You guys! Please welcome Tamara (T) of Traveling with T on the blog today! Two great guest posters this week, what a treat! T's taste in cover art always seems to run to the theme of "glamorous ladies in great outfits" and I tease her about it, so she wrote about great cover art today! Thanks T!
A few days ago, I was in my room listening to my old as Grandma Moses iPod (Full disclosure: I have 2- and both are pretty dated as far as modern technology goes- but this one is extremely dated as I’ve had it over 10 years). Anyway, as I was sitting around and listening to a variety of music- I was organizing my books. Putting them in piles and deciding who was going to get the best real estate ( the big bookshelf) and who would be subjugated over to the area by the literary landfill (hence the shelf I rarely visit.) In my house, bookshelf space is all about location, location, location ( if I’m speaking in real estate terms!)
Before I get much further in this story, I need to stop and explain that I have a love for covers like no other. Some people get excited about art (and sure- I love a Starry Night by Van Gogh and flowers by other artists) BUT book covers are my art. They are what I want to frame. If I had a wall in my room covered in book covers, I think that would be the coolest (note to self: Make this happen!) The second thing you must know is that while I like many covers- I have some certain types that speak to me over and over again. One is the beach theme type- the perfect sunny day, the water sparkling, the flowers blooming, happy people frolicking on my cover (Think Elin Hilderbrand, Nancy Thayer, Wendy Wax and Erika Marks). My second set of cover love, though, was recently defined by Wesley as “Glamorous Ladies” covers. What are glamorous ladies covers? They are gorgeous- usually a lady with her face slightly turned away, a shimmery/iridescent background, and colors that please the eye. Beatriz Williams is the master of the glamorous lady cover (or her book publishers are- I guess I should say!) In fact, my love for glamorous lady covers runs so deep that when Target did a special printing of The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams (with a completely new cover!) I ran out and purchased it- even though I had the hardback and the e-book already. #BookCoverLove
Back to the story, though. So, I’m organizing my shelf- trying to give equal love to my covers that please me so, that make me get a little short of breath at the story behind the cover. And then Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) comes on the iPod. Except, when I heard it- I changed the words to All The Glamorous Lady Covers. I looked at my pile of books. I imagined them dancing jubilantly to Beyonce’s music. I wondered who would lead the books in the All The Glamorous Lady Covers dance (my money is on The Secret Life of Violet Grant!) **It should be noted at this point that I have always had an overactive imagination.**
As I imagined my books dancing around, I began to appreciate the Glamorous Lady Covers on an even deeper level. Sure, they are eye-candy of the highest order; but even more...They are damn good books. Sometimes in the literary world they get sold a bit short, sometimes people don’t want to look behind the pretty face to see the book. But they are worth it. They are SO worth it.
*Do you have a book cover preference? What would be your fav Glamorous Lady Cover?*
**Thanks to Wesley for letting me take part in All Lady July! Feel free to share pictures of Glamorous Lady Covers with me on Twitter or Instagram- because I always need a new one to add to my collection!**
Hah, this is a fun topic. I think I like The After Party best because of the emerald green.
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