The cover art process
It's time for Tina Holland, Celine Chatillion and I to put our pretty heads together and come up with a plan for the cover art for "Of Flesh and Blood."
LSB uses the fabulous April Martinez and her stable of artists to produce our cover art. I am not a fan of poser covers, so I opt for "stock art" morphing to get the cover I envision. It's either use stock art or go for hand-drawn art, like from LW Perkins--which takes longer but can have amazing results. There's also the "anime-type" covers that Ann Cain does.
Tina, Celine and I like the two posted stock art photos. April will, of course, change the covers (hair color, background, etc.) to match our vision--so it's basically the pose we're looking at. Why these two?
1) because they have not been downloaded 1000 times
2) because I haven't seen them on other covers right off
3) because both are a bit different than the standard "nekkid male torso" cover
Now: here are our questions to you.
A) Which would catch you eye most?
B) Why? (example: I wouldn't buy a vampire erotica book with a female on the cover or other reason)
So, please...share your thoughts. They are valued!
Thanks,
Darragha
Completely off the cuff blurb for Polishing Saber, because I haven't *really* written said blurb yet. So, read away and please improve upon it as you will! Thanks!
Polishing Saber is not your average vampire tale. No Carpathians. No dark, brooding, deadly handsome men wanting to give you the ultimate hickey. Polishing Saber's vampire is one of the Old Ones--kin to the Hidden Folk in Icelandic mythology. Shape-shifters, too, they have protected their homeland for millennia from the insidious draugur--witches wearing dead man's trousers. The Necropants. Flayed from the skin of a corpse, steeped with magic runes and foul desires to control, usurp and bring unhealthy changes to Iceland, the Necropants have a will of their own. Including the need for their wearer to consume blood.
Necropants have been found. An Old One has awakened. Big business is planning the utter destruction of Iceland's pristine wilderness. And Saber Evangelista holds the key that all three forces wish to possess.
Saber, an African-American/Korean descent American woman with a kick-ass attitude, brains more powerful than Einstein's and a fabulous booty is all about the money. Transferred to Iceland as a computer consultant for AlumaTrends, Saber's poor choices from the past catch up with her when she finds herself in bed--literally and figuratively--with forces from both sides.
I invite Celine and Tina to post their blurbs! In a comment or email them to me and I'll post them here later tonight.
16 comments:
Thanks, D., for posting the cover art ideas. This is a cool thing--having some input from readers BEFORE the book comes out.
Perhaps we should post some blurbs about the stories in the anthology? :)
Another quick comment--some folks can't sign in here since they don't have a Google account... If you have that problem, come on over to my blog and leave a comment there:
http://celinesdreams.blogspot.com/
Thanks!
Celine
You have to have a Google account to make comments? I didn't think so...but posting at Celine's will work, too!
Darr
Hi. I love the picture with the roses. There's something dark and seductive about it, combine that with the dark hair and pale skin and it's very noticeable.
Here's part of my blurb and I do love the girl with the roses.
Werewolves, Vampires and Zombies Oh my! Many things go bump in New World Earth. Science and Technology have created machines and monsters that have erradicated most humans.
The Clans of the Elements formed in order to survive among the immortals. Melissa of Fifty-one Air Clan is a Passage - a human that can speak with ghosts.
Drake Vermillion simply wanted a meal but the vampire bit off more than he needed when he takes the Passage under his wing.
Drake becomes entangled in Melissa's struggle to save a member of her clan. However, besides being a Passage Melissa is also a hunter. Can Drake trust her not to kill him? Can Melissa trust him not to drain her?
The two must learn to trust in a world where trust can get you killed. It's just another day of Dealing with the Dead.
Right now, I'm sort of leaning for the "couple shot" since, it looks very much like Vlad and Sofia in "Blood Betrayal."
I could see the gal being "nekkid" in that pose, too. ;)
Okay, the quick blurb describing "Blood Betrayal" (a prequel story to the novel Help! I'm Falling for the Vampire Next Door):
How did Val's uncle Vlad meet up the first time with psychic psychopathic vampire hunter Leo Van Helsing? Well, in "Blood Betryal" you discover that it involves a woman (of course) a beautiful yet deceitful woman named Sofia Martinelli. Vlad is hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Sofia, but she isn't all that she appears to be. When Leo makes his move to capture Vlad, in order to learn the secrets of immortality of the Vampire Kindred race, Sofia must be sacrificed... Only Vlad can "save her" through transforming her into a creature like himself. But will the process itself drive the beautiful Sofia mad? And how will the sadistic Leo react when his plans seem to have been foiled by the pawn he planted in Vlad's arms...
(Warning: This story contains some rather disturbing and graphic sexual situation as well as some violent sexual situations. Adults only please.)
I have to agree with Nicole the first one looks the best,once I saw "Of Flesh and Blood."
and then looked at the pale skin,dark hair and crimson roses,I thought,ooh that looks like a good paranormal cover.*g*
I have to agree with the woman and roses shot, its more striking and better to catch the readers' eyes with! Plus the blood red roses always say vampire to me
Though the couple shot in b/w might be pretty too but is it feisable to take away the woman's shirt C. without messing the pic up too much?
Might want to take the man from this pic and add him to the already b/w one and then have a rose between the the two of them?
Stephanie (who has some friends who makes covers)
Defenitly the female holding the rose!
the other one looks to much like a romance novel lol....
I wish i knew where my one pic was i would send it ... will look for it!
Gl with your planning process ladies!
I have to say I prefer the woman with the roses, it's a bit more artsy. And I like the contrast of the roses' colour with the black and white feel to the rest of the picture. Also I don't tend to be keen on couples' pictures, they're a bit done to death.
Blurbs sound great, I'll be looking out for it.
Dawn
I love them both except that bald heads are a big turn off for me and lots of other women.
Ash
Dawn said: Also I don't tend to be keen on couples' pictures, they're a bit done to death.
Darr says: I'm so with you! That's why I'm trying to do something different! Celine, Tina and I are working on something that scream VAMPIRE yet at the same time is *different.* We may just be using our lady of red roses, too.
Ooh. I like the first one with the roses. Very eye-catching. I'm not so crazy on the second one, but it seems a bit more "bland" to me in regards to colors (though I'm sure April could fix that right up). The first one says "vampire" to me more. :)
YAY! Finally I get to say something about cover art.
Standard "nekkid male torso" cover
generally don't attract me. I go for the 'couple' covers.
I am sure I have seen the 'woman with roses' somewhere on myspace and it really caught my eye. It has the required 'vampirey' feel and I have nothing against buying a vampire erotica book with a female on the cover.
Have a look:
http://images.quizilla.com/T/Tatiyana/1064368293_vampire-sm.jpg
http://www.alexwaterhousehayward.com/blog/uploaded_images/Vampire%202-774741.jpg
I see the "rose girl" is ahead by a wide margin. Interesting! Y'all don't find a problem with a nude chick on a cover of a anthology that's not f/f??
I'm groovy with her, but wish she had a boyfriend vamp with her as well. ;)
Bald heads make me think "yummy Capt. Picard."
:) Darr
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