Jun 15, 2016

A Tale of Two (Okay, Three) Covers - Annie West

I couldn't help but talk covers today. I've got a new book out next week ( but you can pre-order!) and the difference in the covers for this one fascinates me. You'll see as you scroll down the page. I'll put them in the order I saw them. First is the North American cover:
http://www.amazon.com/Flaw-Raffaeles-Revenge-Harlequin-Presents/dp/0373134541/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464161772&sr=1-3&keywords=Annie+West
Now is probably the time to tell you what the book is about so you can see how the covers fit. This is my reverse beauty and the beast story, where the hero, once dubbed The Sexiest Man in the World, is the beauty (on the surface) and the scarred, reclusive heroine is the Beast. Of course things aren't quite as simple as that. Here's the back cover text to give you a taste of it:
 
A fragile beauty that tamed the beast within… 

Relentless Italian Raffaele Petri needs reclusive researcher Lily Nolan to see his revenge plans come to fruition. But the damaged beauty is feisty, argumentative and all too intriguing to be ignored!

Scarred as a child, Lily shut herself away from cruel prying eyes, so working for a man as breathtakingly handsome as Raffaele makes her own physical imperfections harder to bear. Until Raffaele's kisses awaken the untouched woman inside.

As Raffaele's retribution draws closer, Lily must use her newfound strength to help him release the torment eating at his soul. But will Raffaele risk his vengeance for her love?
 
So, here's the Australian/New Zealand cover. As you can see, it uses the same picture as the American cover and focuses on passion and the Manhattan rooftop setting (the story is set there and on a Caribbean island resort).
 
 
When I wrote the story I had a very, very strong image in my head of the hero. He's my first blond hero. Not just blond but golden, old-gold hair and golden skin. Yes, I know Italian heroes aren't generally blond but he's from the north and he takes after his mother's non-Italian side of the family. Have you seen 'The Talented Mr Ripley'? It featured a younger, gorgeous Jude Law, looking tanned and, yes, golden, with those bright searing eyes. That's how I imagined Raffa, my hero who dragged himself from poverty and made it to the top in a tough world. He's beautiful to look at but hard as nails underneath, till he meets Lily who makes him feel things he'd never felt before.
 
Okay, then, here's the UK cover to complete the trio. It's got the glamour and the sensuality of the others. In fact I think there's a hint of sexual tension that's stronger here in the other two, and I'm sure it will make people look twice - which is what I ask from a title. I'm just wondering if readers will blame me when they discover that the Raffa inside is clean shaven, golden-skinned and blond instead of bearded, pale and dark-haired.
 
 
What about you? Do you mind if the cover of a book doesn't exactly represent the characters within? Or do you just enjoy the cover and then forget about it when you're reading?
 
I'll give away a signed copy of a backlist book to someone who leaves a comment (and it doesn't matter where you live). I'll post the winner's name here before the next post on Friday.
 
If you want to buy THE FLAW IN RAFFAELE'S REVENGE, all the usual bookstores have it and you can find links and an excerpt on my website. But here are a couple of quick links:


29 comments:

  1. To be honest, I hardly ever notice the cover. That being said, I WAS annoyed a couple of weeks ago when I read a book where there was only one scene with them dressed up, and they had the wrong colour dress and hair colour on the cover. It didn't affect how well I enjoyed every page of the story, but it left a bad taste in my mouth re the publisher. (I was taught in the days of "If you're going to do something, then do it right in the first place.")

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  2. Annie, congratulations on the Flaw in Raffaele's Revenge! It's a fabulous story! And how clever to do a reverse Beauty and the Beast - what an intriguing concept!

    Actually I DO like the people on the cover to match the people inside the book. I get this strange disconnection when they don't. Maybe it's just me. I also like the scene on the cover to have at least some relationship to what's happening in the story. I remember a Laura Kinsale years ago featuring a couple getting hot and heavy under a waterfall - and there wasn't even a mention of a waterfall in the story. Hmm, clearly I need to get out more!

    Hiya LoveCats!!!

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    1. Anna, thanks so much for the congratulations. I must admit I have a real soft spot for this story and am eager to hear what readers think of it.

      Laughing at the missing waterfall. I wonder if it was edited out of the final version or whether the cover designers just had a great idea for a waterfall setting? :)

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  3. Hi Laney, I admit I don't buy based on cover but I know what you mean. Hope you still enjoyed the book!

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  4. First of all, congratulations and good luck for your new book Annie.
    I love it when the cover reflects the history of the book, the pictures of the book's protagonists wish they were as they are described. Sometimes pictures of the characters are completely different from how they are described in the book.
    Franca

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    1. Hi Franca, it's good to hear from you. And thank you so much for your Italian language expertise on this one!

      I love it when the cover reflects the book too, even if it's in one tiny detail. I find that so satisfying.

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  5. To be honest, I don't buy a book based on the cover, although I take it into account subconsciously (for some strange reason I notice the discrepancies of haircolour etc) I usually pay more attention to the blurb. Congratulations on the new book, Annie!

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    1. Hi Riet, and thank you for the congratulations! I'm thrilled that this one will be in stores soon. Yes, I notice the hair colour discrepancy but apart from that I don't look for complete agreement with the text.

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  6. I really love the US and Aussie covers - so glam and gorgeous! I prefer the covers to match the book, doesn't have to be exact but I don't like them to be wildly different.

