Book cover design has intrigued me for quite some time. The perfect cover can sell a book. All it takes sometimes is a grabber of an image. And sometimes that grabber image gets used more than once.
Case in point. Take a look at the first two books in the collage at left (the image will enlarge if you click on it).
Unpretty by Sharon Carter Rogers (Howard Books, 2008). Scared woman with hand over her mouth. It's a provocative photo for certain. Which is why I was surprised to see it on
another cover in the CBA market only two years later.
When the Devil Whistles by Rick Acker (Abingdon Press, Oct 2010).
Believe it or not, I have seen this image also on a movie poster for a secular horror film and in the mockup of a Thomas Nelson title (that was changed before it was published).
So... where does it come from? This stock image was taken by a photographer who goes by "knape" and is also the model. It's available on iStockphoto
here.
But here's where things get really interesting. I was looking at this image a couple months back out of curiosity, and lo and behold I was shocked to see that the model featured on the cover of my own novel
Thicker than Blood is this same photographer/model! I made this comment online and Kirk DouPonce of
Dog Eared Design was intrigued as well, telling me he'd used yet another photo of this model on the cover of
The Healer by Linda Windsor.
Fascinating!
Have you seen any books that have the same image on their covers? Do share!
Author Travis Thrasher has a fun contest going on over at his Facebook page. His novel Ghostwriter released in 2009, but he wants to re-release it in e-book form. His plan is to release it for FREE for a limited period. But first he needs a cover!
