I Love, Love, Love This Cover

Take a look at the cover of this new Harlequin Special Edition. This book is called Once Upon a Groom by Karen Rose Smith. Rip your eyes away from that tall hunk in the cowboy hat. Come on now. Just for a second, kay? Now study the woman in white. Look at her figure. This is a woman with hips! She may even have a little bit of a tummy-tum! She is clearly a non-model sized woman. Look at her blond hair. Are those brown roots?

I don't know if this cover is truly ground-breaking or not, but I am over the moon anyway.

Like Paper Dolls

Beautiful Trouble Publishing has found a way to circumvent the expense of creating covers. Here's hoping the stories are more individualized than the cover art.

Romance E-Book Sales

Yesterday, The New York Times published an article describing the hot sales of e-book romance titles. The NYT attributes high romance sales partly due to e-readers (like the Kindle) functioning as a sort of "brown-paper bag." This allows the romance-lover to read discreetly, without strangers on the bus commenting. The paper bag theory might also explain the popularity of the racier strains of erotica.

I think the NYT's conclusion is pretty interesting, considering that romance book sales are driven (or thwarted) by the quality and excitement of the cover.

Evidently in the e-book market, the cover might seduce, but once a title is purchased, the cover is kept hidden.