I've queried about this with another HMR, but what is it with the inability to get at least one of the people right on the cover? There have been a few covers I thought went well with the book. Or expressed a sentiment right, but for the most part I am now dismissing the cover as not meaningful. There are some wonderful cover artists out there and there are some wonderful covers that convey something about the story, but not (for the most part) with the HMRs.
This time my complaint includes: one book has a scruffy faced man on the cover. Okay, I admit it, I'm past the age of 50--but clean shaven men have 'it' over any scruffy faced man (well, I might revise the statement for George Clooney, nah...I even he looks better clean shaven). And I get the doctors are often called in the middle of the night to attend an emergency. Shaving isn't the number one priority at that time, but still, men--stubble is not drool worthy. 
Another book describes the h as porcelein skin, short spikey red hair (the biker babe) water sprite. The cover has a long haired brunette. Who is Hugh holding in his arms, his first wife? It sure is not Alex--the new love of his life.
The medical romances are lovely reads and they deserve well thought out covers. They deserve covers that reflect the story or the characters. It is all a part of the package that the publisher is trying to sell to customers. Why disappoint the readers?
Nancy
That's interesting, I'll
That's interesting, I'll pass this on to the art department
Jayne
Community Manager
"We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh"—Agnes Repplier
The LUNA covers are
The LUNA covers are spectacular.
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
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re Red haired Alex
Nancy, I'm tiptoeing in here, waving a white flag very gingerly, because that's my book you're refering to. A Wife Worth Waiting for, yes? Yup, I'm Maggie Kingsley, the author, and can I say - passing the buck here very quickly - that I don't choose the covers which go on my books. I fill in an art form, giving the details of what my h and h look like, but the first I'll see of a cover is when I get my advance copies. I'm very sorry you feel irritated and annoyed by the cover and I'll pass your observations on to my editor. I just hope you weren't annoyed by my actual book!
Maggie Kingsley
Maggie --- I didn't even
Maggie --- I didn't even notice the cover art but then I rarely pay that much attention to any cover. But I loved the story.
ELLEN TOO
A true teacher is a person who, at the end of the school day, still likes children!
I always notice
I always notice the covers and if they fit or not but it doesn't bother me. I just imagine them the way they should be. For one book cover that was very wrong I picked out a guy I saw on the airplane with me and replaced him for the guy that was on the cover. It would be nice if they always match but such is life so we do what we can.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
Deb....
LOL about the airplane guy. I bet he never would've guessed in a million years that he was filling in for the visual image of a novel's H!
Maggie, probably almost everyone who reads the Harlequins realize that the covers are made by graphic artists who have nothing to do with you personally, so don't feel bad about what you can't control. I know Nancy wasn't putting down your story at all. In fact it sounds like she really likes your spunky red-headed h and her storyline!
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
He was gorgeous
He was gorgeous and I can still picture him. He was wearing cargo shorts and the muscles in his legs, WOW! Then I finally looked up and the rest was pretty awesome too. It was the flight to Hawaii last summer and then I lost him at the airport, Darn it.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
Maggie: I LOVED your
Maggie: I LOVED your Alex--she deserved accurate representation on the cover! And I don't blame any author for decisions made by other's. I love the HMRs and most of the time I end up dismissing the cover art. But the cover art is a part of the whole package and it looks like it belongs with another story. LOL
Come to think of it, my biggest complaints have involved spitfire redheads and the woman on the cover was so not a redhead.
Nancy
re red heads
And the worst of it all, is that Alex was actually based on a 'real' woman who I saw at the gas station. That girl was my inspiration so it's vexing for me, too, that she wasn't on the cover especially when it was her appearance that gave me the idea for the kind of heroine who would push all of Hugh's buttons.
I wonder who the man was that you saw at the airport, Debs. Is it Debs? That's happened to me once, in a restaurant, when I sat, completely mesmerised by this guy who had the most amazing eyes I've ever seen. I *so* wanted to go over, and say, 'Look, I'm a writer. Do you mind if I stare into your eyes for a moment,' but I figured that if I did that I'd probably end up being carried out by two burly security guards, and maybe that was publicity I could do without. But I tell you, ladies, it was a close run thing.
Maggie....
That's cool that you actually modeled your character's physical traits after a real person. After having seen her at a gas station too! It's amazing how inspirations can hit us, don't you think?
This is off-subject, but I saw that you reviewed Michelle Styles' Taken By The Viking. I did a review on it too. Wasn't it a great book? I agree that she must've done extensive research. And she weaved it all into the story in a way that didn't seem in the least bit stuffy.
You bet my curiosity has been piqued for your medical romance involving the red-headed Alex and Hugh - A Wife Worth Waiting For. I'll look it up and add it to my lined up books for July!
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
covers
I don't pay much attention to the cover since the depiction of character are sometimes wrong.
