Long ago, covers were often painted portraits of real people in costumes against an appropriate backdrop for the romance. I had one of those covers. Artwork by Pino, a famous cover artist of the time graced my first book titled This Heart of Mine (Kensington Books). 
Then, stock photos came into use and I got one of the first sensational, groundbreaking ones on The Hard Stuff, another Kensington title. This cover burst onto the scene like a meteor. It was discussed all over the media; from CNN to Geraldo Rivera. "These aren't your grandmother's romance novels," was heard in each and every news story.
And then suddenly, I was self-publishing a book that had never been published anywhere before. A book of my heart. Figuring prominently was a pitbull named Razor who was a bit battered, but happy and loving. Naturally, he was based on my own dog who'd already crossed the rainbow bridge. I was able to scan a 35mm picture of him and have him used as a cover model. I've never loved working on a cover project more.
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From the Reader Letter:
If you’re an animal lover, you’ll recognize how much I loved my pit bull, Beau, whose image I got to use on my cover. He was young, fit, and always happy to play when that photo was taken. Time took away his glossy black patches and filled them in with gray, but his eyes never lost their adoring gaze. Too many of the bully breeds suffer at the hands of irresponsible people, but our Beau lived a joyful life...and never once growled or threatened another living being: human or canine. In fact he tolerated a rather dramatic cat who found ways to torture him, but that’s another story for another day.
Today only I have another book that's free on Amazon. This is a collection of three stories set at Christmas and feature a matchmaking mutt named Bella. You guessed it, she was based on another family dog, a poodle cross who passed away just before the last book was released. Bella was a dancer and a cuddler who gets mentioned in reviews. Sweet girl is playing with my Beau...
Don't forget to enter our Monthly Giveaway This time, it's winner's choice with a lovely bunch of prizes from which to choose. Have a look and happy reading!
p.s. If you decide to read either Love in a Pawn Shop or Love at Christmas, I'd love to hear your thoughts in a quick review. BookBub is the perfect place because it's so easy. You can follow me here: Bonnie on BookBub
Today only I have another book that's free on Amazon. This is a collection of three stories set at Christmas and feature a matchmaking mutt named Bella. You guessed it, she was based on another family dog, a poodle cross who passed away just before the last book was released. Bella was a dancer and a cuddler who gets mentioned in reviews. Sweet girl is playing with my Beau...
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Don't forget to enter our Monthly Giveaway This time, it's winner's choice with a lovely bunch of prizes from which to choose. Have a look and happy reading!
p.s. If you decide to read either Love in a Pawn Shop or Love at Christmas, I'd love to hear your thoughts in a quick review. BookBub is the perfect place because it's so easy. You can follow me here: Bonnie on BookBub
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Bonnie, what a ground breaker you are!! So wonderful to have you here. Thanks for sharing the stories about the stories. Love hearing them.
ReplyDeleteThat week with all the news coverage was a highlight of my career. AMAZING! One of the other authors went to a couple of different news shows and gave a reading. She was kind enough to send along a DVD of everything.
DeleteBonnie, I hope you promoted that book with "as discussed on the Geraldo Rivera show!" Loved the pawn shop book. Think I posted a review on Amazon. If I didn't, nudge me, and I'll do it.
ReplyDeleteJoan...I can barely remember. That book was the first on my first website though. Heady days.
DeleteIt's so interesting how covers have changed over the years. And your Pawn Shop book was great! I very much enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kari. I could NOT sell that book anywhere and as it turns out self-publishing it was the best way to go.
DeleteMy first book, a Precious Gems, had a Pino cover too! Loved that cover. The heroine actually looked like a real American Saddlebred trainer here in Kentucky.
ReplyDeleteThe male model was the "it" guy at the time. Jimmy something...
DeleteGreat post, great covers, great stories.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice now to look back on.
DeleteI love to see the changes of cover art over the years and decades. Call me old fashioned but I do like the first book cover you had, too!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jean. I was pretty darned excited to see it! But the one that simply blew my mind was the GREEN MAN, as he became affectionately known. Even the colour green was groundbreaking because up until then, green wasn't used much for covers.
DeleteSuch interesting stuff! And, yes, I'd be mentioning Geraldo's name every time you turned around!
ReplyDeleteI've always loved your covers ;)
ReplyDelete