STATUS: My auction is still unfolding. Given the time of day, looks like it won’t wrap up until tomorrow.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? THE WEAKNESS IN ME by Joan Armatrading
I just had to share. Just this week, I finally got the foreign editions for my romance author Paula Reed’s latest historical romance entitled NOBODY’S SAINT.
Of course I love ALL my author covers but I have to say there’s a little special place in my heart for this very sexy US version. When looking at it, it just makes me want to pop on a little Julio I. and maybe indulge in some vigorous fanning or a nice mild swoon.
My hubby just laughs.
But truly, I think Paula’s publisher Kensington just nailed this cover (except Paula would say they didn’t have stripped sheets back in the late 1700s). I know. It should bother me but I don’t mind a little historical leeway as long as it isn’t blatant like zippers on blue jeans for a historical Western. Now that would drive me crazy.
So I’m pretty enthralled with the US version but then I got a load of the Dutch edition.
That guy surely doesn’t look like anybody’s saint. You betcha. I think this cover could work in the US without blinking an eye.
So it was doubly interesting to me to see the semi-clinch cover from her Brazilian publisher (and it’s the first of my clients to sell in South America). And I find the “Don-Juan” in the title very fascinating.
Brazilian edition
But what is clear? It’s a fun, sexy read that you should get your hands on if you haven’t already. What other romance in the world has a Spanish Gent, an Irish lass, and Mary and Mary Magdalene as interfering saints? In some respects, I still can’t believe that Kensington let us get away with this book and for that reason alone, it’s worth picking up.
Oh my.
I don’t care if it’s bad to judge a book by its cover. I must have that book. Right now.
Tawna
The covers confused me for a while because I saw the covers before I read your explanation that the book’s historical. I thought it was contemporary when I looked at the US cover, then went “WHAT?” when I saw the foreign covers.
Still… I must say I like the US cover. Very nice.
Wow! For once, I actually like the US version best. The guy is just so cute. I have a thing for ‘boyishly handsome.’ Thankfully, that’s exactly what my own husband is! The muscle-bound, bare-chested Fabio lookalikes hold no appeal for me whatsoever. In fact, they actually kind of turn me off because they conjure up the old stereotypes of the romance genre. This cover makes me think of newlyweds having fun figuring things out. 😉
Oh my.
*fanning myself with my spiral notebook*
Can I have all 3?
To be honest, I didn’t know it was a historical from the cover. Never even would have guessed.
Word veri: nsidp A couple of vowels away from a real word!
I’m with Elektra, with the caveat that if I picked it up as an impulse buy and didn’t read the back cover, I’d be rather disoriented when I discovered that that very 21st Century dude was actually a bit late to the plot.
Which, given his looks, is a travesty.
How fun is this? The covers look great in any language.
My thought is ‘so what if it doesn’t look like a historical?’ Or, in other words, ‘Sometimes it just doesn’t matter if he can cook.’
Yesh. I certainly won’t buy the English version. Screams ‘cheesy present day romance book’ to me and that is not something I want people to see in my hands. I’d be interested in the Dutch version since it implies some action/adventure on top of the romance and actually bothers to convey the historical element, but I don’t read Dutch.
Because if it looks like something it’s not, there’s a very good possibility that the wrong readers will buy it, and the right readers will pass it by.
That’s one cute guy on the US cover. But to me it doesn’t say historical at all.
Striped sheets not period? Wait. There’s sheets? I didn’t see any … ohhhhhh, there they are. I guess I got distracted. 🙂
You know, I’m not a big fan of romance novels (though by all means, put in a romantic subplot, please!), but I do enjoy looking at some of their covers. Yikes! I completely agree with those who thought the US version didn’t look like a historical romance cover should, but man… who the hell cares?
Actually, this guy kind of looks like a thin version of my husband. Hooray for me!
I love all the different takes on the covers – there really is something for everyone, lol, and everyone has different taste!
I guess it really is impossible to judge a book by its cover!
I do wonder if the right readers picked this book up. The US cover screams Contemp. I wouldn’t have given it a second glance. In fact, I remember seeing it in stores and never touched it. Dang. Marketing gone awry. Georgians are my all time favs.
Funny you should mention zippers on blue jeans. That was one of the first things I noticed when I saw the cover to my book–Loving Mercy (also from Kensington). I complained to my editor about this, but she convinced me it wasn’t going to be a problem.She was right. I have noticed in talking to readers and others who have seen the cover–no one complains about the zipper. It’s those washboard abs that draw the eye every time.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Forgot to say–I love Paula’s books–love her insights into love and human spirituality as well as those sexy heroes.
I keep Nobody’s Saint where I can pull it out and sigh over those eyes whenever I want.
Yowza. I’d buy that book, no question.
word verification:
“obyff” — closely related to the sound I just made when looking at the American cover.
The US cover shouts contemporary. What were they thinking???
The Brazilian guy is kinda sexy, though.
“‘Sometimes it just doesn’t matter if he can cook.'”
True. But I’m guessing those abs would still look pretty tasty beneath an apron…
Cheeses H Crackers! HOly moly! i really really really like that guy on the brazilian cover. mmmmmmmmm… *drools*
the eyes of the guy on the US cover makes me all warm and tingly all the way down to my toes. those are great covers!
Hey, Kristen, thanks for the plugs! I’ve been taking the foreign copies to work because everyone’s getting a kick out of the covers. I noticed you didn’t post the Russian copy. Boshemoi (sp). (And that’s not a good boshmoi–trust me, nobody missed any hotties, just a rather homely woman.)
I’m Paula’s webmistress 🙂 I love those covers but my favorite is the US version. Oh, gosh, those eyes! I can stare at that cover all day long LOL!
Angelique Armae
I just ran the title of the Dutch version through an online translator. It came back as, “Gift from the Heavens”. Now I won’t say the handsome babe on the cover doesn’t qualify as such (nor would anyone with vision), but…can this translation be right? Are international titles normally so different from the American ones?
I never understood how those historical chicks with their thighs exposed got such perfect bikini waxes… Can someone explain that?