Christa ~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Challenge Blog
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July's MEMBER OF THE MONTH
I don't pay that much
I don't pay that much attention to the cover art because it is so often wrong. However, I was feeling crabby when the last two batches that arrived were so off, IMHO.
Nancy
I pay attention to covers.
There was a June 2008 Blaze that just annoyed me recently. I commented on it in my review. The Maddy on the cover of Slow Hands was not the Maddy on the book. I loved the Maddy in the Book. I would have loved to see at least a depiction of her on the cover.
Laughter is an instant vacation- Milton Berle
I notice when the covers dont match too!
I thought it was just me! Sometimes I wonder who the heck the cover is supposed to be when they really missed the character descriptions. Not that its stopped me from reading the books LOL. Some authors give these fabulous descriptions so you can really picture the characters then you look at the cover and the sassy brunette is now a long haired blonde!
oops.
re cover art
Nancy, please don't apologise. It seems that some people want realistic representations of the h and h on a cover, whereas other people don't even notice what's there. I admit I'm 'a noticer'. I get real snarky when I finish a book and discover that the cover h and h bear no resemblance whatsoever to the descriptions the author has given whereas my best friend will say, Cover, what's wrong with the cover? I read a book recently - and, no, it wasn't a med romance, and, no, I'm not going to give you the title - I value my life too much
- but the story was so powerful and dramatic - and yet the cover h and h had to be the most wimpy looking couple you could ever hope to meet, and that annoyed me big time. Maybe we should just use landscapes, or bowls of fruit, or a pair of shoes, and no people at all on the covers. What do you reckon? Would that put you off or intrigue you?
Maggie...
I kind of like avant-garde covers, the kind that use creative still-lifes or just pieces of an image, instead of people. It's debatable, but I think these can be just as personal as the pics of people, and sometimes even more creative. Although, I'm not sure it would work for all novels, because I still like to see pics of couples cuddling - as long as they're tasteful.
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
I actually...
could do without the people cuddling on the front, etc. I would prefer covers that were more avante-garde actually...... But I'm not really a cover person, as you can probably guess from this comment!!
The D2K Paranormal Junkies 2008 Challenge
Maggie: what an intriguing
Maggie: what an intriguing question. I don't mind people on the covers--as long as they look enough like the characters to be a reflection. It would annoy me bigtime if the character on the cover was wimpy and the author's description was this strong, well drawn out character. I guess I just want the cover to reflect some element of the story, so they go together. I want a cover that looks like it belongs to the book I'm reading. LOL
Nancy
Cover art
I can't wait to read this one. I don't pay attention to hair color etc compared to the text but...I love cover art. I like the new blue on the HMRs versus the green but I do wish the HMR covers reflected more the wonderful, wonderful books inside. I know authors don't get to pick their covers but I do find it irritating when I read a fantastic book and the back cover blurb or art work seems clueless as to what is so special about a book. Sometimes I think the blurbs almost trivialize a book. Now, I don't want spoilers but sometimes I read a book that is so powerful and the blurb is just blah... ersonally, I just wish the HMR line got more attention period. It's a gem. I want all 6 books and they should be more accessible so others can discover them too. I am a book cover art junkie. Even before I ever read a romance, I just loved looking at the cover art. I'd like to see some of ther great cover art Harlequin does do make it more to series lines too. I actually like looking at Harlequin's book ads in magazines. Cover illustrations can and often are art.
AKA Merri
Family Challenge Team: The Spine Breakers with my dh Glenn AKA Phaedrus
Merri
I love the picture on Maggie's book. The problem is it belongs on some other book. One that has a lovely, sweet dark haired heroine. Maggie's book needed a fiesty, spike haired redhead. LOL
There is some wonderful cover art on all the various imprints under the H, M&B and S umbrella, but they do need to reflect the story. IMHO
And I agree with you about the back blurbs. One time the name of the heroine on the back blurb was not the name of the heroine in the story. Initially I was so confused!
Nancy
Merri and Nancy...
...The back blurbs sometimes remind me of bad reports from high school students on a book they either barely skimmed through or didn't read at all - LOL! I get the impression they were contrived from generic templates.... On the other hand, I've read some blurbs that enticed so much that that I HAD to read the book. It can go both ways, I guess.
Deb, you don't like any cuddling on the front at all? Well, I do have to admit that sometimes the illustrations or photography does go a little too far. The story should be read inside the book and not seen outside - if you know what I mean
- LOL
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
Nope...
I don't but realize I don't tend to read many plain romances. Mainly I read paranormal stuff because I like those storylines better and am just not that into the romance parts. I know, sad... but the Harlequin Medical line is a different thing entirely! I have loved each and every one of those books no matter what!
The D2K Paranormal Junkies 2008 Challenge