Another Cover Story

by Mary Jo

Petals in the Storm

Last week I did a blog about the new release of my first full length historical romance, Dearly Beloved,and included the various covers the story has had over the years. there was interest in all the variations, I thought I'd do it again for Petals in the Storm,  Fallen Angels #3, for which I've just done a new cover.

Before I get started with that, though, HAPPY CANADA DAY to Canadians everywhere, especially our Canadian Wench, Susanna Kearsley, and our Canadian readers! It's the 152nd anniversary of the Constitution Act, and this year you have Raptor Rapture to add to the celebration. <G>

 

To return to my cover tale, this book's story is even more complicated because it started out as a long Signet Regency called The Controversial Countess. The design is typical of Signet Regencies--okay but generic.  They were always good about getting the hair colors right, though, which we authors appreciated.

Later as I was starting my Fallen Angels trilogy, I thought that Rafe, the hero of The Controversial Countess, would be a good fit with the other three fellows, and he had an archangel name, Rafael.  Hmm.....  I asked Signet if they'd like an expanded historical romance version of the Countess and presto! The trilogy became a quartet (and later a septet; what can I say? I kept finding these Guys to write about. <G>) 

I did some editing and expansion on the Countess and Signet reissued the book as a historical romance under the title Petals in the Storm. But the plot and characters didn’t change, and this blurb is still accurate.

Love and Betrayal

A cool master of sensuality, Rafael Whitbourne, the Duke of Candover, earned his rakish reputation in the silken boudoirs of London’s highborn ladies, never giving away his hand or his heart. 

Then a vital mission for his government takes Rafe to Paris to work with the Madga Janos, “the most beautiful spy in Europe.” He is appalled to discover that the smoky eyed temptress is no Hungarian countess, but the deceitful doxie who had betrayed him a dozen years earlier—the only woman he had ever loved, and the only one he’d ever despised. 

Margot Ashton wants nothing more than to walk away from her turbulent past and the mesmerizing man who had ruined her life.  But patriotism binds them together in a shadow land of intrigue where a diabolical plot may plunge a continent back into war—and a whirlwind of passion sweeps Margot and Rafe into a shattering passion that cannot be denied. 

This was during the height of cover model mania.  Signet came up with the idea creating a historical romance imprint called Topaz, and they hired their very own cover model to be the Topaz Man and pose for every single historical romance cover.  The Topaz Man was Steve Sandalis, a nice fellow from the New York area who was of Italian and Greek heritage. He had great bones and the kind of physique that comes only with intense, focused work.  He was also very patient!

Petals in the Storm had a front cover in pink, and a step back showing Steve and a blonde in a scene that never occurred in the book.  I can't say that the overall look captured the flavor of the story, but it was effective and sold well.

Some years later the cover model craze had passed, so when Signet reissued my historical romances, they used simpler and much less expensive object covers. This one with the fan was one of my favorites.  It suited the story, which took place in the social whirl of the post-Waterloo Paris Peace Conference and I liked that it had color. 

Time moved on.  My books went out of print and I asked for reversion of rights.  I had no plans for what to do with them, but--MINE! 

Then e-books exploded and I had the rights to all these backlist books. <G>  Being a curious sort, I decided to give indie publishing a try and was one of the first to dive into the indie pool.  Luckily I discovered the amazing Kim Killion who was just getting into the cover art business.

Some of those first Fallen Angels covers I loved and I'm still using them, but in a couple of cases, I wasn't able to find an image that I really liked. Such was the case with Petals.  The cover we came up with wasn't bad, but she has a pointed, witchy chin.  I didn't love it.

Now, however, an audiobook of Petals in the Storm is in production, so it seemed time to do a new cover.  Luckily, there are many, many more images available than there used to be. Even so, I spent quite some time searching before I came up with one I loved. Here's the result: 

To me, the guy has just the right look: a highly polished, arrogant duke who is badly in need of a lesson in humility!  His coloring is dark, which fits because Rafe had an Italian grandmother.  And to me, the emotion in the kiss is a kind of desperate tenderness.  I love it. 

You don't have to agree with me, of course!  The new cover isn't ready to be uploaded everywhere, but soon.

I hope you've enjoyed this journey through the cover jungles.  <G> 

Mary Jo

 

Comments

[Jane]

I'd love your books if they came wrapped in a brown paper sack, but that cover is beautiful!

[Quantum]

"Now, however, an audio book of Petals in the Storm is in production, so it seemed time to do a new cover"

Great!
The cover is of interest to me when choosing an untried author but for auto-buy audio-book authors it has little interest. I go straight to the sample audio to hear the narrator's voice ... those early penguin covers with no colorful image would be OK. If you were a new-to-me author though, I would want to see the faces rather than an expanse of dress/suit. If the images could be slid down a little to reveal complete heads they would be very attractive.From my perspective people's faces reveal far more than clothes.

Eager to hear the audio of 'Petals..' soon 😊

[Mary M.]

Going back to the days when Regencies had their own shelves (or even bookcase, in the case of my local bookseller), I've always liked the clothes-on Regency covers that stood for the elegance of the era, rather than the disheveled, peeled-back ones that just shouted, "There's sex in this book!" The new cover conveys both elegance and passion, and I'm happy for you that it matches the character so well, Mary Jo.

