Cover Up #2: A Gate at the Stairs, by Lorrie Moore

Lorrie Moore is absolutely one of my favorite authors - I am especially a fan of her short stories. A Gate at the Stairs is one of the few novels that she has written. I am terrible at writing book synopsis, so here is one from Amazon:

Twenty-year-old Tassie Keltjin, the daughter of a gentleman farmer, has come to a university town as a student. When she takes a job as a part-time nanny for a mysterious and glamorous family, she finds herself drawn deeper into their world and forever changed. Told through the eyes of this memorable narrator, A Gate at the Stairs is a piercing novel of race, class, love, and war in America.

For this cover I drew inspiration from the patterns that farmland makes from a birds eye view. I wanted the pattern to feel a bit like a tapestry that is both dizzying while still feeling woven together with purpose to mimic the inner-life of the narrator. For this design I also wanted to practice restraint - I had many versions with the pattern completely covering the whole of the cover. But when I placed it a little less than halfway up the cover - it felt right - and also it makes you try to associate it with non-abstract things. I can see a field with a horizon, a wooden gate, and a patchwork quilt. I like that it can take on multiple meanings, and allows the reader to use their imagination.

ok back to work!!!

xox Jess