UPDATE: GIFT CARD WINNER IS SHIRLEY STRAIT! Shirley, please contact me through my website with your email address and I will send you the Amazon gift card.
Hi there, all you artsy types! Lee Tobin McClain here, in dire need of help with cover design.
Hi there, all you artsy types! Lee Tobin McClain here, in dire need of help with cover design.
I’m very lucky to write for Love Inspired, whose cover
artists are amazing. But I also write
and publish an independent series, which means I have to create the cover
concept myself. Oh, I have a wonderful cover artist who puts it all together,
and lately, I get some professional help with finding the right cover model.
But I’m still prone to this kind of disaster:
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| The cover I liked.... |
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| The cover EVERYONE else liked |
Right now, I’m working on a romantic suspense series. Book
one, a Memorial Day stalker story, is here, and my readers already let me know
I chose the wrong cover pose. They love heroic, protective Chad, but they don't like the turned back.
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| On sale for 99 cents... just a few more days! |
So, please vote: which pose is better for my next romantic suspense novel?
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| Let's call this "Man Striding" |
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| And this is "Man with Axe" |
A couple more optional things to comment on, if you have time, in relation to ROMANTIC SUSPENSE COVERS:
(a) Hero on cover, or just a landscape?
(b) Smiling or serious?
(c) Beard or no beard?
I'll choose a random commenter at the end of the month (which is Sunday!) and gift you a $10 Amazon gift card for your trouble. Thank you so much for your help! Remember, the main question is: Man Striding vs. Man with an Axe.
21 comments:
Man with an axe (minus cell phone, lol)! For me it just says strong man...and the beard is fine ( I like beards as long as they are neatly trimmed). Also a nice smile is always attractive...I love those lopsidded ones! There's my vote ;-)
I like the "Man Striding" best for a suspense. Beards are fine as long as not too wooly. Smiles are nice but serious is probably better for suspense. Landscapes can be effective if they project the right mood.
Thanks, Trixi and Pam! I know, that teeny tiny cell phone isn't very manly, but when is a cell phone ever manly? Surprised to find that beards are OK; I'd always heard readers didn't like them much.
Man striding. I like the sense of motion. Beards? Married for 38 years to a man with a beard. Keep it on!
Man striding. I like the sense of motion. Beards? Married for 38 years to a man with a beard. Keep it on!
Man with ax, no cell phone. Like the beard
The axe with no cell phone and he should have the serious look.
So far, the ax man is winning . . . barely! Be sure to check back here on Sunday night to see if you won.
Another vote for the axe man.....no cell phone!
I like the picture of the man with the axe best. But, the cell phone needs to go. I do like the other cover with the man's back to the camera.
Man, beard, landscape, serious, no cell phone.
Janet E.
von1janet(at)gmail(dot)com
Man with the axe
jwisley8(at)me(dot)com
I like the Man striding. And the beard doesn't bother me a bit.
campbellamyd at gmail dot com
Man with axe without cellphone. love a neat beard. I like smiles but for suspense I think serious works better. Landscapes can work for suspense if they suit the mood and locale: beach on a stormy night, deserted road with tiretracks running off the roadbed, wrecked car on the side of the road.
I Choose Man striding without cellphone to his ears. The scenery best fits the story.. That is just my thought.
man with axe no beard
alysap At yahoo DOT com
I'll have to go with the man with the axe too ;)
As for the other questions I prefer when there is a hero on the cover, either smiling or serious depends on the story and what emotions the hero is representing and I always prefer no beard :)
Hope it helps ^_^
I'd choose the man striding up the incline, carrying the axe in his right hand, blade down, detemined look on his face, like he means business....but it might make the potential reader wonder if the guy is the stalker or the protector.... But, if you have him holding the heroine's hand at his side, that speaks volumes! It is rare we see a hero with a beard. Well-trimmed means the man is the protector; wild and unkempt: he's the vilain. A woodsy hero is perfect and as long as his clothes aren't rumpled you see, feel and recognize hero, protector, defender. Anyway, those are my thoughts on the subject and I'm praying that the best idea will feel right for you. May God's Grace and Spirit fill you.
I like the man with axe cover best. A smiling hero on the cover gives us a peek in to what the hero character is like. Only if the beard further defines the character and is well maintained. Otherwise is doesn't matter.
I like the man with the axe - beard has to stay - not fond of the cell phone but it's a sign of the era we live in. A smiling hero is fine - but - considering you write suspense, a serious look gives it a more suspenseful look. The man walking makes him appear less hero and more villain, to me. Blessings on your story!
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