The Cover Gods have blessed me once again!
Take a look at my new cover of The Vanishing Viscountess, coming January 2008 from Harlequin Historical!
I am THRILLED TO PIECES!! Not only does the scene fit the story, but the models even look like the hero and heroine.
The Vanishing Viscountess is Tanner’s story. Tanner first appeared in Innocence and Impropriety and when he threatened to take over the book, I promised him a very special book of his own. He settled down and allowed Flynn to get the girl in the end. Just as I suspected, however, Tanner gave me a wonderful good time writing his story of rescuing a viscountess-on-the-run and aiding her escape to Scotland.
Oddly enough when I was planning Innocence and Impropriety, I chose this image for Tanner. I didn’t realize that I’d chosen Gerard Butler, nor had I yet seen Phantom of the Opera and embarked on my Gerard Butler obsession. But talk about foreshadowing! Who thought that I’d foreshadow Tanner’s abs!
I do realize that the shirt and vest are not Regency period correct (Regency shirts did not open in the front and I doubt a Regency vest would be that color). I know I’m hypocritical, because I did lament about the Innocence and Impropriety cover hero wearing his neckcloth tied in a bow, and I made a big deal about the Beau Brummell BBC TV movie showing an open-front shirt. I do not care. The Vanishing Viscountess cover strikes just the right tone for the story and I’m betting the bare abs will make browsing female bookstore patrons pick up the book.
But if a gorgeous, bare-chested guy on one book wasn’t enough, I also received the cover for the UK version of last year’s Christmas anthology, featuring my novella, A Twelfth Night Tale and stories from yesterdays guest blogger, Elizabeth Rolls and the very talented, Deborah Hale. The UK version will be released October 2007 and was renamed A Regency Christmas.
Isn’t it a lovely Christmas cover?
You can actually order this book from Mills and Boon right now!
Visit my website to hear me gush more about these books. My contest this month is to win one autographed copy of my RITA winner, A Reputable Rake, for yourself and another copy for a friend. The Cover Gods were good to me for A Reputable Rake, too.
Is this a good time to renew our cover debate?
Would you be as thrilled about The Vanishing Viscountess cover as I am or do you think it is too….mantitty?
What kind of covers do you like best?
Do covers influence whether or not you pick up a book in a bookstore?
If you are reading a romance in public, do you conceal the cover? (I confess, I used to, but now I hope someone notices and dares to say something to me!)
If you are near Williamsburg, Virginia, this Saturday, September 15, from 1 pm to 3 pm, I’ll be signing copies of Innocence and Impropriety, along with Romance Authors, Michelle Willingham, Marliss Melton, and Sydney Croft at The College of William and Mary Bookstore (Barnes and Noble), 345 Duke of Gloucester Street, Williamsburg. Mention Risky Regencies and I’ll have something special for you!
What kind of covers do I like? Your Vanishing Viscountess will do me just fine. To be honest my gaze went straight past the non-Regency shirt and waistcoat. Didn’t even notice them! How pathetic is that? It would certainly have me picking it up in a shop.
Elizabeth
What a loaded topic. My taste actually varies for covers.
I wouldn’t have any trouble (and haven’t in the past) picking up any of your books due to cover art. My favorite styles are like Candice Hern’s latest three…those based on paintings. But of the three you have posted, I’d go for A Reputable Rake first, with The Vanishing Viscountess second.
As for hiding my covers, never! Nope, I’ve never hidden them from anything. Now I will keep them lowered toward my lap and more unseen if there are small children around, but only out of respect for the children and their parents.
Hope you have a wonderful signing! Sadly, I don’t hear of authors coming to the southern Louisiana area that often..*sigh*.
Ah, Elizabeth, you have exactly the reaction I’m hoping for (and the one I had when I first saw the cover!)
Haven, all the commercials for New Orleans make me pine to return there. I hope Southern Louisiana gets lots of visitors!
Your point about hiding covers from young children is a good one…
Thanks for the nice words about my covers. I still am in love with my Rake! The thing about the “Painting” covers is, I forget which goes with what book–did I already buy that one? Which is the new one? Although Candice’s latest cover looks painterly but might not be. It is very lovely.
I have nothing against a clinch cover as I’ve mentioned here before. I think there is a certain kind of clinch cover that just brands the book as an Avon, but I would have the same problem as with the painterly covers – they all start to look alike!
