Book cover art

Three images here – the book cover to my new novel Slippery When Wet , in its stages of development.
I thought the first image was great. Transita’s sales reps found it too suggestive. They only get seconds to pitch a book with buyers, and feared it might be dismissed as erotica.


So the second image emerged, two legs dangling in a pool. No thanks. Blue water’s OK but the image did not excite me and had nothing to do with the book.
So to the final version, and the book cover. We went back to the first image and lost the outline of the body.

I’m pleased with it.
In fact, it’s the first time I’ve truly liked one of my covers. As a writer I’ve found it hard to use my notional veto in the face of great enthusiasm from editors. It was good to get Christopher Corr as the artist for my first novel, On Bended Knees. He painted his version of the central character on the cover, though. I prefer readers to picture characters for themselves. My next three covers? They did a job, but not much more.
I was chatting to the team that runs David’s Bookshop in Letchworth this week. They like this new cover too, happily. Apparently the artwork for many novels determines the gender of its readership – it says ‘man’s’ or ‘woman’s’ book. They felt Slippery should appeal all round.
Perfect!