Comments on: One of the best thrillers I have ever read…

By: Kate Duffy

Kate Duffy — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:12:51 +0000

This discussion is very helpful to me. I thank you one and all.

By: Laura Armstrong

Laura Armstrong — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:43:53 +0000

I like body parts— no, wait, that didn’t come out right! (Or maybe it did.) What I mean is I like to see a set of abs, the nape of a neck, a flexed arm, etc. Something that can set the mood of a book without giving me too much of a visual that sets me up to think that’s what the character looks like.

I HATE the old-time bodice-ripped-heroine-bent-over-backward-by-hero—can’t imagine myself in that position with any comfort, and that’s distracting/annoying. Cartoon covers like Mary Kay Andrews’ Savannah series are fine. But it’s got to be professional, not looking like a piece of art my son concocted during math class (and he’s very talented, don’t get me wrong). I prefer photographic art.

Something to the mood and suggestive, but not whapping me over the head with detail.

Just one girl’s opinion—

By: Pat L.

Pat L. — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:26:57 +0000

I dont like the Ellora Cave Covers. Altho’ lately they have been more appealing. I also dont care for those comic book looking h/h covers. Kind of sick of seeing the character running on the rom suspense books.

Do like the colorful or cutesy covers, Like Marilyn Pappano’s Bethelehem Series or Marcia Evanick’s Misty Harbor Series. SEP’s covers too. To me the Evanick and Pappano look like the same artist. Like the covers with the hero’s head cut off – let’s us imagine what WE want him to look like.

By: Cindy Procter-King

Cindy Procter-King — Mon, 26 May 2008 17:54:22 +0000

If I know an author’s work and like it, I would never allow a cover to dictate whether or not I’ll buy the book. I don’t understand that reasoning, especially from other writers (I CAN understand it from readers), because the author doesn’t have control over the cover. We can make suggestions, but in the end it’s the pub’s and artist’s decision.

I might not buy the book in a store if I find the cover embarrassing, but I’ll buy it on-line. But then I do the vast majority of my book-buying on-line. Saves gas!

That said, I tend to like, for my own covers, when “only body parts” are showing, rather than whole people. This goes along with the bit about finding it disconcerting when the people on the cover don’t match the characters inside. However, for my pen name for Red Sage, the anthologies feature a clinch couple and it doesn’t bother me at all. For one thing, it’s erotic romance so if I’m uncomfortable with a clinch cover, I shouldn’t be writing it! For another, it’s a novella in an anthology, so the cover of course is more generic. I was lucky with my first Red Sage novella–the couple on the cover miraculously look pretty much like the couple in my story.

By: limecello

limecello — Sat, 24 May 2008 00:31:06 +0000

Cover art doesn’t really dictate if I’ll buy a book or not. Actually, in a way it does- but the opposite. Cover art might lead me to *not* buy a book if I’ve never heard of it and haven’t read the author before.
Although, sometimes gorgeous cover art will catch my attention – but then I’ll read the book blurb and excerpt then make a decision. If I’m in the store – I’ll do a quick flip through or something.

By: Mary Stella

Mary Stella — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:34:50 +0000

I can’t think of a cover that recently drew me to a book I might not otherwise have selected, but I can tell you of a series of new covers that completely turned me off. Elizabeth Lowell’s Medieval Series and Western series were all re-released with new covers done in a similar style. IMHO, each one is worse than the one before. If I was a first time reader to these books, I would never pick them up to consider. Ever. I love those books. They rank high on my list of Keepers for All Time. I feel like dear friends just got insulted.

By: Kim Knox

Kim Knox — Fri, 23 May 2008 18:37:42 +0000

Photoshop covers puts me off, I have to admit. I’m more a fan of a subtle cover with clothed people…though JL Langley’s My Fair Captain has a torso on it that I could stare at all day

(and if this is duplicated, sorry, Safari is having a bit of a freak *sigh*)

By: Kim Knox

Kim Knox — Fri, 23 May 2008 18:33:21 +0000

Photoshop covers puts me off, I have to admit. I’m more a fan of a subtle cover with clothed people…though JL Langley’s My Fair Captain has a torso on it that I could stare at all day

By: Kate Douglas

Kate Douglas — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:18:12 +0000

What? It’s NOT 010?

By: Sarah McKerrigan

Sarah McKerrigan — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:56:38 +0000

In my last historical trilogy, the middle book far outsold the other two. I think it was the cover. Book #1 was a full-length woman from the back in a field, book #3 was a man’s naked torso, and book #2, the big seller (believe it or not) was the torso of a scantily clad WOMAN holding a sword with a man in the background!