Hello everyone! Gail Eastwood here. I'm popping in for a visit thanks to the kind invitation of our Risky hostesses, most particularly Elena Greene, who has given me the opportunity to guest blog on first Fridays of alternate months. I am delighted to be here to share your gracious company and conversation, and also to help Elena gain a little more time to work on her newest work-in-progress. I have read a little of it and can't wait for her to get it done!!
Some of you already know me, or may remember that I wrote Regencies for Signet back in the day, but for those who don't, here's a link to an interview Elena did with me a few months ago on this blog. Coming back to the writing realm after ten years makes me feel a little like Rip Van Winkle at times, so much as changed! It is indeed a brave new world, but I'm excited to jump into it.
If I may beg your indulgence, for this post I'd like to go back to the topic of cover art, picking up from Elena's post of Sept 14. Elena shared her dilemma over "branding" her sexy short story Lady Em's Indiscretion through her cover art. My own dilemma, as I prepared the first e-book reissue that I am doing myself, The Lady from Spain, was whether or not to go with a cover style similar to what the new Signet reissues have, or try something different.
The Signet reissue e-books have taken a very different approach to their cover design, and I have yet to see anyone discussing it or reacting to it, and I’m dying to know what people think! Three of my books are being done this way.
What “branding” messages do you get from the new ones? Like them? Dislike them? Do you want to see the characters, and if so, do you want to see both hero and heroine? What would you do instead?
If you’re interested in covers and/or how the designs have
changed over time, here’s a link to a great website devoted to covers done by
artist Allan Kass, who painted many Signet and other covers over a long career.
It’s fun to look for your favorite authors in the archives, and sometimes
recognize a favorite book!
Finally, I’m offering a free copy of The Lady from Spain
to one lucky commenter, whose name will be drawn and announced by next Friday.
So, please, join the conversation! And if you’d like to be part of the drawing,
please be sure to include your preference for Kindle or Nook (the only formats
available currently) or if you’re willing to wait for one of the other formats
which will be available soon. Oh, and your email address!
Thanks so much for letting me visit with you today!
Gail Eastwood
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The Signet reissue covers are pretty but I do prefer people on the cover. It could be the hero or heroine or both, depending on the story. In the case of these two, the conflict is a little more about the heroine in LFS and the hero in TCD so I think the your new covers hit the spot. This is the first time I've seen cover for TCD--he looks just perfect! And hot. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Gail, welcome back and it is so good to have you as a mini-Risky!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Elena about the Signet Reissue covers. I think these generic covers don't hint enough about the story or the genre. But I've had this debate with Mary Blayney and she points out that 50 Shades of Grey would probably not sold so well if it had a Romance cover.
On your two, Lady from Spain and The Captain's Dilemma, I think the covers are great!!! My only quibble would be the fonts of the titles. I think they make the covers look a bit "homemade." I'd opt for a crisper, more mass paperback type font for the titles.
But, then, what do I know??? Others may love those fonts!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe Signet reissue covers look cheap to me. I could produce one of these at home in about 10 minutes. I like your choices better. As for the older Signet covers; most of those were too generic to indicate anything about the story! And they look like they were expensive as well! Huh.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I love to read my regency stories on my Nook.
Susan in AZ
I prefer covers with the characters on them. I guess it gives me a point of reference when I read the back cover to decide if I want to buy it.
ReplyDeleteLike Diane I love your new covers, but the font could be reworked to look more standard. The artwork does a great job of depicting the stories. You don't need an overdone font when the artwork is that good. Just my take on it!
Gail, so glad you will be here regularly! I do like the new Signet covers, and the other new ones as well!
ReplyDeleteI like the original Signet covers because of the background details, though they often didn't really match the story well. The new ones are pretty but very restrained - I read romance because of the characters, so people would attract me more. Your new covers are eye catching, but I agree with other commenters, the fonts are a bit bold. I now need to go track down your POW title... This sounds fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to the cover artist. That was really interesting.
Thanks for the welcome, Diane! I love the idea of being a "mini-Risky", LOL! And thank you all for the feedback on the covers so far.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see how we all prefer people on our covers. Do you think the new Signet covers look more like "literary fiction"? Maybe they are trying to draw in some "non-romance" readers??
BTW, I'm going to pass along your font suggestions to my cover designer. I do see exactly what you mean about that! Not sure if we can change it on these, but we'll have more to come.
Dee, I also loved the detail on many of the old Signet covers. The old version for The Lady from Spain happens to be one of my favs --not because it was my book, just loved the artwork! That was an Allan Kass cover, as were several of my others.
ReplyDeleteThere's a funny story about the old cover for The Captain's Dilemma --that one wasn't even created for my book!! My sister nicknamed that cover "Nancy Drew does Oklahoma", LOL.
I like the vintage covers because they remind me of many happy reading experiences. To Regency lovers, they were a signal of just the sort of book we wanted to read. For others, I'm afraid the covers just looked silly.
ReplyDeleteThe new, re-release Signet covers in their very generic images reminded me of when the old Loveswept line went to covers with just flowers on them. It was like a death knell. Shortly afterwards Loveswept suffered its demise.
I like the new and old ones. Some of the new landscape ones don't really tell you much about what kind of book it is.
ReplyDeleteKindle
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
Oh, I hope the new Signet reissue covers won't mean the same fate for the ebook line, Diane!! I have no idea yet of whether or not they are selling. Fingers crossed!!
ReplyDelete"Susan in AZ" and bn100, so far it looks like you two are the only ones who want to be entered in the drawing for The Lady From Spain. I need your email address, Susan, in case you win the free copy! Anyone else? There's still time --we'll announce the winner next Friday.
I should say that if you don't want to post your email address here on the blog, I understand! You can also send it to me privately.
ReplyDeletegeastwoodauthor (at) hotmail.com
Oops...didn't know we needed to post our email address to be entered in the drawing. Hope I'm not too late to get my name in the hat!
ReplyDeletekareninnc at gmail dot com
Gail,
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your question, my email is kb7ypf@yahoo.com
Thanks, "Susan in AZ" --you're all set now.
ReplyDelete"Karen in NC" --you're not too late at all. Glad to have you in! The more the merrier. You can let me know now what format you'd prefer, or wait to see if you're the winner, either way is fine.
Good luck!
I like the classic covers with both characters and a bit of flavor from the story. I like it when the cover at least gives me a hint of what I'm buying!
ReplyDeleteObviously, I don't know which end is up around here...meaning me in front of my computer. Guess I need to read directions closer! LOL
ReplyDeleteI like the new covers best. For Lady from Spain, I get the sense of intrigue, mystery and perhaps exotic locales. (That was my original post which I deleted in error, so I'm putting it back...sigh..just call me the old dingbat broad!)
If I should be so lucky as to win your drawing, I would like a Kindle edition of your book! There, I think I have everything now.
kareninnc at gmail dot com