Q: Who designed this cover?

A: The design team at Harper Children’s.

Q: Is it a series?

A: No, it’s a standalone novel. I know that’s a tad unusual in the YA world these days, and especially unusual in this brave new world of “dystopias” — yes, I’m using liberal quote marks — but I’ve done two series now and I wanted this book to stand alone, like Persuasion itself does.

Q: What was the Katy Perry video still from “E.T.” that you wanted your cover to look like?

A: Right. Yes. Totally meant to post that. Here it is:

I definitely see a resemblance, don’t you?

If you have more questions, ask away in comments!