Elizabeth Amber | Lustworthy Pin-up Guys

As I write each novel in The Lords of Satyr series, I always have an idea of what the hero looks like in my head. And pinned on my wall. Since my pin-up guys are cut from magazines, they’re usually actors, musicians, models--someone I consider lustworthy. He has to have the right hair, eyes, and muscles.

But most importantly, my pin-up guy(s) must capture the mood of my hero. It’s the mood that inspires me and reminds me who my guy is, inside and out, lest I forget over the months it takes me to write a novel.

For The Lords of Satyr series, which is historical paranormal erotic romance, I found at least some of my inspiration in a single statue I saw on a trip to Europe a few years ago. I was writing about half-satyr half-human males. Imagine how thrilled I was when I stumbled on this life-size statue of a satyr male in the Louvre! I took so many photos of it, I’m pretty sure I worried the hovering guard. I explained to her that I was writing romances about satyr brothers in Tuscany and showed her bookmarks. She was intrigued—or maybe that was bafflement I read on her face due to the language barrier. Either way, she was happy to have me autograph the bookmark, which she pocketed. But she still kept an eye on me.

The face of this statue doesn’t match what I envisioned for any of my satyr guys—Nicholas, Raine, Lyon, or Dominic. I’d find those faces elsewhere. But talk about mood! This alpha guy has what I remember Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City calling great “throw down” when it comes to his women. And the statue as a whole has a voluptuous, sensuous mood that’s perfect for what I wanted.

Like many authors, I don’t see my covers until long after my novels are finished, so I can’t base my heroes on the cover models. Rather, the marketing department and my editor choose the covers based on their vision of the heroes I’ve written. And I have a feeling readers put their own spin on every hero they read as well. I know I do.

In my November e-newsletter, I asked members to rank my four book covers in order of preference. Each cover depicts a single image—the satyr hero. Results are still coming in, but so far, one cover has been ranked last most often. It’s Raine, the most naked of them. Interesting. Still, three readers who ranked this cover last said it was the one that initially drew them to the series. They found the other books afterward. If you’d like to weigh in, visit www.elizabethamber.com/ to join the newsletter and vote (for a chance to win a book). I plan to pass the tally on to my editor.

How important are visual images of heroes to you? If the guy on the cover doesn’t fit your image of the hero, does it dampen your interest in the book itself? Is there one truly lustworthy romance cover that has stayed in your head for months or years? Which is more important to you--the specific look of the hero on the cover or the mood of the cover? Do you even want to see the hero on the cover?

I hope you’ll leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of my newest release, Lyon, The Lords of Satyr. I’ll randomly select a winner from among the commenters a week from today.

Elizabeth Amber
Nicholas, The Lords of Satyr
Raine, The Lords of Satyr
Lyon, The Lords of Satyr
Dominic, The Lords of Satyr (March 2009)

Sandi Shilhanek | Robyn Carr & Breaking Rules

This week I broke one of my cardinal book rules. I bought a book that I’ve already read, and I plan on keeping it. In case you don’t know I don’t keep books nor do I reread books. This being the case why then would I purposely buy a book I’ve already read? The answer is easy…due to the Readers-n-Ritas event I attended a few weekends back I was able to get two autographed books from the Virgin River series by Robyn Carr. I being the book fanatic than decided to see if Ms. Carr would be nice enough to autograph the third and return to me, and she agreed. So naturally I needed the book.

The trip to the bookstore went smoothly enough, but I didn’t walk out with just the one book. Does a book fanatic ever walk out with just one? I ended up buying the reissues of the Grace Valley books because of the beautiful covers. It didn’t matter that those books in their original covers are sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, the new covers call my name, and I had to have them!

I couldn’t believe I was carrying those books to the counter and willingly buying them. I never buy books because I have to have a certain cover! I know that people do it, and that some people are so fanatical about the reissue issue that they’ll buy a favorite book every time it comes out so that they have it in every cover or format available.

To buy the reissued Grace Valley books was a definite first for me. I need to know what about you? Do you buy books in their various forms and different covers? If you do does that mean you have multiple copies of the books on your shelves or do you replace the older perhaps less desirable cover with the one you like better?

Sandra Hill | Can we talk?

About book covers, I mean.

Oh, I know, this is a subject that has been beaten to death, but I've had some experiences of late that make me rethink some of my previous preferences. I love the covers for my Jinx treasure hunting covers, including my current WILD JINX, but I am being told by the powers that be that the big buyers do not consider these good sellers.

Huh? I think they're beautiful, and the colors make them pop. But, no, they claim that, unless you are a huge name, readers want to know exactly what the book is about, and that means people. In my case, probably shirtless hunks. Yikes! Talk about a blast to the past.

I've been published for fourteen years, and I have twenty-five books under my belt. For years I got hunk covers, sexy hunk covers, some of which were downright embarrassing. Not so extreme as the erotica ones today, but sexy nonetheless. A few of them I call my "bag over the head" covers...ones that I would have to wear a bag over my head if I were doing a booksigning in the mall. I couldn't wait until I became a big star and could have theme covers...you know what I mean, the pretty Adirondack chair on the beach, the sword and flower, the rugged castle on the moors.

Be careful what you wish for.

My second book, THE OUTLAW VIKING, had John D'Salvo in a blond wig and a fur thingee that must be in the closet of every cover artist in New York.
When a publisher says he needs a cover for a Viking book, Iswear, they just pull out that darn fur thingee. Better that than a horned helmet, which Vikings did not wear. Ever. Except in operas. But, despite my ducked head, this was a very successful cover. It sold lots of books. Funny story, though. I gave a copy to my hair dresser who I expected to make fun of the fur thingee, but instead she said, "Whoa, did you see what's peeking out of that fur?"

Whaaat?

I looked and I looked. Didn't see a thing. It was sort oflike those Curious George books where you can't find the monkey, and you can't find the monkey, and suddenly there the monkey is,and after that, it's the only thing you can see. Yep, I saw the monkey. Probably a trick of lighting. Ha, ha, ha.

Did I happen to mention that my fans check out my covers with magnifying glasses?

Which brings us to SWEETER SAVAGE LOVE. Whoo-boy! Where's the bag? And, yes, the magnifying glass folks claim that...well, never mind!

I have to say that we writers are as scornful of these types of covers as all those fan websites, but guess what? When I do a booksigning, even at a writers' conference, yep, SWEETER SAVAGE LOVE is the first to sell out.

And then there is THE BEWITCHED VIKING. Fan sites love to ridicule this cover, and that website that gives new titles to romance novels based on cover art is actually very funny about this one. But I love this cover! And my fans do, too. And it sold tremendously well.

Yes, it's hokey...that crooking finger...or is he giving the finger? Either way, if you'd read the book, you would know that the mischievous Tykir would do exactly that.

Disclaimer here...I've also had some great cover art, like the stepback for FRANKLY, MY DEAR. Striking. And beautiful.

Fast forward to today and the dilemma over what sells in cover art, especially in this tight market. If my pretty Jinx covers aren't the answer, what is? Do barechested hunk covers really sell romance best? Are readers really sick of the theme covers that don't represent the book? And don't even mention cartoon covers!

What do you think?


Sandra Hill