Are you ready to be one of the first to get an exclusive look at Susie Orman Schnall’s Anna Bright Is Hiding Something? As the title suggests, Anna Bright is keeping secrets about her soon-to-be-launched multibillion-dollar company and one intrepid journalist is getting closer to discovering them. We Are Bookish has an exclusive reveal of the cover, but first, read our mini-interview with the author.
Tell us about your book cover! What was the cover design process like for you?
I’m so in love with my cover, and I hope it resonates with readers and draws them in. I also hope that, spurred on by the title, it makes readers curious to find out what exactly Anna Bright is hiding. Similar to the process for my first four books, I submitted a brief to the cover designer along with comp titles to provide context for how my novel should be positioned in the marketplace. There were several rounds of back and forth and eventually, we landed on what you see. I was captivated by the model’s eyes, especially because eyes are an important subtext of the book—you’ll just have to read it to find out why!
What inspired you to write Anna Bright Is Hiding Something?
I promise it wasn’t just my fascination with all things Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos (though, admittedly, that played a part). Over the past several years I’ve been captivated by endless news stories about female founders who were innovating in a time of crisis, falling from grace, receiving paltry amounts of VC funds, influencing trends in popular culture and interior design, dealing with double standards in the workplace, etc. The more I thought about what all of this meant, the more I became interested in exploring the cultural phenomenon of the female founder, and its orbiting topics, by writing a novel about it all, both the positive and negative sides.
In three words, what can readers expect from Anna Bright Is Hiding Something?
Timely. Insightful. Entertaining.
Cover design is constantly changing and evolving. Is there a current trend in covers that you enjoy? What do you think is the secret to a good book cover?
Personally, I like to get a sense of what the book is about from the cover. And while I do love the trend over the past few years of colorful abstract design, I’m always more drawn into book covers that communicate something about the story with the jacket art. In some respects, the trends are problematic because then every historical fiction cover seems to show a woman from the back walking into the fog with airplanes flying overhead—but you know exactly what type of reading experience you’ll get from these books so I appreciate those visual cues. I give cover designers a lot of credit for being able to do the “same thing” but differently—they are so talented.
What books do you recommend we pick up while we wait for Anna Bright Is Hiding Something to hit shelves on June 4, 2024?
I’m really excited about Jo Piazza’s upcoming The Sicilian Inheritance (4/2/24) as I’ve loved all her books and this one, inspired by Jo’s own family history, sounds great. I’m also anxiously awaiting Rochelle B. Weinstein’s What You Do To Me (10/17/23), billed as having a Daisy Jones & The Six vibe. Currently sitting at the top of my TBR is Elise Loehnen’s On Our Best Behavior, which explores the rules women are conditioned to follow to be considered “good” and how damaging that all is. And I recommend all the books – even backlist – of my fellow Thursday Authors: Jamie Brenner, Fiona Davis, Nicola Harrison, Lynda Cohen Loigman, and Amy Poeppel.
Now, let’s get our first peek at Anna Bright Is Hiding Something!
Here’s the official summary for Anna Bright Is Hiding Something:
What some women will do for success…
A fast-paced and ripped-from-the-headlines story set in the glossy offices of Silicon Valley startups and New York City new media, Anna Bright Is Hiding Something explores our culture’s fascination with businesswomen who are breaking barriers—and sometimes behaving badly in the process.
Anna Bright is committing fraud. But nobody knows it yet. Not the board of her multibillion-dollar company, BrightLife; not her investors; not the media; not the public breathlessly anticipating the imminent launch of BrightSpot.
Jamie Roman, a hardworking journalist for BusinessBerry, is, no surprise, in awe of Anna: her company’s billion-dollar valuation, her polished confidence, and her hustle. But when Jamie learns about Anna’s misconduct, she embarks on a bicoastal journey to expose the crimes in the hope of making a name for herself as a journalist. It’s not long before Anna learns what the young reporter is up to, however—and she’ll do anything to stop Jamie, especially now that BrightLife’s IPO is days away.
With news of the deceit about to break, each woman will risk everything for her version of the truth… and only one will emerge unscathed.
Susie Orman Schnall is the award-winning author of the novels We Came Here to Shine, The Subway Girls, The Balance Project, and On Grace. Her new novel, Anna Bright is Hiding Something will be out in June 2024. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, HuffPost, POPSUGAR, Writer’s Digest, Harper’s Bazaar, and Glamour; and she is also a frequent speaker at women’s groups, corporations, libraries, bookstores, and book clubs. She grew up in Los Angeles, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and now lives in Westchester County, New York. You can find Susie on Instagram at @susieormanschnall and @thethursdayauthors.
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Stuff Your Shelves
Thank you We Are Bookish and Net Galley for sharing the new cover. I can’t wait for readers to get their hands on ANNA BRIGHT IS HIDING SOMETHING next summer!
Thank you so much for sharing my new book cover!