RT Cover choices--sexy or dead on? by Erin Dameron-Hill

Hi all!

I've been VERY busy creating covers and dealing with the newborn so I haven't been able to blog as much.  But I've got some yummy eye candy for y'all!

I've been working with author Somerset McCoy on an Alice in Wonderland/Zombie Romance Cover.  Just the words Alice in Wonderland and Zombies makes the story interesting enough!  Who needs covers with a cross genre like that?  I plan on reading it!

Anyway, there were different avenues of thought on the cover.  Should we go for the romantic aspects of the cover or the more unusual cover?  Let's examine both in detail.  Keep in mind the one that wasn't chosen isn't the final.  I went ahead and scrapped it.  For the purposes of this article, I have brought it out of the trash.

Both covers deal with the same elements--crows, rabbit, and fairy tale or Alice in Wonderland theme.  Which one do you think was chosen?  The lone woman cover was chosen because it was more on the mark and pronounced the key elements loudly.  Each cover is different and I loved them both but only one would win.

The second cover with the couple, in my opinion, is very generic.  You see this type of cover on most, if not all, romance novels.  To me, the cover would easily blend in with other books of the genre.  And for an author, that's a bad thing.  The romance genre is huge and the only way to stand out and to instantly grab a reader's attention is for the cover to grab them by the short hairs!  

The first cover, the lone woman is much more professional and is reminiscent of popular large publishing houses such as Harlequin.  I love the moody shades of blue, the fairy tale background, the thoughtful and reluctantly determined face--If I saw this cover when I was scanning for books, I would snatch it up in a heart beat because it's different.  

If you had a choice between the two, which would you choose and why?  

If these covers got your attention, why not support Ms. McCoy?  You can find THE MIRRORED GATE here and here.  

A Saturday shopping trip changes Alice's life forever, as she stumbles upon the gateway to a faerie otherworld in a department store mirror.  Lost and alone in a place where dark forces are taking control, she must place her trust in the only one willing to help her, and join the fight against a phantom queen who wants to steal both of their hearts.  Literally.

Inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, The Mirrored Gate is a novella of 20,000 words.

I know it's on my TBR pile!

I wish I could spend time on all the covers I have made and if there is a certain cover you would like to know more about, email me edameronhill @ gmail.com

Thanks for stopping by!