When you cruise through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your other favorite retailers, do book covers make a big difference in whether or not you stop scrolling and decide to give a book a closer look?
I'd really love to hear your thoughts, because I am in a bit of a dither over the covers for my 2021 Northern Pines series. My cover artist gave me exactly what I thought I wanted for the first book--ONE MORE DANCE--pretty flowers. I've seen those types of covers on books by other authors.
But there are also many covers that show a setting more specific to the book--a seashore, a quaint B&B, or characters.
Instead of using something that simply looks pretty, I'm wondering if I should be more "on point" with my future covers--more tied to my brand. A brand reflects what readers can expect from a given author. Mine is "Faith, family, and four-footed friends--a life in the country" and it appears at the top of my website CLICK HERE . It hints at what I write: clean and wholesome romance and light romantic suspense or mystery novels, with ranch, small-town and rural settings...usually, with animals.
Which in turn, reflects who I am. Did I mention that I've always had lots of animals throughout my life? ☺ The menagerie grew exponentially when our children came along, but dissipated a bit after they grew up (no more birds, bunnies, pet snakes, tarantulas, and lizards in the house!) But we still have horses, rescue dogs, a half-dozen fat and friendly barn cats, and a very noisy peacock. And from my very first novel, animals of all kinds have found their way into my stories.
Back to covers--so, what do you think? Does the current flowery cover of ONE MORE DANCE catch your eye? Or should I request a new cover more specific to my brand, and the story--about a small-town, female veterinarian whose troubled past and future collide? I recently posted some possibilities on the Sweet Romance Readers Facebook Cafe, and this photo was the favorite.
Leave a comment and you'll be in drawing for a free e-copy of SNOWBOUND WITH THE COWBOY and a ten-dollar Amazon gift card (one winner for each.)
ONE MORE DANCE is now available for pre-order for just $.99 and releases on March 19th. Here's a link to read more about it, or to buy: CLICK HERE
Here's a little blurb...
When veterinarian Kate Mathers drives past the scene of an accident and sees two ambulances race away, she whispers a prayer for those involved, not realizing it's her husband's car in flames down in that ditch, and a woman died in his car--a complete stranger. And now Jared is in the ICU on the verge of death.
Kate is at his bedside, trying to face his precarious situation and the fact that someone is targeting both her husband and her veterinary practice...and wondering how their perfect marriage could have gone so wrong. Or did it?
If only they can have one more chance to talk and forgive, and one more dance in each other's arms...
All the best,
Roxanne Rustand
