Cover…right? But don’t we do just that? 
Of course we do.
That’s why publishers spend so much time and money attempting to design a cover that will grab the reader. That will entice us to pick up the book and take a look.
I’ve got three books coming out this year. Two here in the U.S. and one in Germany. And one of them is a novella, which I really enjoyed writing.
To Mend a Dream (the novella) is part of a Southern collection with fellow authors Shelley Shepard Gray, Dorothy Love, and Elizabeth Musser. Have you read any of their books yet? Marvelous writers, all.
Here’s the cover for our Southern novella collection (July 2015) that’s complete with scrumptious Southern desserts straight from the stories…
Among the Fair Magnolias final cover
If you click on the title link above, you’ll see one of the earlier versions of this cover. Similar to this one, but the final cover (pictured above) has far more detail. And also has magnolias, which is a nice tie-in with the title.
I’m a fan of path pictures, per se, so I really liked the concept for Among the Fair Magnolias. The dress is a tad too Cinderella-esque for me, personally, but the final touches that were added (and also the removal of some squigglies by her head) help draw the eye to the path and gives the cover movement, which is also nice.
From a Distance releases this month in Germany, and I love the cover that Christian Heinritz (art designer with Francke, my German publisher) designed. Perfect for that audience.
The Photo of my Life
(From a Distance in German)
The original cover in the U.S.
Which do you prefer? Don’t be shy. You can be honest. 🙂
Here I am with Christian last summer in Germany. We’re holding The Inheritance (German edition) with the cover he also designed. I adore that cover. He’s one talented man. (And quite entertaining, huh, Lynn?)
Finally, here’s the front and back cover of To Win Her Favor, my May release and the second Belle Meade Plantation novel.
Cover trivia:
The model on To Win Her Favor is also a horse trainer herself. And the horse on the cover…is hers!
I appreciate the warmth of this cover and am so grateful to HCCP for the “painterly effect” they added. Horses play a prominent role in the Belle Meade Plantation novels, and especially in To Win Her Favor. And I’m thrilled that Bourbon Belle, the heroine’s horse in the novel, is pictured on the cover.
So, while we’re taught at a young age not to judge a book by its cover, I think for the most part that lesson falls on deaf ears, don’t you? And with good reason. After all, we’re visual. We love to “see” a story as well as read one.
Have you ever chosen to start reading a book based solely on the cover? Do you remember which book that was and what drew you to pick it up? What’s your favorite kind of cover? Landscape scenes? Characters? Characters shown with only partial faces? Characters shown only from the back? Heroes? Heroines? Both? Do tell!
Tammy
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Tamera Alexander
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I prefer books that don’t show the character’s faces or show them only in shadow, etc. I like to decide how they look in my own mind. That said, I do remember picking up Kristen Heitzmann’s TWILIGHT because the firefighter hero on the cover had the most amazing eyes I just had to know his story! 🙂 It was a good one, too!
I can’t wait till TO WIN HER FAVOR comes out. (It is my favorite cover of yours so far!)
LOL at the firefighter’s eyes, Deb. Now I have to go look at that cover! ; ) And thanks for your kind words. I REALLY appreciate all your help with that book. I owe you peanut butter twists . . . for life!
Do I have to sign up and have a goodreads account in order to enter the giveaway for your book?
Yes, Hope, you do, since it’s a giveaway actually held on Goodreads this time. But it’s easy to sign up. https://www.goodreads.com You’ll find LOTS of giveaways there, as well as information on new books, links to book trailers, videos from authors, etc…
I had not realized until recently how much I do look at book covers. I can see a cover and think “oh, this looks good”. But I want YOUR books regardless of the cover!
Bless you, Joan, and thanks! I look at book covers a ton. Although… Once someone recommends a book to me (no better marketing than word of mouth, right?), I don’t care what the cover is like. I pick it up (or download the free sample on my eReader) and I’m off to the races!
I picked up a book by Rachel Hauck based solely on the cover…and loved it!! I do this every now and then just for fun. My library also has a few blind book ‘dates’ that are fun to check out.
LOL at your library having “blind book dates.” LOVE that! And I’ll be sure to tell Rachel what you said! She and I were just chatting yesterday. Love her. And her books. ; )
Ah, y’all are making me blush! Alyssa thanks for giving the book a go! A cover does say so much about a book, really. Don’t you always hope the story inside matches. 🙂
Tammy, still polishing the nuggets of our conversation. Love to you!
Rachel
I prefer the German version of From a Distance. The heroine looks relatable and thoughtful and brave.
In my opinion, the cover for your novella collection is LOVELY. So romantic. I’m glad they went with the version you’ve posted above (with the low sweeping Magnolia branches) to the one on Amazon.
Agreed, Becky, on the final version of Among the Fair Magnolias. And I prefer my German cover on The Inheritance too. The exact descriptors came to my mind as well. Especially…brave.
I love the Magnolia cover and I LOVE that dress! I like the cover of From a Distance better but the German cover is perfect for them. She looks so German to me. What a wonderful cover for To Win Her Favor. That is great! I would buy that and the Magnolia collection on the covers alone.