[Sue McCormick]

These cover storries are very interesting. I look for author names, rather than covers, but I DO enjoy the covers om the books that I buy.

[Karen]

I find this article informative about cover art. It is interesting how they change over the years. I do remember one writer whose covers on her books were more cartoon-like. My favorite is the gentleman about to kiss the woman. I know we are not to judge a book by its cover, but past experiences have shown me that every book I've read and enjoyed have cover art of the couples while the books without are not as enjoyable as the others.

[Mary T]

A cover can be very important. If I know the author already, it doesn't matter. But if the author is new to me, it can determine whether or not I will even pick up the book to read the synopsis on the back.

I have some books by authors that I like that I would not have even picked up if I didn't already know who they are. Of the covers shown above, the most recent is my favorite.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Jane, thanks for the compliment! A beautiful cover isn't necessary really, but it doesn't hurt. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Quantum, a great cover isn't necessary for our auto-buys, but it does help new readers to take a closer look.

The production process for audio takes time, but I imagine that it will be available by summer's end. ANd it's Siobhan Waring again so you should enjoy it!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Thank you, Mary M. Like you, I prefer characters who are mostly dressed, and I want the complicated emotions, not merely lust.

[Mary Jo Putney]

E-books don't allow us to enjoy the covers as much as with print, but a good cover is still a plus!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Karen, you're right about how covers change! For a while there was a craze for cartoon covers, usually for light contemporaries. I always put people on my covers--to me that says 'romance' in a way that an image of a house or a chair doesn't.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Mary T, I agree that some covers can be really off-putting. An attractive cover will encourage me to investigate further: see in the plot interests me, if I like the writing style, if the opening is strong. If the cover doesn't work for me, the book is a non-starter if I don't know the author.

[Elf Ahearn]

In the first go-round of my cover for The Secret Life of Lords, my hero had no legs--they kind of faded into a lawn. Intriguing, but not exactly what every gal wants to read...

[Margaret]

Okay, go ahead and call the vice squad to lock me up, but is there any chance I could order a copy of Petals and have it delivered by Steve Sandalis? A time travel delivery, of course, since I'd prefer him to be the age he was on the cover and me to be the age when I would have snatched the book off the shelf and then hidden in it some kind of cover . . . .Meanwhile, I'll look forward to the audio version. (I already own the pretty pink one). Sigh.

[Teresa Broderick]

Covers are very important to me, even kindle ones. I go into the book shop and run my eye along the shelves. Whatever catches my it will be hauled out for a look. Of course I don't always buy and when I've done that I then go back and scroll through. I've usually missed one. You have some lovely covers here. I particularly like the last one.
Have to say though I really like the original on The Controversial Countess. I always liked the old covers.

[Karin]

I love the dark teal color, and it's got a classy yet sexy embrace. It's true that unless I already know the author, the wrong cover will put me off. That's the reason I never read "Lord of Scoundrels" till fairly recently, it used to have one of those throwback bodice ripper covers.
My paperback of Petals in the Storm has the fan on it, and I quite like object covers. And the glossy embossed lettering like Mary Balogh had on her Bedwyn series books.

[Kareni]

What fun to see all these covers, Mary Jo. I'm fairly certain I read the book when it had that pink cover; I rather like that fan cover. (The fan cover has fans!)

[Michelle H]

I started reading your books sometime after 2011 when I got my first Kindle reader. So they have all been ebooks, except for the one paperback I won in a giveaway on WW here. Yay! Was I ever (am) excited to own a signed copy of Once a Scoundrel. I loved the Fallen Angels books and just seeing you talk about them makes me want to go back and reread the series. Again.

I really enjoyed reading the background of this series from Signet to Audio. And all the covers in between. The newest is just gorgeous. I hope this attracts scores of new readers.

[Mary Jo Putney]

LOL, Elf! I think that's even worse than having three arms.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Margaret, nothing wrong with fantasizing! I believe that Steve is married and living in Southern California these days, but his youthful image lives on in many, many book covers.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Teresa, the Signet Regency covers were nice and they did a good job of saying what kind of book it was. I think that's the most important aspect of a cover: to say what kind of book it is.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Karin, I've had the same experience with some covers: can't bring myself to buy them. Lord of Scoundrels is a great romance, but the original cover did it now favors.

[Mary Jo Putney]

LOL! The fan cover is indeed pretty. I prefer people on covers, but it's harder to find the right people than to find a pretty fan.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Michelle, this new cover is the first that I really love, but the cover history over the years is pretty interesting. And I love that my older books are still finding an audience.

[Jeanne Behnke]

I always love the saga of the cover blogs. So interesting. I think the cover is so important since it's the first thing to draw you in. The thing I enjoy about my Kindle books is how the covers will change from what you originally purchased. I guess this happens when it comes out in paperback or for many of the reasons you Blogged about.

[MaryJoPutney]

Jeanne, I didn't know the Kindle covers updated! As you can see, there are a lot of ways that covers can look.

[Patricia Burroughs aka Pooks]

I looooved reading the history of this book's covers! Been there, done that, doing it again! LOL

[Andy]

i have the pink cover one and the The Controversial Countess.all the fallen angles withe the stepback covers i like the septback cover they were nice i have a sign book cover of John desalvo and a calendar that he sign when i when to R.T i live on the isle of wight