So I’m really thrilled with the Harlequin Historical covers. I think they’ve given me a special “look” but all the covers are distinctive enough to not get mixed up as to which is which.
I’ll still have another cover to share one of these days. My The Vanishing Viscountess is coming out in a special format in the UK. Hope they include those abs!
“So I’m really thrilled with the Harlequin Historical covers. I think they’ve given me a special “look” but all the covers are distinctive enough to not get mixed up as to which is which.”
Diane, I’ve felt the same way about my covers. Think I’ll hold out for a bit of bare chest and some Fab Abs on the next one though. I could cope with that on my website. And I don’t hide the covers of the books I’m reading either.
Elizabeth
Diane, I’ve felt the same way about my covers. Think I’ll hold out for a bit of bare chest and some Fab Abs on the next one though. I could cope with that on my website. And I don’t hide the covers of the books I’m reading either.
Oh, I can just hear this, Elizabeth. “Diane got abs! I want abs, too! Why does she get the abs and I don’t?”
Ah, the temperamental author!
Congrats on the gorgeous covers, Diane, they couldn’t happen to a nicer author. 🙂
I do most of my reading at home anyway but if I’m in public I usually don’t bring anything that looks too racy. I live in a somewhat conservative area and don’t want to invite dirty looks or lectures from the well-meaning…
Honestly, I like lots of different kinds of covers…clinches, flowers, landscapes, etc. And I must say, that I really like your Vanishing Viscountess cover, Diane.
~Andrea
“Now I will keep them lowered toward my lap and more unseen if there are small children around, but only out of respect for the children and their parents.”
This reminds me of the book signing in Reno at US Nationals two years back. I brought a whole lot of Caramello Koalas with me to give away. These are yummy, milk chocolate, caramel filled koalas. And I also had some tiny toy koalas. One little girl spotted the toy ones and asked if she could hold one. So I said yes, but only if she promised to keep it. Her mother came over to check she wasn’t bothering me and I offered the child a chocolate one if that was okay. One happy kid. Then her mother bought His Lady Mistress, handed it to the child and said, “You can give it to Grandma. It’s one of those nice stories she likes about the lords and ladies in England.”
I’ve often wondered how Grandma got on with that one! Of course if she’s anything like my aunt who assumes I enjoy writing Regencies because of the you-can-see-what-the-men-are-thinking tight breeches, then we don’t have a problem.
Elizabeth
I really loved the new version of A Regency Christmas. Though I liked the covour for Mistletoe Kisses. I liked this even more. Nice Winter scenery! I admit I’m going to buy the UK version though I have the USA version already. 🙂
I really liked Vanishing Viscountess covour alot. The open shirt-wearing man was just fine to me! 😉
Oh, I’d buy a book with any covour on it. I don’t care if it’s a naked man or a sheep on it. If I’m interested in the Author, or story, I’ll buy it regardless! And I’m not ashamed of what I read and will read proudly infront of anyone, anywhere, even in public. 😉
buttoning my lip on the subject of mantitty…almost–
Haven’t they figured out how alluring mantitty cleavage can be with a historically correct shirt?
Whoa baby! 🙂 I like! 🙂 (And the christmas one too!!) 🙂
At this point, when it comes to covers, I only have two pet peeves. . .
one – it bugs me when the cover is hotter than the actual story inside. Why, don’t really know but it does. Maybe because it’s that I don’t go for the really hot stuff, so but it sometimes feels like I’m reading really hot with the cover. And I don’t think I’m making all that much sense right now with my explanation. 😉
two – I really like people with heads on them. Really. 🙂 I can’t stand the headless people covers anymore. They annoy me to no end! LOL They didn’t bug me a while ago when I first started noticing them, but now I really can’t stand them. Oh well.
Lois
Oh I love all your covers. I think historicals have the nicest ones! I never hide my books – hey, it’s a free world. It’s not like they are totally naked lol. Sometimes I like the headless covers. I’d rather have headless so I can imagine that seeing a hero that I don’t care for. I don’t have that problem with your covers.
I should proofread these things – I would rather have headless so I could imagine what the hero looks like rather than seeing one that I didn’t care for.