I like seeing the women and men on the covers, especially in costume. Even if the face is not my favorite, I tend to do what I do with names; I may hate the name but the character quickly takes over and I give no heed to face nor name but am caught in the story. Sometimes if they are particularly pretty or handsome to me, I will match them in my head.
I remember the years they used to take Grace Livingston Hill’s turn of the century books and make them look like 1960’s dresses and do’s. Now that was awful!
Great comment about the costumes/dresses on the front, Sandy. I love those too. And I love it when the dress pictured on the cover is actually IN the book, or has some specific meaning. I still love my FAD cover—that red dress is great, and my daughter’s hair on the cover is still pretty (LOL)—but I really like the model’s expression on the German version. Thanks for the kind words about To Win Her Favor and Magnolias. I’ve had a great time writing over the past year and living in these worlds. Now I’m back at Belmont and am writing the third story in that series. It’s great to be back with Adelicia at Belmont too!
Great posts. Covers are meant to entice readers.
I prefer the German version of from a distance, but that’s mostly because there’s a horse in it.
The backstory on the cover for To Win Her Favor is great! That’s enough to entice me to read the book.
The comment about the horse made me smile, Carrie. I love horses on covers. Hope you enjoy To Win Her Favor!
Great covers. I love the novella cover, too. Was it hard to write a novella, Tammy? (Especially for you, Miss 150,000 word novel?) I’ve never tried to write one. Hope it sells like hotcakes, or whatever the Southern equivalent is. 🙂
Yes, it was hard, Julie. At first at least. And it took longer to write than I thought. But writing a shorter story (hey, my novella’s still 26K+, LOL! and some “full length” stories are only 65K) really pushed me to write with more immediacy, which was really good for me (who yes, writes very long stories). Since we first meet Savannah Darby, the heroine in To Mend a Dream, in To Win Her Favor, I already knew Savannah and her desires and journey very well. To Mend a Dream is certainly a stand alone novella, but those readers having read To Win Her Favor will have a deeper, richer read because they’ve already walked in Savannah’s shoes, so to speak.
To be honest: I’m annoyed when the woman/man on the cover looks totally different to the main character in the book…
Yep, get that. Annoys me too, Elke. Sometimes though, the author can’t control that (if the publisher goes a different direction with the cover than the story the author wrote dictates). But we work hard to be in sync on that count.
I prefer the U. S. version of “From a Distance.” To me, the model (and the dress) better represent how I “saw” the heroine. To each her own, though. 🙂
I definitely read books just based on their cover. I really only do that with Christian fiction, though, when I know what kind of books the author writes. Call me strange, but I actually get turned off from books at times when I read the description–they almost give away too much information for me (too predictable?) and/or the description isn’t appealing (though once I start reading, I usually fall in love with the story). I love covers with heroines usually wearing an historical-looking dress (I love history!). I love the cover for “A Lasting Impression” with the contrast between the white background and the blue dress–it’s eye-catching.
Oh yes, Mallori, the heroine in From a Distance, Elizabeth Westbrook, definitely matches the cover of the US version. But there’s something about the woman on the German version that grabs me. I share your love of history, of course. And thanks for those kind words about A Lasting Impression. That’s a favorite cover of mine, too. I got to choose the dress on that cover, for which I was so grateful! And then promptly wrote it into the story, of course.
Although the German cover of “From a Distance” appeals to me at first glance and would certainly make me pick up that book off the shelf, after reading the book, I feel that the American version represents the heroine more accurately. I can see her “citified” affectations and the internal problems that she ends up working through more clearly. I admire very much your ability to introduce me to someone I really don’t identify with and to take me on this ride with her that opens up her world and feelings so that, by the end of the story, I find myself knowing and loving her to pieces!
Definitely, Diana, on the heroine in FAD, and I’m hugging you from Nashville right this very minute. Your kind words made my night! It’s ME who’s grateful to you for taking these journeys with me. I grow to love these characters so much during the months and months of writing. So…thank you for loving them too. ; )
I am SO excited about the novella collection, Tammy. 🙂 And of course your 2nd Belle Meade book in May (LOVE that cover too—especially that precious horse).
Been on the go today so am *LATE* stopping by, but wanted to say hello and I like the way you COVERED this post, hehehe… 😉 (Hey, I’m due a pun, right?!)
Hugs, Patti Jo
LOL at your cleverness, Patti Jo! So good to “see” you, friend!
I read some books because I love the cover! If it looks really interesting I will read it! And I have several authors that I’m going to get what they write no matter what! And that being said Tamera Alexandra you are one of those authors! I love historical fiction! And I love the Civil War Era the best!
I rarely pick up a book only by its front cover. I choose them rather by recommendation, my favorite authors 🙂 or the promising text on the back cover.
I think we are very visual. If the front picture is nice or fitting the historical setting you can even better dive into the story. But sometimes the front cover can be a little bit disappointing if the picture is to kitschy or the heroes look very different than you had imagined them.
One of my favorite books is A beauty so Rare. But I hadn’t grab this book by its cover because this big and very pink dress looks a little bit to much for me suitable for Eleanor.
I’m looking forward to your new books – whatever the cover looks like 🙂
Waving to you from Germany
Rosa 😉
The cover for the German edition is nice, but I really like the cover for the U.S. edition better. It touches the story in a special way.