Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Beautiful Covers

Rhonda Gibson here...

I love book covers. They often tell a story or kick my imagination into gear. For me the cover is my introduction to another world. Based on the cover, most of the time I know what kind of world it will be but the cover teases me into wanting to visit that time period or world again.

With that thought in mind, covers often turn me away from a book, too. I hate seeing blood on a cover, especially if its dripping from a person's face or neck. So I would never pick up a book with that type of cover.

The art department at Harlequin did a beautiful job on the cover for my newest release The Marshal's Promise. I love that they put Seth leaning against the jail. It screams historical romance to me.


What kinds of covers do you like to see? What do you not enjoy seeing on a cover?

18 comments:

  1. love your cover. this is a good question. I agree with blood now sure I am mad on it either. I love all the LI ranges covers, they are well done.
    Covers have put me of books before. While I love some of Christian fiction coming out of Australia we some books the cover isn't as good as the LI ones and sometimes they have put me of wanting to read or buy a book.
    After winning one a few years ago I would never have bought due to the cover and reading it and finding what a great book it was I tend to check the blurb on the back before making a final deception.

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  2. woops cant trust spell check on my computer the last word was decision.

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  3. Rhonda, that's a great cover! They did do a nice job.

    Covers are a big draw to me. And really bad covers can keep me from checking the inside or back cover blurb. I hate to admit that, but it's true!

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  4. Hmmm, I need to go look at the last hundred books I've purchased. I wonder if I feel the same way about blood on the cover. I've never been one who was drawn to a book that had flowers on the cover. Of all my books, my own favorite cover was of a house.
    Your cover is awesome.

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  5. Beautiful cover Rhonda - I agree, the folks at Love Inspired do a fabulous job designing them.

    A cover is the first thing that attracts me to a book when I'm browsing - I personally like people on the cover, and preferably something that gives a hint of personality

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  6. Love your cover.

    The cover is a snapshot of the story, the first thing you see. If it's too generic, then I wonder if the story is generic. It really sets the tone for the story. I'd much rather explore a house with an interesting door, than a house that looks like every other house on the block.

    Funnily enough, the covers I dislike most are the ones where the hero and heroine have the wrong hair color. Really. I hate having to remind myself the hero/heroine doesn't look like that. Or if the cover has nothing to do with the story. There's always the feeling of having to "re-set" when I open it.

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  7. Hi Rhonda, very nice cover! I personally prefer when the couple is close up rather than tiny figures in the background. I like to look at the hero/heroine now and then while I'm reading.

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  8. Judy,
    I have to laugh. Years ago I was reading a book, really good, and halfway through I realized the hero and heroine were African American. Didn't make a difference to the story or my enjoyment of it, but since the people on the cover were white, I felt a little jolted.

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  9. Rhonda, the cover angels at LI have really hit it out of the ballpark of late.

    All of you have gotten some great covers.

    One that has stood out to me recently was Eva Maria Hamilton's Highland Hearts. Not only was it vivid but it actually depicted a scene from the book. Sometimes covers can be more general.

    Peace, Julie

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  10. Nice cover. LI has been doing a fantastic job with the covers.

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  11. Great cover Rhonda. Yes, I ditto your comments on Harlequin's art department. Covers are important and set the tone for the book. I'm always so disappointed when the cover doesn't match what's inside. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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  12. Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments. I'm on vacation right now and almost forgot I'd posted.

    I like close up pictures of the hero and heroine also. I also love scenery and old building type of pictures, if they have something unique about them, such as a fun door on an old building, or the ocean crashing against a cliff where a house is right on the edge.

    You all are great, I'll try to check back again before the week is over :)

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  13. Hey, Rhonda. I do love your cover. I think covers mean a lot to whether a reader will pick it up to read the blurb on the back or the first page or two.
    Yours will do both. :)

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  14. Love this cover!

    And completely off topic, but my son's name is Seth and I rarely see his name as a book character! Very cool to see his name "in print."

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  15. I love your cover, Rhonda! And the story sounds intriguing. I guess I need to do a bit of shopping . . . :-)

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  16. Thanks Janet and Carol!!

    I love the name Seth too Tracy S. Seth's name came about because I wanted a strong, handsome sounding Marshal. I'm sure your son stands up to those standards too.

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