Tag Archives: cover art

Beautiful Grounds

Updated on October 8, 2008 by Elena Greene

Diane’s post on Mapping the Ton had me thinking about settings and how we use them in our stories, whether they are real places or our own creations.

I often like to do country settings, perhaps because I have so many happy memories of walking and riding through the English countryside. I sometimes choose counties I’ve visited. Sometimes I choose an area based on the mood of the story or what seems right for my characters.

I used a Sussex setting for LORD LANGDON’S KISS, as that’s where I lived during my UK assignment and thus knew best. For THE INCORRIGIBLE LADY CATHERINE, I wanted a setting that was wilder, to match my rather tempestuous heroine. I ended up using the northern Lake District, around Ullswater. I even had my characters stroll through the area that inspired Wordsworth’s famous poem about the daffodils and was delighted with how the art department depicted that scene (I am less delighted with the depiction of the hero, but enough of that!) I used the Cotswolds for THE REDWYCK CHARM; I felt the more rolling, pleasant landscape suited to the lighter story.

SAVING LORD VERWOOD had a darker thread, which I thought worked best in the far reaches of Cornwall (all sorts of cool ancient sites and great craggy cliffs to push people off). When inventing fictional stately homes, I like to use real houses from the same area as inspiration. Not that I incorporate every detail of the architecture or imitate exact floor plans, but I like to know some of the materials and building styles used. Though I adore Palladian mansions, for Verwood’s home I wanted something older. I found what I was seeking in Trerice House, pictured above. I think the art department captured the essence very nicely (the hero looks hot, too.) 🙂

For LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE I used Finchcocks as inspiration. It’s a lovely Georgian manor in Kent that also houses a museum of historical keyboard instruments (well worth a visit). Among the cover art suggestions, I also included a picture of an orchard in Kent, with a traditional oast house (used for drying hops) in the background.

So I don’t know how the cover ended up the way it did. Though I do like the overall layout and the color, the close up is reminding me of how very UN-Colin-Firth-like the hero looks. And that hair is giving me the shakes!

Moving on to my current work-in-progress. Part of the story will be set in Norfolk, so I have been looking around for inspiration from real stately homes there.

Holkham Hall (home of Coke of Norfolk of agricultural fame, pictured to the left) is gorgeous but not quite what I have in mind for this story. Felbrigg Hall (on the right) is a possibility.

However, Mannington Hall (pictured below, a medieval manor house now better known for its gardens) is very appealing. It even has a moat! I’ve already written a hero who owned a stone circle but never one with a moat. That could be interesting…

What sorts of settings do you enjoy? Do you have favorite counties, or favorite stately homes?

If you write, how do you come up with imaginary settings?

And do you enjoy seeing settings used in cover art? Personally, I tend to prefer them over clinches and headless male torso covers. Maybe like Elizabeth Bennet, I’m a pushover for “beautiful grounds.”

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cover art, Felbrigg Hall, Finchcocks, Holkham Hall, Lake District, Mannington Hall, Trerice House, Ullswater | 10 Replies

Heroines

Updated on February 27, 2008 by Elena Greene

Watching the red carpet show before the Oscars and seeing some of the actresses reminded me that we’ve done a lot of discussion on models and inspiration for our heroes, but not much about heroines.

Like many writers, I use pictures of actors, not only to send to the art department in the valiant hope of an accurate cover, but also to help me visualize my characters. I choose people who look right but also–at least in some fleeting cinematic moment I happened to catch despite my chronic tired mommy state–capture some aspect of my characters.

Right now, I’m using a slightly younger version of Laura Linney as inspiration for the heroine of my current mess-in-progress. She has a way of looking stressed out and lovely at the same time which is good for this particular heroine.

Also on the red carpet was Keri Russell, who happened to be the inspiration for my very first heroine: Nell, from LORD LANGDON’S KISS. Keri looked gorgeous on the red carpet and didn’t appear much older than in the photo I sent in eight years ago! I find it amusing that the hairstyles look similar, at least from the front.

This is Liv Tyler, who has the moody sort of beauty I wanted for THE INCORRIGIBLE LADY CATHERINE. They gave her the Obligatory Regency Cover Smile but it was all right for the scene depicted and the artist captured the eyebrows. I was less happy with the hero–in my mind I saw him as looking like a sexy blacksmith (though in gentleman’s clothes). I’ll spare you the result…

I sent in a picture of Gwyneth Paltrow for Juliana in THE REDWYCK CHARM. In the cover, her hair is red because she had dyed it at that point in the story. In any case, it’s not a bad likeness. I think the hero looked pretty handsome though that flip of his hair is a bit odd.

Sorry about the graininess of this picture; I can’t find the original one of Jo Anderson I sent in as a likeness for Penelope in SAVING LORD VERWOOD. It was hard to find a red-haired actress who fit the part. As it turns out, I need not have bothered because they somehow transformed her into a blonde. I’ve heard of authors changing their manuscripts to fit the cover but as Pen had already appeared in the two previous books as a redhead I wasn’t going to do it! Anyway, this cover was actually one of my nicest with a dishy looking hero, so I won’t complain any more.

For LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE, I chose Michelle Pfeiffer. Like Michelle Pfeiffer’s character in THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, Lady Dearing is the Wrong Woman–or more correctly, thinks she is, because of course she does get her happy ending. The cover image for this book was absolutely tiny but the heroine looks more or less right. The hero is absolutely wrong–not only does he NOT look anything like Colin Firth but he’s also got a pretty awful mullet. I’m glad the image was tiny!