Cover Me

I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but sometimes I can’t help it. More than once, I’ve bought a book by a writer I’ve never read before largely because of the strength of the cover art. Although it does help that the book is usually something I’m interested in reading. It’s not like I go around buying books that delve into the exciting world of tax law because there’s a stunning image of an abacus on the cover. Although abacuses are kind of cool. Or is the plural Abaci?

I love the look of the Ro Com line. The designer, Ann Zeak, and artist, Amy Saidens give it a great, distinctive style so that even though different people write the books—using different last names so we’re all over the YA section—you can always pick them out on bookstore shelves. Heck, other lines even mimic the look of this one. That’s always the sign of a true success.

I’m also very happy with the look of the DRAMA! series I write. My favorite part is how the four covers work together to tell a story. To see what I mean, click on “P.J. Ruditis” over on the side of the screen. I’ll wait while you do that. [Toe Tapping … Humming the original, far superior version of “Think of Me” than the one sung on IDOL the other day.] Welcome back! See what I mean? The curtain rises on the characters to finally reveal them (looking nothing like I imagined them, but whatever. That’s not the point.) I love the colors. I love the individual stories they tell and I love the full picture you get when you see the covers all together. Who could ask for anything more?

And while on the subject of covers, here are three books where the great covers drew me to buy books that I might not normally have picked up.

MIDNIGHT by Dean Koontz: When I was in high school (and he was still going by Dean R. Koontz), the art for this book--a moody cover shot of a town with a full moon overhead and a spooky bird flying across--led me to discover an author that I followed for years.

MASQUERADE by Melissa de la Cruz (from the BLUE BLOODS series): The haunting, white mask and painted face beneath makes it, quite possibly, one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen. I loved it so much that I had to get the first book in the series just so I could read this one.

BAD KITTY by Michele Jaffe: It’s so sparkly! The hardcover released with two different cover jackets--one in black and one in pink--with a glittery, stylized image of a cat (that looked a bit like Boo Boo Kitty from LAVERNE & SHIRLEY). I would love to have a book with two different covers one day. That’s a commitment. Naturally, I went with the basic black. I enjoyed this book so much I literally fell off the couch laughing at one point. And I'm allergic to cats.