Mar 27, 2013

Covers, characters and a giveaway!

by Emmie Dark

Hi Lovecatters! It's an exciting month for me. Not only has my brand new novella Spellbound hit the e-shelves with Destiny publishing, I've also just received the cover art for my June SuperRomance!

I've totally been blessed by the cover fairies this month. Check out Spellbound:
Isn't it gorgeous? Sexy, a little mysterious, and somehow magical -- perfectly in sync with the quirky spice of the story. Personally, I also think that guy has one very sexy shoulder/chest. I think, maybe, it's because he's wearing a singlet and not showing just bare skin. What do you think? Are we in the romance world a little weary of naked-chested hunks? (Is such a thing possible??)

And here's the cover for Just For Today...
I've got a story about the cover for Just For Today. It's funny how different books can be. For me, most of the time when I'm writing, I don't usually have an exceptionally strong sense of how my characters look. I mean, I know what color their hair is, and their eyes,  as well as any quirks like scars, etc, but when I picture them in my mind's eye, I don't often have a crystal-clear image of their faces.

That was totally different with Just For Today. I knew exactly, right from the start, what my hero and heroine looked like.

My hero was the spitting image of Jensen Ackles from the TV show Supernatural. He seems to be a perennial favourite with romance authors -- I do see his mug pasted up on Facebook more often than most.
And I think you can see why.

Apart from the jaw and chiselled chin, the hair was a big thing. My hero, Sean, does his hair exactly like that. And it gets referred to a lot in the book.

My heroine, Jess, also sprang into my mind's eye just as quickly and fully formed. She was Erin Karpluk from the TV show Being Erica. (If you haven't seen it, you absolutely must! It's wonderful!)
Jess had that same long, flowing hair and very natural, down-to-earth look. She's also a little older than Sean (a little more world-wearied, too) and I thought the two of them worked perfectly together. (I was thrilled to discover, long after the book was written and submitted, that Jensen and Erin shared screen time in the show Dark Angel -- unfortunately not romantically!)

Now go back and look at the cover for Just For Today -- don't I owe the talent scouts in the art department at Harlequin a beer??

I haven't got my advance copies of Just For Today yet. But leave a comment and I'll send one lucky commenter a copy as soon as they arrive. You'll be among the first in the world to read it!

How much notice do you take of the way characters look on the covers as compared to how they're described in the book? How clearly do you picture your characters when you're writing?

23 comments:

  1. When the characters on the cover look nothing like the characters described in the book, it really annoys me. The hero has red hair, but the man of the cover has black hair. Does the art department even read the book? I do love your book covers, Emmie

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  2. Those are magic covers, Em! It's wonderful when the characters on the cover really reflect what you've imagined. I do love a hunky naked chest. Shoulders are extremely important too ;)

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  3. Emmie, those two covers are so *completely* different in tone, yet I love them both! You've definitely been blessed. :)

    I take a lot of notice of covers - I'm looking for clues about the tone of the story, etc.

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  4. Thanks Tammy! I know I have been annoyed by completely mis-matched cover models, but I must admit, most of the time I don't even notice!

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  5. Thanks Robyn. Shoulders are very sexy, I think.

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  6. I agree Rachel -- the book cover can have a lot to do with why I buy in the first place, but then once I'm into the book I mostly tend to forget about it.

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  7. You have been truly blessed with gorgeous covers :) I love both of them!!!!

    How fab to have your hero and heroine looking so similar to the cover - I just love that. As Tammy said, it irks me when the models on the covers are totally different to the characters in the book.

    Congrats on the releases of both books - how exciting!!!!!!!!

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  8. I don't take a lot of notice of the models on covers. I tend to form my own images from the descriptions given.

    Jensen Ackles is gorgeous!!

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  9. They are both great covers, Emmie. Especially love the Spellbound cover - very sexy! I haven't seen Being Erica so must check it out!

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  10. Hey Emmie.
    You know what I think is sexy about the Destiny cover? It's the look on her face. I love that "blissed out" look. The I'm-so-in-to-you look I dont even know someone's taking my picture. Because I think that's how love is and feels in its first exciting throes.
    And that cover captures it to perfection.
    Love it!

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  11. Emmie, I agree with Amy - it's the expression in the face that really makes it work, though I have to say I love the SuperRomance cover too. Isn't it wonderful when the cover fairies produce something that fits so perfectly with your story and especially, how you envisaged the characters?

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  12. I love both covers, Emmie. They're so different in tone but the emotion just floats off the page for each of them. Covers are hugely important to me. I want to be able to feel what the story's about.

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  13. Thanks Joanne! I've been really lucky with all my covers -- I hope it continues!

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  14. Mary -- I'm with you on that! He's one very pretty boy -- and seems like a nice person, from what I've read, to boot!

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  15. The cover fairy has been kind to you, Emmie -- both covers are lovely. As an author, I'm always delighted to get a pretty cover, but as a reader I don't give two hoots. It's the story between the cover that I'm really focussed on. :-)

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  16. Jennifer -- Being Erica is SUCH a great show. It's such a quirky premise: the main character gets to go back and re-live critical moments in her life to see if her life really would be different if she'd done things differently.

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  17. That's a really good point, Amy! She is "blissed out". And that's actually a pretty good description of what happens to my heroine! :)

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  18. Annie, I'm pretty sure the cover fairies have blessed me. I know it's not easy to do book covers and I do know authors who haven't been very happy with what they've ended up with. I just have to keep my fingers crossed that my good luck continues!

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  19. Barbara I think you're right -- the "feeling" of the book comes from the cover. And these are two different books with two different "feelings" so the very different styles work.

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  20. Michelle -- I'm a bit the same, although I will admit to being suckered in and buying a book for its cover once or twice before... ;)

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  21. I've quit looking at the covers because for so long the picture on the cover was nothing like what was described in the book.

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  22. Hi Emmie, Just want to say, Right Cover for two books. And i love Jensen..

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  23. Nice covers. Notice that some covers don't match the character descriptions, but it doesn't really matter to me.

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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