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Happy Face

Lately, I have been busy working on a story for kids called ‘Happy Face.’ It used to be called ‘When We Were Three,’ and it was an original story commissioned by RTE, here in Ireland.

As a single parent myself I used to be frustrated when so many children’s stories had conventional sets of two sensible parents and few stories had characters who were suffering the trauma of a breakup where one parent decides to leave their family and just simply stop being a parent.

In ‘Happy Face,’ the father has gone to live in another country with a new wife and has had no contact with Samantha, his daughter.

Samantha is desperate for her dad to come back and when her cousin introduces her to a Ouija board she tries to use it to contact him.

‘Happy Face’ was only available to the public as a recording but I have been adapting it to publish as an eBook on Amazon and I am now at the stage where the editing and proofing is done, the cover is ready and so are the images.

In fact the whole thing is almost ready to go except for one problem…

You see I decided to commission some images for the story and asked two different artists to come up with a set of three images each.

Trouble is I wasn’t expecting to like both sets of images and I do! So now I am facing a dilemma.  Which set of images do I use?  It is not a case of mixing images from each set as they are very different styles and I need to keep it consistent.

I would love to get some feedback from you so I have included them below and called them images A and images B. All comments are very welcome.

Thanks in anticipation,

Grace

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20 Responses to Happy Face

  1. Brenda @ Its A Beautiful Life June 24, 2014 at 3:51 pm #

    Because the name of your book is “Happy Face” I think the lighter version would be a better choice (A1-A3). The second set feels too dark for ‘happy’.

    Besides, your own heart already knows. I wouldn’t doubt if you flipped a coin, you’d suddenly know which one your heart really wants when you hope get ‘heads’ and not tails.

    Hope that helps…. Brenda 🙂

    • Grace June 24, 2014 at 4:40 pm #

      Thanks Brenda,
      You are right my heart should know but I do want to think about my readers hearts too 🙂
      I am giving myself a few days on this decision. I agree the A set are lighter however the B set are stronger so I am still a bit unsure.
      Take care
      Grace

  2. Suzanne McCutcheon June 24, 2014 at 4:01 pm #

    Hi,images B are more colourful and appeal more due to the style and cartoon.

    • Grace June 24, 2014 at 4:37 pm #

      Thanks for commenting, Suzanne the drawing are certainly light and the B images are stronger visuals.
      Take care,
      Grace

  3. carlos June 24, 2014 at 7:18 pm #

    I will have to say the lighter ones suit the Happy Face theme. I would go with set “A”.

    • Grace June 25, 2014 at 9:31 am #

      Thanks for commenting Carlos your opinion is much appreciated.
      All the best
      Grace

  4. Carmel Waddy June 24, 2014 at 7:56 pm #

    I like the B images. It appears as if the two girls are plotting in first image. Then they discover the ouija board. Then she is with Mom with a little knowing smile on her face. As if she has a secret problem solved. Depends on the target audience I suppose. I favour the second one for young teens!!
    First images are very pretty if a little bit twee for a ouija board story.
    Best of luck with book launch.

    Regards

    Carmel W

    • Grace June 25, 2014 at 9:30 am #

      Hi Carmel, thanks for viewing the images and commenting. I really appreciate the input.
      Best wishes

      Grace

  5. M Calhoun June 25, 2014 at 6:48 am #

    I think that the B pictures are more suitable as they are stronger images, definitely more vibrant, and more interesting.
    M Calhoun

    • Grace June 25, 2014 at 9:33 am #

      Hi there, thanks for commenting. I agree the B images are stronger. I am wondering about how my audience will like them. I appreciate your opinion.
      Best wishes
      Grace

  6. Angela June 26, 2014 at 10:26 pm #

    Hi Grace, I think the A pictures are fresh and have an innocence about them and may lighten the storyline . I work with children and can’t think of a book offhand that has pictures as dark and strong as B images. Hard decision.

    • Grace June 27, 2014 at 10:08 am #

      Thanks so much Angela – you make great points. Although the B images are strong they do add darkness and it is not a scary book at all so…
      Best wishes
      Grace

      • Sarah June 29, 2014 at 3:23 am #

        Though both sets are beautiful, I would definitely pick the bottom set of illustrations, although they may be darker, I personally think they make more of an impact and are intriguing, mysterious almost…hope that helps and best of look with the book, let us know how it all goes for you? 😀 xo

        • Grace June 30, 2014 at 10:27 pm #

          Thank you Sarah I will keep you posted.
          Grace

  7. Sarah June 29, 2014 at 8:56 pm #

    HI! I just want to say that I definitely think that the first set is more suitable to your theme. While set B is definitely deeper, set A relates better to “Happy Face” because of its light colors and the way it’s drawn. Though whatever you choose in the end is the best because the answer lies with you and you alone! 😀 Hope that helped!

    • Grace June 30, 2014 at 10:28 pm #

      Thank you Sarah I am coming closer to my decision!

  8. Silvia Frassineti June 30, 2014 at 7:53 pm #

    I prefer the A pictures they remember me of my old books when I Was young, like the classics by Walt Disney are so more poetic.
    It, s maybe me, because the B serie is a little too much like computer images

    • Grace June 30, 2014 at 10:20 pm #

      Thank you Silvia that’s a great point.

  9. Leah Murray July 17, 2014 at 4:54 pm #

    While the B set are definitely more striking, they are also way too dark for the work — I much prefer the A set for the book. There’s a “sunniness” about those that really appeals, and seems much more in tune with the title and age group.

    • Grace July 18, 2014 at 9:21 am #

      Hi there Leah – than you so much for your comments and feedback. I think there is a consensus around the images and I too note the tinge of darkness in B set even though I feel they are more eye catching – but of course that is an adults view and I can see the appeal of the ‘sunniness’ you mention as well.
      Thanks again and best of luck with your work.
      Grace

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