I, too, write romances, and I've been fighting the "bodice ripper" label for years. To me, bad book covers are on the same level as poorly done historical costumes or bad SCA garb. ( I teach Costume History on the college level and my husband and I are in the SCA, so I know from whence I speak.)
There is a silver lining in bad book covers. That cover with the three limbs allowed Christina Dodd cover approval for her novels. Likewise, my friend Kristan Higgins got cover control when the artist put the wrong breed of dog on her book cover. Of course, it helps if you are a bestselling New York Times author. Other authors I know must rely on the generosity of the cover gods. :-) Some have really been blessed. Monica Spence -----Original Message----- From: h-costume-boun...@indra.com [mailto:h-costume-boun...@indra.com] On Behalf Of Valerie Robertson Sent: Monday, September 26, 2011 2:39 PM To: h-cost...@indra.com Subject: [h-cost] Book Covers Um, you guys know that "bodice ripper" is considered insulting by romance writers, right? Kind of like "costume nazi" among historical clothing researchers. And since I'm a published romance novelist (science fiction, so the clothes aren't a problem) and have been researching historical clothing for more than two decades, I feel qualified to make the comparison. As far as getting the dress correct on book covers, in 1993 Christina Dodd became infamous because of a cover that went to press with the heroine having THREE ARMS. If Avon, the leading US publisher of historical romances, couldn't get the number of limbs correct with all their editors and a full art department, do you really think they even care if the dress details are correct? For the record, the dress sucked; 14th century kirtle with bell sleeves gathered at her left wrist in a ruffle--yes, a ruffle--at one right wrist without a ruffle, and no cuff, gathering band, ruffle, or sleeve visible at all at the other right wrist. The hero is wearing a Templar tunic, or it might be a white tunic with a red Maltese cross on it (cue eyelid twitch). Of course, that book is a collector's item now and resells for hundreds of dollars, but still, they failed at counting to two. Got seams in the wrong place...visible zipper lines...wrong kind of lacing for the period...neckline that defies physics? Well, yes. Does she have two arms? Hey, it's all good. Valerie Robertson _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