Elizabeth, I worked with senior adults and, I can tell you, their bodies may not be what they used to be, but in their hearts they are as sensual as ever!
Elena, thanks for the nice words about my cover!
AndreaW, I am so glad you like the cover, too!
Ah, Mallory, how sweet of you to buy the UK version of the Christmas anthology! And you know, I’ll have a special Vanishing Viscountess just for you!
Lois, I, too, am a little tired of no heads, but, really, Catslady, you have a point! I never liked the old Fabio covers because I never imagined any hero would look like him!
Janet, I admire your restraint!!
I do think that this book cover reflects the level of sensuality on the inside, Lois. Good point you made! The Vanishing Viscountess is not sweet–Tanner and Marlena do spend several nights together.
Can anyone see the woman in the background of A Reputable Rake? Doesn’t she look the the woman on A Vanishing Viscountess? Almost the same pose…
Haven’t they figured out how alluring mantitty cleavage can be with a historically correct shirt?
I have to admit, I’m with Janet on this one (with plenty of Sean Bean images as my evidence, and Colin Firth for those who find him more to their taste). It’s not that an unbuttoned shirt on the cover is going to keep me from buying a book, but I always grind my teeth over costuming inaccuracies.
I’m a hopeless pedant, I know I am. But you look at something like the Sharpe movies, which aren’t exactly high budget great art. They’re fun historical action-adventure, made-for-TV, with casts of dozens for battle scenes that need a cast of thousands to do them justice and so on. And yet the uniforms are so very right. That makes me feel like the people behind the movie respected their product, the books’ author, the history behind the story, and last but not least, me as a viewer. Why can’t romance cover art be the same way? It’s not like it’s any harder to paint a period-appropriate shirt on a model than it is to stick one on an actor.
I do really really love that REGENCY CHRISTMAS cover, though. And I know I’m a hopeless pedant, really, I do.
I like the new cover a lot, Diane. And I really like how they do your name — I’d never actually clued in before that each HH author gets her name done in her own special style on each cover…nice!
Cara
thanks, Cara. I thought my name was hard to read at first, but now I love the font!
Harlequin Historicals always do one of the best covers I’ve ever seen. And as you know the shallow me rather well…I have and will sometimes buy new-to-me-authors’ books for their cover alone.
Do you folks writing for HH like the UK covers better than the US ones?
I like seeing how your name, Diane, has now acquired its own font and is going to be a feature of all your books.
Your RAKE is your best cover, imo, with I&I next. The mantity in VV isn’t that obvious at all, partly because the anachronistic shirt’s partially in the way and also because this model’s leaner.
OK, so there was a repetition of that font comment. That’s what happens when I start commenting then walk away for an hour or two and forget to read over previous comments before posting my comment.
Looking back at my previous comment, I really think I need a crowbar to pry my foot out of my mouth. Sorry about that! Clearly I’ve been giving my inner pedant too free a rein today. You should’ve seen me on another forum, giving a history lecture in response to a tangential comment with some misinformation on the use and effectiveness of rifles vs. muskets in the American Revolution…
Diane:
It is a gorgeous cover, congratulations.
Looking back at my previous comment, I really think I need a crowbar to pry my foot out of my mouth.
Oh, Susan, don’t give it a thought! I have had similar sentiments about anachronisms. But in THIS case, the scene on the cover is so perfect for the book that I forgive the cover artist his ignorance of Regency fashion. This time…
Harlequin Historicals always do one of the best covers I’ve ever seen. And as you know the shallow me rather well…I have and will sometimes buy new-to-me-authors’ books for their cover alone.
Keira, I’m counting on “shallow” people like you to buy my book because of the hero’s abs!!!(g)
And I agree. A Reputable Rake is the BEST cover! I still can’t understand why it did not win a prize.
But in THIS case, the scene on the cover is so perfect for the book that I forgive the cover artist his ignorance of Regency fashion. This time…
You know, that’s probably a topic in itself–times when our inner pedants aren’t bothered by things that normally trigger them. E.g., I know I’m not supposed to like Gladiator, that it’s completely ahistorical and all that. But…but…Russell Crowe! As a general and a gladiator! And I like the story, so I just handwave it as alternate reality!
Like Becoming Jane. I can enjoy the movie if I remind myself this is not Jane Austen’s life!