    However, I've been in that spot where the publisher's cover doesn't match the story. it's frustrating, but hopefully the reader will have fun creating their own image while they read our stories :)

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    1. Hi Stef! Yes, those red-toned covers are rather glam, aren't they? I'm very fond of the Aussie one. I think the UK one is elegant too.

      Yes, readers do create their own version of what we write, don't they? I do it all the time.

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  7. I LOVE dark-haired, bearded heroes and I tend to seek out books that feature them, so I might be quite disappointed if the hero turned out to be cleanshaven, but I do know that authors often have no say when it comes to the covers, therefore I certainly wouldn't blame an author.
    I live in Italy and here indeed are a lot of men that don't match the stereotypical image people are used to.

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    1. Natalija, that's so interesting about people not matching stereotypes. I find when I travel and say I'm Australian, that people expect all Aussie men to be tall, muscular and tanned! :)

      Interesting too that you like bearded heroes. I think I've only written one - in a novella - so far.

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  8. Hi Annie

    Firstly I am so looking forward to this book woohoo :)

    I love the US and Aussie covers the UK one not so much and yes I do like the hero and heroine if pictured on a cover to be similar to the actual characters but in saying that I would still read the story and just put the cover out of my head :)

    Have Fun
    Helen

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    1. Helen, I hope you enjoy it. I'll be interested to hear. Smiling at the idea of you putting the cover out of your head. Good approach. I often forget the cover as I read.

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  9. Congratulations on the new book
    Covers matter a lot to me because it helps me relate to the story more and gives me an idea about the description of the characters however majority of the times I just let my imagination run wild and picture entirely different people

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    1. Hi Natasha, and thanks for the congratulations. It's lovely having a new book about to hit the shelves.

      Laughing at your imagination running wild. Mine tends to do that too. :)

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  10. It used to bother me just from the standpoint of "Why don't you make what's on the outside match the inside?", but I don't pay attention anymore. I notice that they do that with movies, too, which is even worse because I'll be looking at a photo or poster thinking they never stood under that tree together.

    Covers do attract my attention but it's the blurb or reading a few pages that sells me. Once I start reading I get an image of the characters in my mind and don't look at the cover again. And if it's an author I already like it hardly matters what's on the cover except your name (yes, I mean you ;-) ).

    This sounds like a great story, love the premise. And now that you said Jude Law in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" that will most certainly be my image of Raff.

    Congrats and thanks for the giveaway.

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    1. Hi Grandma Cootie,

      So glad you've seen the film so you can picture my hero too! And I'm chuffed that you look out for my books that way - that's what every author loves to hear. I hope this is one you take a shine to. I was so excited to write it from the moment I had the initial idea.

      Now that's really interesting about film posters. I haven't noticed that before - will have to do some checking. I suppose they're aiming for a design that will catch the eye.

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  11. Hey Annie. I do love a blonde man :-)

    As an author, of course I am obsessed with covers... it's great when they get it right!

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    1. Amy, they can be gorgeous, can't they? Blond men and covers.

      So easy to get a bit obsessed with the way the covers look. I remember seeing the UK one for the first time and noticing it wasn't like the book but also thinking it's so appealing I bet readers look a second time - which is what I want.

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  12. I love the Aussie cover best, Annie -- so gorgeous and lush. When I was a kid, if the covers were wrong it really used to bug me. These days, as a reader, I barely notice. As a writer, though, I'm always praying for gorgeous covers that reflect the story. :-)

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    1. Interesting that you say this Michelle. I think I've become a little more laidback about it as I've gotten older since I'm more tolerant of artistic licence in the cover, but I definitely notice if there is a disconnect between what the hero and/or heroine on the cover look like and the descriptions the author has proivded within the story.

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    2. Michelle, I agree. I do think that Aus cover is my fave.

      I'm getting a bit more laid back too, though my acid test is always 'does it look appealing?'. If the answer is yes, I'm happy.

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  13. I know that the Aus/NZ cover and North American cover essentially use the same image, but I prefer the Aus/NZ and I very rarely say that. On the North American one, it seems to make me think the vertical blinds? are in front of the couple not behind as I expect them to be.
    I know UK covers are generally more reserved than those elsewhere, but this one just make me feel like it could be on any book.

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    1. Lyn, I guess it's hard too, coming up with something eye catching for so many books. I suspect the vertical lines are wooden slats on a pergola. There's a scene in the hero's roof garden so I'm assuming that's what it is. A bit of artistic licence.

      I must say I've been very lucky with some of the covers I've had.

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  14. I really prefer the cover to match the book. I bought a book with the Eiffel Tower on the cover that had nothing about Paris. I was disappointed but I didn't write an angry letter to the author. My guess is production mixed up the covers. So your UK cover would annoy me but it would not diminish my enjoyment of your wonderful story.

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    1. Hi Laura, that would have been disconcerting! You'd definitely expect a French-set book in that case. I wonder if it was a mix up in production?

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  15. Thanks everyone for dropping by.

    I've just done a random draw and the winner of a signed Annie West book is NATASHA PERSAUD. Congratulations!

    Natasha, if you send me an email at annie(at)annie-west(dot)com with your postal address, I'll send you one of my titles.

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  16. I love the Australian cover, Annie. Yes, I do like the images to match the story but it would't stop me enjoying a good book. Especially one of yours!

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