My daughter gave me a hard time about the cover of Mending Fences when she first got a look at it. She zeroed in on the way the woman’s shoulder and arm look. Something about the top line seemed unnatural to her. It wasn’t until I took her in front of the mirror and positioned her like the cover that she saw, yes, indeed, that’s how her own arm looked in that pose.
The discussion reminded me of an awesome post back in January by Jim C. Hines. Mr. Hines is a fabulous writer. His series about Jig the Goblin is delightful, unique in its choice of hero, and very funny. His Princess Novels are another stroke of creative genius, twisting old fairy tales, using their darker origins, and turning princesses (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White) into fantasy versions of Charlie’s Angels. Seriously, if you like fantasy or fairy tales, check these out. You will not be disappointed.
Now that I’ve told you a bit about Mr. Hines, I’ll explain how this relates to the book cover poses. Mr. Hines decided to discuss the frequently unnatural and downright ludicrous poses of women on fantasy and urban fantasy novels. Since pictures are worth a thousand words, he posted with photos of him mimicking the poses beside the actual book covers…and then discussed the pain involved in getting into those poses. And the post is a scream: http://www.jimchines.com/2012/01/striking-a-pose/
Now he has decided to take on male poses on UF and paranormal romance novel covers! http://jimhines.livejournal.com/628418.html His analysis of what is expected of men and women on covers is great.
Equally brilliant, I thought, is a post by Anna, a book blogger, who ran with the idea and did a side-by-side comparison of men’s vs. women’s poses. http://genrereviews.livejournal.com/371367.html
Really great stuff! I have only occasional flashes of brilliance myself, but I’m happy to take the opportunity to share the good things I stumble across.
What book cover poses have made you think the model must have been in pain or Photoshopped because a real body couldn’t possibly achieve that position?
Help, I’m tired and I can’t get up! Ugh. Part of the problem is that I’m trying to break my Diet Coke habit and force myself to sleep a normal number of hours. Typically, I’ll sleep 5-6 hours, catch an hour nap during the day if I’m exceedingly lucky, and then stay sharp by drinking copious amounts of Diet Coke. Not the healthiest way to live. So, I got over 7 hours of sleep, I’m nice and hydrated with water, as I should be, and I CANNOT get going. The brain is mushy. Plus, the start of a withdrawal headache is nudging at the back of my skull. All this on a day when I have words to write. Lots of them.
Welcome to the Birthday Blog Hop! 60 authors are celebrating paranormal author Carrie Ann Ryan’s birthday tomorrow by participating in this hop. I’m so glad to have you here and I hope you enjoy yourself for a bit before moving on to the rest of the hop!
Take one reformed hotshot CEO playing rancher. Add one strong woman, an abuse survivor with a lot of secrets. Toss together for one searing kiss on Halloween, then separate. Fold in a slightly deformed pet bison who creates serendipity by accident. Stir together. Add discoveries, revelations, angst, heartbreak, suspense, and generous helpings of both healing and sexual tension. Layer with family relationships and a secondary love story and simmer to a Happy Ever After.
