Friday, June 14, 2013

Cover Love! My favorite covers and artists! + Giveaway!!

There is absolutely that a good cover sells a book. I am one of many book lovers who will readily admit that sometimes I choose a book because it has an amazing cover!
So what makes a good book cover, well I think it depends on the reader. Book covers are art, and art is in the eye of the beholder. My favorite example of a cover that drew me in, but didn't do it for a lot of other readers is Ilsa J. Blicks original ASHES cover. I also have found that I like certain designers and their styles and will automatically gravitate their work. It's like they "get me" as a reader in terms of their design work.


This is the original hardcover. It instantly drew me in because it is dark, and gritty. And let's face it, I'm a dark and gritty kind of girl.
The white eyes of the woman makes me think zombie. I think the lines are supposed to represent the EMP? But you wouldn't know that unless you picked it up. But unfortunately, this book would blend into the background much easier than a colorful book. Initially it's a good cover, because ASHES is not a light hearted book.

AMAZON**
GOODREADS







Cover number 2 was unleashed when the book came out in paperback and matches the rest of the trilogy. So yes, I will own it someday. Because my covers have to match. I am strange like that.


This cover will draw a lot more readers too it. Why, simply because the color POPS at the viewer browsing the shelf. The sideways text forces the potential to take a closer look at it.

The black background also tells me that this is a dark book. The smoke implies something bad happening, and the girl standing alone in the woods signifies that it's more than likely a YA book.










So we've established that I am a cover whore, and that I understand the marketing techniques used by cover artists and publishers to draw me in.
Dark covers pull me in for horror books.
Some of my favorite horror books are all very dark covers.

GOODREADS
Bloody, dark, mysterious and sexy. Claudia McKinney at Phatpuppy Art never disappoints me with her covers!
She helps author Rhiannon Frater pull of the total package when it comes to how I want my horror novels to look.












Clthulhu's Daughter is another Phatpuppy creation, and again she brings the bloody dark worlds that Rhiannon creates to life. It's simply spellbinding how much she gets the writers she is working with.













Some of my other favorite Phatpuppy covers include:
I'm personally really sad that Hocking never published this one, because this cover is to die for!
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Phatpuppy has over 300 covers!!! To check some of them out and vote for your favorites head on over to this list!
Claudia is one of a kind. I mean that. Her cover work is the absolute best in my eyes! I would hate to have my covers done by anyone else! 
To get lost in her beautiful art work for hours To find out more about her work please visit her site: www.phatpuppyart.com
follow her on facebook

Okay, so we may have discovered that I am a Phatpuppy fanatic, and it's true. She is one of the kindest people out there, and she is so talented! 

I also get major cover lust over Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations' work! That girl can make a cover. She makes the best Contemp Romance covers hands down! Like Phatpuppy she has her own unique style that is often imitated but never duplicated. 





Check out more of Sarah's work on her site
She's on facebook too!!

Pixel Mischief has done three of my all time favorite book covers. ALL dark erotica will be measured against her and CJ Roberts masterpiece!!! 



So simply beautiful. The covers speak to me. Big <3's!!!

Honestly, I could go on and on about the cover's and designers that I have mad crushes on, but this post is definitely long enough. Maybe I will do a part two! 
Go forth and buy yourselves some pretty books!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

2 comments:

  1. I LOVE Sarah at Okay Creations! She is MAZING!! But you should totally check out Mae I Design! She is AWESOME!! Her work is so good..

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    1. LOL. I'm PHATPUPPY all the way. To me these two are the best. They both have their signature styles and they ROCK them. PHATPUPPY did my cover, and seeing the high resolution work up front shows her talent.

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