Cover Reveal: The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand & Giveaway

Today I have for you the cover of Claire Legrand’s The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, and a giveaway bundle that includes an ARC of the book! Exciting, no?

First, check out Claire and The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls on

An Interview with Claire:

What are your thoughts on the cover of The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls?

I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I say how head over heels I am with it. Sarah Watts (the illustrator) and Lucy Ruth Cummins (the designer at Simon & Schuster) both did a fantastic job communicating the tone of the story through this cover image. It’s timeless, classic, and has that slightly gritty, unnerving feeling to it that I associate with fairy tales and books like Matilda and The Phantom Tollbooth. My favorite bits are the text in the gate and the one light on in the Cavendish Home, lurking quietly in the distance. And the final cover will include some awesome special effects! I couldn’t be happier. (I have to give a quick shout-out to illustrator Sarah, whose art I just adore. You can check out her work at her website, wattsalot.com!)

Did you have any input into the creation of the cover?

In fact, I did! The team at S&S have been nothing but welcoming, inclusive, and receptive to all my thoughts during this entire process. I helped in the selection of the illustrator and was able to offer my suggestions and input to both my editor, Zareen Jaffery, and to designer Lucy. Obviously the design team had the final say in everything — they are the pros! — but I always felt welcome to speak up with questions or ideas. When I met Lucy recently, we basically hugged and flailed and gushed at each other about how much fun we’ve had with this project, so I think it’s been a blast for everyone involved!

What inspired you to write The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls?

When I was in college, I lived down the street from an orphanage. Seriously! I’m sure it’s a perfectly respectable place, but there was something a little . . . odd about it. For one, I never saw anyone near the house or on the grounds — no staff, no kids, no visitors. Even though the message on the marquee out front would change to announce field days or open houses or what have you, the place always seemed completely deserted. I drove my friends crazy by driving by it all the time to investigate, especially at night because that is of course the best time to investigate creepy things. One night, a van pulled out of the driveway and followed my friend and I literally all the way around town — we took an insane, circuitous route — before we lost them in a Walmart parking lot. And there was often police tape on one of the building’s side doors. I am not making this up! So, I knew then and there I had to write a story about a creepy orphanage.

Tell us a little about your main character, Victoria. From the summary, she seems very . . . particular.

“Particular” is a nice way to put it. And she would consider that a compliment! Victoria is like a hyper-exaggerated version of 12-year-old me — everything needs to be just so in Victoria’s world, most especially things she could brag about (tastefully, of course), like grades and school awards. (Author’s disclaimer: This is where the “hyper-exaggerated” part comes in; I, unlike Victoria, was not a little bragging snit.) Imagine her horror, then, when she discovers that her picture-perfect town, and therefore her picture-perfect life, is really . . . not so perfect, and is in fact hiding a lot of very bad things. This chaos must be rectified! And then put back into tidy little labeled boxes where it belongs. I imagine Victoria’s idea of paradise would be The Container Store, or perhaps the Library of Congress.

Now, Claire, be honest with me: Is this book going to freak me out? Because it seems a little freaky.

Oh, I hope it does! I hope it scares all your pants off (although I’m not mean enough to hope that this happens to you in a public place where I think we can all agree it is probably a good idea to wear pants).

Tell us a little bit about your giveaway. Yay giveaways!

Giveaways are awesome because 1) for you, it is free and 2) for me, it is a chance to give you hugs while being far away and without seeming creepy. The Cavendish Super Mega Foxy Giveaway Bundle, or CSMFGB (pronounced “kissimfergub”, or “Kiss ‘im, Fergub!”, whoever “Fergub” is) includes music that I listened to while writingCavendish. I’m a little obsessed with movie scores, and these would be wonderful additions to the music library of any writer, artist, or book lover. The bundle also includes art by my incredible cover artist, Sarah Watts, and a signed ARC of The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls!

Bio: Claire Legrand used to be a musician until she could no longer ignore the voices having adventures in her head. Now, she is a writer and librarian living in New York City. Also, she has a pet unicorn named UNICORN who has purple hair and loves you very much.

Summary for The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls (from the ARC):

Victoria hates nonsense. There is no need for it when your life is perfect. The only smudge on her pristine life is her best friend Lawrence. He is a disaster–lazy and dreamy, shirt always untucked, obsessed with his silly piano. Victoria often wonders why she ever bothered being his friend. (Lawrence does, too.)

But then Lawrence goes missing. And he’s not the only one. Victoria soon discovers that Mrs. Cavendish’s children’s home is not what it appears to be. Kids go in but come out . . . different, or they don’t come out at all.

If anyone can sort this out, it’s Victoria, even if it means getting a little messy.

The Cover:

Fill out the form below for a chance to win the Cavendish Super Mega Foxy Giveaway Bundle, which includes the following:

  • four movie scores that Claire used in her Cavendish playlist while writing the book
    • Signs by James Newton Howard
    • The Corpse Bride by Danny Elfman
    • Edward Scissorhands by Danny Elfman
    • The Brothers Grimm by Dario Marianelli
  • four original art prints by cover artist Sarah Watts
          
  • AND a SIGNED ARC of The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls
Contest Details:
  • to enter, please fill out the form below
  • entrants must be 13 years of age or older
  • contest open to US Only
  • the winner will be announced on this blog post at the conclusion of the contest
  • the winner will be notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.
  • DO NOT PUT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION
  • check out my Contest Policy/Privacy Policy


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