I'm sure you've all seen this one:
When I first looked at it, I thought, "Hmmm... is that a guy's body? Yeah, but why do they have him lying face down like that?" Then I was like, "WAIT! is that a LEG up in the left hand corner?" At first I thought they were HIS legs, sticking out of his shoulders. Then it hit me, "Ooooh, Noooooooo....."A friend took one look at this cover and remarked, "It's a shame. The author is SUCH a nice person, too."
"Well of course she is," I responded. "If Billy Joel is right and only the good die young, then it stands to reason that this bad of a cover could only happen to someone one step away from sainthood."
But on to another type of travesty that isn't so extreme.
Let's take this cover:
I bought this book in a Walgreens. I have a policy where if I'm off the beaten track and find a paranormal romance I don't own, I buy it. Walgreens (or the one across town from where I live) has a HUGE paranormal romance section, which is totally cool, so every time I'm close, I stop in to buy another book there. I figure it's so rare to have a paranormal romance outpost like that I should do my part.
That's how I bought this book. It says Paranormal Romance on the spine, but after I got it home, I read the back of the book blurb and it didn't light me on fire. And the cover -- here this poor woman is, in her nightgown, and her washer has exploded suds all over her nice red drapes. I could never bring myself to read it. It just looked so, so BORING. Ugh.
But then a friend said something about how great Melanie Jackson is and I realized I had that washing machine explosion book (it reminds me of that time Bobby on The Brady Bunch becomes a power hungry lunatic and overflows the washer), so I gave it a whirl the other day. It was a wonderful read!! Although as a warning, this is the last book in the series, so you might want to start somewhere else if you're a stickler for that kind of thing.
But based on this cover, no-no-no.
It doesn't seem fair that we as authors work so damn hard and end up with absolutely no ability to change something as important as this, does it? I wish I had some sort of wisdom to impart to make us all feel better, some sort of suggestion on what to do in this situation, or a battle cry to fight for a better cover. But really, I have nothing. I just hope Billy Joel is right and my theory that sainthood is required for a truly bad cover is spot on. I figure with my past, it will be a long time before I get a really bad one. Maybe not until my next lifetime...
9 comments:
Okay, and people complained about the EC covers???? I'm thinking a quickie in the back of a car probably wouldn't work for the graphic standards now would it. . .
; )
Ari
Weeeellll I don't think they're having a quickie per se - LOL!
To me it looks more like something sparkly is coming out of a gaping wound in her abdominal cavity, like giant alien fizz. Luckily it doesn't seem to hurt her or make her scream in horror as it dashes up and down the supper table, eating people.
Good urban fantasy series, though.
Jody W.
God, Jody, you are a hoot. You're right, though. I can see it, now that I'm looking past the bubbles. And actually, in that book, there just might be something dashing up and down the supper table, eating people. LOL!
Too funny- Is it just me or does the woman getting er um car serviced have freakishly long arms? I'm a short gal though, so maybe it's just me.
Cindy
You know, I have looked at that cover more times than I can count and I *never* saw her hand there - LOL! You're right. Unless she's up on her shoulders, bending backwards (I saw this chick do that in yoga the other day). Noooo, but that can't be. The car seat is in the way.
LOL that Blaze cover makes me chuckle whenever I see it. But I do bet the author cringed.
I feel so sorry for her!
Ya know, it's not just the woman's arms that are freakishly long in that car shot, either. Aren't those her knees up there barely reaching the guy's shoulders? So, what is he, part giraffe?
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