Breathless! I’ve been checking Amazon from time to time, wondering about this cover. Very nice, indeed.
I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite covers is Lucy Monroe’s “Ready.” I’ve struggled to figure out why, and have come to the conclusion that it’s because it feels intimate. He is relaxed but preoccupied, and I am allowed to simply observe him, with the underlying feeling that at any moment he will turn and notice.
I’ve always enjoyed watching people, and wondering about them. But there are some people that are simply a pleasure to watch. Not unlike the beauty of a horse in motion or stopping to delight in a meadow of flowers.
Your new cover feels the same way.
I must admit though, my favorite is RR. I gladly carry about my little keyring with the laminated cover and tiny rake. I can remember when I first owned the book, I would leave it out simply to look at the cover. LOL!
Brava, Diane!
I must admit though, my favorite is RR. I gladly carry about my little keyring with the laminated cover and tiny rake. I can remember when I first owned the book, I would leave it out simply to look at the cover. LOL!
Brava, Diane!
You carry around the Rake? Why didn’t I think of that? (Judy has a promotional item I used for A Reputable Rake. It’s a tiny garden rake and a small laminated cover. “Rake” Get it???)
And I confess, I used to keep the book out so I could stare at the cover, too!!!
You carry around the Rake?
I carry a small, drawstring (leather) pouch, like found for a Ren Faire costume, as my purse. Truth be told, I purchased it at our local RF. With my disk herniation, I couldn’t carry anything heavy (no more than a couple of pounds, at first). I discovered my cards, cash, keys, and a cell phone fit, and that was all I really needed. LOL! I attached the keyring to the drawstring. I love my personal Rake. ;-D
I love my personal Rake. ;-D
Ah, Judy, isn’t that what every woman wants? 🙂
Cara
I love my personal Rake. ;-D
Ah, Judy, isn’t that what every woman wants? 🙂
Cara
LOL! I hadn’t realized how completely until Sloane! Then I discovered several other Rakes, and I was utterly lost. 🙂
This is a little off topic but I have to comment on Gerard Butler. I saw Phantom of the Opera and I didn’t really understand everyone’s obsession with him. However, I saw 300 last weekend and now I understand the obsession. Wow! What a hunk. If you haven’t seen 300 and you like beefcake, you have to see this movie.
I’m going to miss your signing by one week. My husband and I are going to Richmond to visit his parents from the 25-29. Are you doing any signings around that time?
This is a little off topic but I have to comment on Gerard Butler. I saw Phantom of the Opera and I didn’t really understand everyone’s obsession with him. However, I saw 300 last weekend and now I understand the obsession. Wow! What a hunk. If you haven’t seen 300 and you like beefcake, you have to see this movie.
georgie lee, Gerard Butler is never off topic with me!!! I’m an official TART. Abs aside, he is an actor who puts a great deal of authentic emotion in a role. (Really, Janet!!! I’m not just talking abs!)
I’m going to miss your signing by one week. My husband and I are going to Richmond to visit his parents from the 25-29. Are you doing any signings around that time?
Oh, darn!!! That’s too bad. I’m not doing any other signings until the New Jersey conference Oct 6. Really, I’m lucky the Wmsburg bookstore can get the books. I’m signing Innocence & Impropriety and usually a March Harlequin Historical release is no longer available.
georgie lee, I forgot to mention that I saw 300 FOUR times in the movie theatre.
And now I own the dvd!
W & M was the one university I really, really wanted to go to, while I was stuck in the wilds of urban Milwaukee. The lack of moolah and the fact that the engineering department there is not really, um, all that much, is what stopped me. But who knows? Now that I’ve officially stepped over to the liberal arts side, perhaps my husband will find a job in Wburg, and I’ll be able to go to school there (and pigs will fly).
Gee, Diane, I didn’t know you were a tart, officially or unofficially. See what researching Tanner’s story does to you???
Now that I’ve officially stepped over to the liberal arts side, perhaps my husband will find a job in Wburg, and I’ll be able to go to school there (and pigs will fly).
Ooh, Keira! Then I could see you more often. My inlaws live in Wmsburg!
Gee, Diane, I didn’t know you were a tart, officially or unofficially. See what researching Tanner’s story does to you???
Oh yes. I joined the Tart world right after I saw Phantom of the Opera!