Vivian Vande Velde. She’s an author that I never heard of before beginning my job, but now I’ve seen her popping up more and more. She’s written a variety of books, but a number of them are known for their horror or creep factor, and she’s also been writing strong fantasy for quite a while. Her newest, Cloaked in Red, comes out in October and is a series of short stories playing off “Little Red Riding Hood.”

Vande Velde’s been publishing for a couple of decades now, so why don’t we take a little walk down cover-memory lane?

1985 brought us A Hidden Magic. It’s a bit dated, but I still see the fantasy elements to this one being easily sellable today.

Dragon’s Bait came out in 1992. Again, it’s a bit dated, but I suspect that the dragon is always appealing. But is that a guy or a girl on the cover? Does it matter? Here are a couple other takes of this one:

I like the original, as well as the one on the left. The one on the right looks a little too bare for me.

Companions of the Night came to us in 1995. I think the girl on the cover looks like she might have some other issues — she’s a little too pasty looking. Maybe she’s one of the companions? Here’s a few variations of this cover, too:

I think I like the middle best! It reminds me a bit of Drew Barrymore ala E.T. The other two are straight up creepy.

This one gives me the chills a little, and I don’t think it’s from the ghostly creature — I mean, why is that kid wearing a red beanie? Alas, A Coming Evil (which I suppose doesn’t refer to the painful monochromatic outfit) came to us in 1998. Let me tell you how relieved I am to offer this, though:

This title has to do with the Nazis, so I like that that element is more present. Also, the main character is a girl. Monochrome man on top doesn’t fit that image for me (and totally unrelated, but this character meets a ghost named Lisette — the same name of the ghost Rebecca meets in Paula Morris’s Ruined. Now I must investigate this name in relation to spirits!).

In 1999, we were reminded that we should Never Trust a Dead Man. The trend I kind of see in all of her covers — and perhaps it’s a factor of the times — is that they are geared to younger readers. I actually don’t mind this cover at all, save for the bit dated font. I like that it’s a boy on the lead, and he’s not a hunky beefcake. He’s normal. I do like the coloring (orange! foreboding!) in this re-cover:

I like his sullen, sullen eyes. Kind of.

Now if this isn’t reminiscent of a well-known Caroline B. Cooney title, I don’t know what is:

This whole “holding something in our hands” trend has been going on for a while, it seems. I don’t particularly like how tiny the photo is in comparison to the massive hands in this one. I mean, would anyone REALLY hold a photo like that? Do people have photos that tiny in comparison to their hands? Maybe I have small hands. Alison, Who Went Away came to us in 2001.

Heir Apparent, published in 2002, might be Vande Velde’s most well-known novel. I love this cover: it’s clearly a fantasy and the colors and design make it quite timeless. The only other cover I’ve seen for it is a slightly modified one:

Both work for me.

Witch Dreams came to us in 2005. This cover works for me, too. I like that the girl isn’t a typically pretty girl and there’s enough going on to make it clear to a reader this is a fantasy setting. The half coin adds a bit of a mystery element, as well.

This might be one of my favorite covers, period. Remembering Raquel, published in 2007, has no problem standing out on a shelf. The red, black, and white elements work well and there’s intrigue built in. There are few all red covers to compete with this one. My only qualm is that I don’t have an idea of the genre of this title — something most of Vande Velde’s other titles have had easily in their cover art.

1997 brought us one of Vande Velde’s short story collections, Curses, Inc. Can I just tell you how amazing the old school computer is? The black cat? The witch? I love this cover, though without doubt, the computer dates this book. Never fear. It’s been redone:

There’s still a computer, but it’s definitely not as dated. Fear is apparent. Technology’s a scary, scary thing.

Finally, let me leave you with the cover for Cloaked in Red. As much as I am against people-on-covers, this one works quite well:

The only downside is when I have a patron come asking for the book with a girl in a red cloak, this won’t be my first thought. These will be.