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Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Twelve Days of Christmas - covers and giveaways

Last time I posted,I was talking about the arrival of the new copies of   my next book -
 A Proposal to Secure His Vengeance - which is out in January 2018.   January 16th to be precise.  It seems so close now, thankfully - especially when  it has been such a difficult year .  One in which I  had times of wondering if I'd  ever hold a  brand new book  that I'd written  in my hands  ever again.


So it's a delight to know that this new title will be coming out and will be  on the shelves in the new year.


It will be  an interesting time as well because, as many of you may already know, the UK  section of  Harlequin  - Harlequin Mills and Boon -  will be having a new makeover  and launching it in the new year.   The new look is very different - and will create a lot of interest in the  books, I'm sure.

Here's  the sign  that Mills and Boon are using  to mark the start of the makeover.    And here   is the new logo that  will be used from January onwards.

The changes are interesting - and I'll be talking  about them more on my own blog and my Facebook page as the details are released  - and my own  'new look' book appears   in more places.

Perhaps the first thing that people will notice - and the thing that so many  readers have already mentioned to me is that  in the new logo, that traditional symbol of  Romance - the rose of romance  - is now missing from the logo. Instead, the new look includes 'the heart of romance'.

Can you see it ?  Some people haven't been able to spot it - so take a look at that ampersand - &  - between the words Mills  & Boon.  It's not the traditional  & but it's a heart lying on its side with  a line (an arrow? ) through it.

So obviously  - with the new  look covers coming in, the new logo, the new colours - wait and see, there! -  I've been wondering about  the sort of cover design s that make readers want to grab a book  and take it home.

In America, the Harlequin Presents cover has been much the same, almost unchanged, for years and years, and when my  UK cover will be very different  ( think I'd better emphasise that  -very - different ) the one that my lovely American readers  will see will be much the same.  I showed it  last month  - and here I'll include it again.
So  - what about that question I asked you?  What sort of a cover makes you want to grab a book and take it home with you? Do you like that fact that the Presents cover has been around so much it's now described as 'iconic' - or would you like to see a new version?

Later in the month, over on my own blog I'll be looking at some of my older covers - the successful  ones and the - not so great ones!

And as I look at the different covers and other things about books, I'll be offering a book a day  as a giveaway in the lead up to Christmas.

So I'd love to see your comments - and to know what covers you like and the ones you don't. And Charlie the Maine  Coon  of his little sister Ruby will pick a winner from the comments - to win a signed copy of one of my backlist books  this month.


I hope everyone is  enjoying the lead up to Christmas  or whatever festival you're celebrating around this time. I hope the holidays are full of love and happiness and real joy for you all - and most of all, I wish for peace for everyone amongst families and countries so that we can all enjoy this special time.

Next year I'll be back to celebrate the publication of A Proposal To Secure His Vengeance.   But in the mean time I'll be running other 12 Days of Christmas giveaways  over on my personal blog  and on my Facebook page    so perhaps I'll see you there  - and maybe Ruby  or Charlie will pick your name as one of my  12 Days  winners.


Happy  Christmas - and Happy Holidays  to everyone. See you in 2018!

6 comments:

dstoutholcomb said...

I like the American Presents cover, but I'm not opposed to change.

denise

Mary Preston said...

Iconic works for me. I do feel it's important that the cover truly represents the story.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Kate Walker said...

Denise - I agree - there have been small, 'tweaking' changes in the Presents cover - but basically the white cover and the circle have been with us for a long time. It's not really the change that matters - more each individual design - some are great, some not so . . .!

Kate Walker said...

Hi Mary - I have to agree with you too. The covers have changed a lot since I started writing
some work - some a re really bad ! But for me it's really important that the cover image represents the story - some miss that mark by a mile!

Laney4 said...

The Presents label has changed minimally throughout the years, and I appreciate that. I always look for the white spine or front cover with the red at the top. I love how quickly I am able to find just what I want.
As an aside, you have made me wonder if you even HAVE any backlists that I haven't read yet, LOL. I am catching up to you, LOL!

dstoutholcomb said...

Thank you!

denise