New Wenchly Covers!

Have the Wenches got a Saint Paddy's Day surprise for you! Keep reading ... and get out your sunglasses - you're about to be dazzled!!

First and foremost - Happy Saint Patrick's Day to one and all! It's a fine day for the wearin' o' the green for good luck! If you have Irish blood in you, the luck and the green will bring good fortune your way today (and if you don't have Irish blood, the green will bring luck to you too, for the Irish are not only a lucky but a generous sort!). So enjoy the day with some green clothing, Celtic jewelry, Celtic music, green beer,  Irish stew, colcannon, shamrock cookies and what-all else reminds you of Ireland. Being more than half Irish (and loving green), I have to say that March 17 is a particular favorite holiday of mine.

The Wenches have found a great way to celebrate today -- the generous cover gods have smiled upon us lately at Word Wenches, and some of us have received beautiful new covers for upcoming books! We'd like to share the good luck and the beauteousness with you -- here we go ... we hope you enjoy this sneak preview!

Patricia Rice, The Wicked Wyckerly, Signet/Eclipse, July 2010

In Regency society the best hope for sustaining the family fortune is to breed “an heir and a spare.” But if the heir claims the title and all the wealth, what’s the spare to do?

Inheriting a bankrupt earldom and acquiring a hoydenish five-year-old daughter, John Fitzhugh Wyckerly does what any self-respecting gambler would do ... he hunts for a wealthy wife.

Mary Jo Putney, Never Less Than A Lady, Kensington, May 2010

As the sole remaining heir to the Earl of Daventry, battle weary Major Alexander Randall knows his duty: find a demure, ladylike wife and sire a son. But the woman who haunts his imagination is Julia Bancroft—a widowed village midwife with shattering secrets that thrust her into Randall’s protection.

 

Though a union with the handsome, enigmatic major she barely knows offers safety, Julia fears she can never trust any man again. But as passion slowly warms her damaged heart, she starts to hope that perhaps a Lost Lord can teach her what a true marriage can be…

Nicola Cornick, Confessions of a Duchess, MIRA Books, June 2010

 

Laura, Dowager Duchess of Cole, has sworn never to marry again. But the arrival of Dexter Anstruther, the man with whom she once shared one forbidden night of passion, throws her plans and her heart into turmoil...

Jo Beverley, The Secret Duke, Signet, April 2010

A Georgian romance:
His secrets could break her heart, but her own could cost her life...

Cara Elliott, To Sin With A Scoundrel & To Surrender With a Rogue

Because of my graphic design background, I think I tend to annoy art departments. Whenever I am shown cover sketches, I offer LOTS of detailed suggestions, complete with color swatches asking (quite politely, I might add) for tiny changes in hue . . . Most of the time, I'm politely ignored. However, I was quite delighted with the new cover for my Cara Elliott launch, To Sin With A Scoundrel. I love the simple, striking image of the couple, as well as the colors (and I must say, they did adjust the headline color, which I thought was lovely of them!)

The upcoming June cover for To Surrender To A Rogue is very pretty too, though I would have liked to see the figures a little larger . . . see, I told you was a pain! 

And here's my own new cover ...

Susan Fraser King, Queen Hereafter: A Novel of Margaret of Scotland, Crown/Random House hardcover, December 2010

A Saxon princess in need of sanctuary--and a roughshod king in need of a bride...

Shipwrecked on a Scottish shore while fleeing the enemy, the Saxon royal family must beg protection from the powerful, brutish King Malcolm Canmore, who bargains his help for the chance to found a dynasty. Soon a foreign queen in a strange land, Margaret must learn quickly who is friend and who is foe in an era where trust is a dangerous thing...and her own courage is the key to all she could ever desire...  

There's the lot of the new Wenchly covers for now (more gorgeous new covers in the works!). As you can see, our cover karma is in pretty good shape just now! We hope you'll look for these in bookstores starting soon . . . 

And may the lovely luck o' the Irish be with you today and always! 

Susan

Comments

[Patricia Rice]

Wow, outstanding job, Susan! We could call our covers Jewels of the Future. "G" The art departments all need to stand up and take a bow while we applaud madly.

Happy St Pat's everyone!

[Michelle Willingham]

These are absolutely stunning!!

[Jo Beverley]

Thanks for putting up the covers, Susan.

As for St. Patrick's Day, I'm almost entirely Irish genetically speaking. But I can't stand even the thought of green beer. Guinness, that's the thing!

Jo

[Maggie Robinson/Margaret Rowe]

Oh my goodness, these are all gorgeous! Can't wait to read them all!

[maryjoputney]

Seeing all those covers at once makes it REALLY clear how generous the cover gods have been with us! May their bounty continue. *g*

[Lyn S]

Lovely, lovely and more lovely. And best of all they come out after school is out, so I can read them guilt free.
Except Jo's which I will sneak in around assignments. (those are class assignments not romantic assignments.)

[NinaP]

Wow! I am stunned. Beautiful, every one. (and may I say Cara's rogue looks a bit like Matthew McConaughey.)

[Susan/DC]

Whether you all are just lucky or the art departments have wised up is a question for the Cover Gods, but these are all beautiful. I love the echoes of Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in Cara's cover.

[Andrea Penrose]

Thank you Susan, for showcasing all the wonderful images. Wow, they really are quite eyecatching!

LOL,Susan/DC n the Burt Lancaster comment. The art dept. told me that was their inspiration. And yes, the hero does look a little like Matthew McConaughey. Huzzah for the Irish, right!!

[Sherrie Holmes]

Sherrie, here. Happy St. Patrick's Day to one and all! Today is my kid brother's birthday, so St. Paddy's Day has always been a family celebration, though we are mostly of French blood.

Did you know that blue was the original color associated with Saint Patrick? It eventually evolved into green, for some reason. I wonder if they still dump green dye in the Chicago River as they've done in the past?

I'm looking at all those gorgeous GORGEOUS covers and agreeing that the cover gods have been exceptionally kind to the Wenches. These are classy covers. I'm crazy about the turquoise (one of my favorite colors) on the covers of Never Less Than a Lady, To Surrender to a Rogue, and The Secret Duke.

[Cynthia Owens]

What wonderful covers - and what delicious reading to look forward to! I can't wait to read Never Less Than a Lady - been looking forward to it for a while, and it looks perfect for "summer vacation" reading!

I agree about the green beer, Jo. I was never much of a drinker, but when I finally visited Ireland last July (a lifelong dream), I promised my best friend I would try a Guinness - and I did, and hubby captured it on video as proof. A bit strong for me, but I must admit the pint of Harp I had our first night in Ireland went down quite well.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

[Susie]

Wow! These are beautiful and can't wait to read them! I love the colors and the close-ups, which I think mirrors the current trend in photography. Plus not entirely showing the full body -- oronly a hint of face, or even no face -- this also mirrors current hip trends to not show too much of ones self on social networks, etc. Really interesting stuff.

[Susie]

ha! I only realized after posting my comment that my own icon does the same thing -- shows only a portion of head -- and I didn't make it (I've not visual art talents), but a real designer did.

[Patricia Barraclough]

What lovely covers. You all really lucked out. They really should give authors more input for the covers.
The books all sound great, as usual.

[theo]

The cover gods have been really kind to all of you! These are gorgeous.

[Louis]

Oh my, I want one of each.

Tried Harp Lager this time for St.Pat's day. Nice light and sweetish.