Cover…right? But don’t we do just that? 

Of course we do.

That’s why publishers spend so much time and money attempting to design a cover that will grab the reader. That will entice us to pick up the book and take a look.

I’ve got three books coming out this year. Two here in the U.S. and one in Germany. And one of them is a novella, which I really enjoyed writing.

To Mend a Dream (the novella) is part of a Southern collection with fellow authors Shelley Shepard Gray, Dorothy Love, and Elizabeth Musser. Have you read any of their books yet? Marvelous writers, all.

Here’s the cover for our Southern novella collection (July 2015) that’s complete with scrumptious Southern desserts straight from the stories…

 

Among the Fair Magnolias final cover

If you click on the title link above, you’ll see one of the earlier versions of this cover. Similar to this one, but the final cover (pictured above) has far more detail. And also has magnolias, which is a nice tie-in with the title.

I’m a fan of path pictures, per se, so I really liked the concept for Among the Fair Magnolias. The dress is a tad too Cinderella-esque for me, personally, but the final touches that were added (and also the removal of some squigglies by her head) help draw the eye to the path and gives the cover movement, which is also nice.

From a Distance releases this month in Germany, and I love the cover that Christian Heinritz (art designer with Francke, my German publisher) designed. Perfect for that audience.

 

The Photo of my Life
(From a Distance in German)

The original cover in the U.S.

Which do you prefer? Don’t be shy. You can be honest.

Here I am with Christian last summer in Germany. We’re holding The Inheritance (German edition) with the cover he also designed. I adore that cover. He’s one talented man. (And quite entertaining, huh, Lynn?)

Finally, here’s the front and back cover of To Win Her Favor, my May release and the second Belle Meade Plantation novel.

Cover trivia:
The model on To Win Her Favor is also a horse trainer herself. And the horse on the cover…is hers!

I appreciate the warmth of this cover and am so grateful to HCCP for the “painterly effect” they added. Horses play a prominent role in the Belle Meade Plantation novels, and especially in To Win Her Favor. And I’m thrilled that Bourbon Belle, the heroine’s horse in the novel, is pictured on the cover.

So, while we’re taught at a young age not to judge a book by its cover, I think for the most part that lesson falls on deaf ears, don’t you? And with good reason. After all, we’re visual. We love to “see” a story as well as read one.

Have you ever chosen to start reading a book based solely on the cover? Do you remember which book that was and what drew you to pick it up? What’s your favorite kind of cover? Landscape scenes? Characters? Characters shown with only partial faces? Characters shown only from the back? Heroes? Heroines? Both? Do tell!

Tammy

 

Enter to win my Goodreads Giveaway