Feature Friday - Book Covers

As an author, book covers must speak to me before I put them on my book and send them to the readers; hopefully it will speak to them, and they'll purchase.

My Friday Feature is evolving, and so, after attending IRC last week, I thought I'd delve into book covers.

Book covers should portray what's in the book while speaking to the audience. The image to the right, spoke to me. This particular image has been on several books I've read. Specifically BDSM genre. And I purchased this series specifically because of the image on book 1.

The cover here spoke to me on several levels. The model is gorgeous in his own right. The dark colors emphasize the title. The lack of color serves to enhance his features. And of course, showing skin always rakes in romance readers.

This book is dark, erotic romance. It's a journey into the psyche. And the author did a great job demonstrating that throughout the book.

But, what about sweet romance? Well, the next cover is used for more than just sweet romance. And the cover was the reason I chose this book. It also was the reason I purchased the series. It's ongoing, and the author, Sable Hunter writes Cowboy Heat in both erotic and sweeter version.

This cover evokes strong feelings of love. The background is nice, but frankly, we don't care. Our focus is on the couple, the way he's holding her, and their facial expressions.

I used the cover below for my first novel, but wanted to show it how it was used by another author as well. The juxtaposition of the models indicates intimacy, but also something at stake. There is an unsure feeling between the female model and the male model on the right on the Compass Girls cover and on the left on my cover. And to me, it perfectly demonstrates the dichotomy of menages.  Note the difference in colors. The Compass Girls book cover gives that feeling of hope. Mine makes the reader wonder, but also, in my opinion shows more wanting.

There are some book covers that lend themselves to mystery just because of the picture. The novel may not be a mystery, but we get an image without characters. But these covers still evoke enough emotion that it makes the reader take a second look.
I'll leave you with a few of my favorites.