Cover Art - Let's Do Lunch

[kjordan]

I've been struggling with this cover for a very long time. This is the first of several covers I've been working with.

What I'm trying to do is get a 'pulp fiction' feel without getting into lurid colors or odd typefaces.

The story is a romantc suspense - a very tame heat level - more like women's fiction than a steamy-hot romance. This is the blurb:

Let's Do Lunch

A business owner at the mercy of her employees, Lindsey Bennett of the restaurant "Let's Do Lunch," finds her employees have no mercy. When Lindsey drops everything to be her injured mother's caregiver, relying on her sister to run the restaurant proves to be a mistake. Lindsey's trusted cook quits, the new cook changes the menu, her sister hires a waitress who can't run a register and money comes up missing. When a bug gets in a customer's food, Lindsey could lose it all! Somebody should get fired. But once she's back in charge, Lindsey finds that hiring is easier than firing.

More problems arise with the men in her life. Her new chef Brandon Pendleton – smart, sexy, fast living: he's the life of every party. Sergeant Kevin "Tag" McTaggart – handsome, aloof, this wounded warrior's blue eyes see into the depths of her soul. One will tease her until she gives up all her secrets. The other is out to use her and her restaurant.

Surrounded by criminals, deceived on all sides, and catapulted from crisis to crisis, can Lindsey stay focused? Her restaurant and her life are at stake.

Attachments:

[kjordan]

This is the cover art I started with - and have returned to for the moment.

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[Carradee]

First, why's the price on the cover? What if you decide to raise it later or do a sale?

Second, the title and author name aren't distinct. Same font, same font size, same location—it looks like the title is Let's Do Lunch K.A. Jordan.

Third, doesn't look like romance. The image isn't at all romantic, though I understand why you picked it. Maybe try replacing the green with pink, red, and/or white, instead?

EDIT:

I like the original more, but the author name "pop"s more than the title. Make "Let's Do Lunch" a bright color, and I recommend toning down the author name a bit. (I'd put the author name at the top or bottom of the image, too, but that may be personal preference.)

Also, are you sure you're using commerical freeware fonts? Many fonts aren't free to use in images, or are only free for non-commercial use.

[chrissurf619]

I agree with Carradee. The original is better, but its not romantic. I get the feeling its about a restaurant, which is fine but the blurb makes it sound like a romance. Also, the authors name is too high up for me, almost centered.

[kjordan]

I don't like pink. Pink clashes with the colors in the photos.

The green is for contrast to the reds and yellows in the photograph.

I put the price on the cover as an experiment. I'm looking for a pulp fiction type of cover.

Maybe I should scale the photo of the restaurant larger.

[kjordan]

Most people like this one the best.

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[chrissurf619]

yes, sugar packet is the best. But does it illustrate what the story is about...not sure.

[Carradee]

Jun 9, 2011 19:05:25 GMT -5 chrissurf619 said:

yes, sugar packet is the best. But does it illustrate what the story is about...not sure.

Ditto.

[mfstrnad]

I like the menu one better. Although I have to agree, the author name pops out a lot more than the book title. And I don't think it has the Pulp Fiction feel you're looking for. Would scaling the image down, and adding an orange/red border to the top add to that?

[Mark Neumayer]

When I think of a romance pulp cover I think of something like this:

These did feature the price, but they were also periodicals rather than books.
There are two elements that say "pulp romance" to me:

• the title across the very top
  
• some human element, either a woman or a couple
  

I think you might do better getting a people in here. Maybe something like this:

[kjordan]

Jun 9, 2011 19:21:30 GMT -5 Carradee said:

Jun 9, 2011 19:05:25 GMT -5 chrissurf619 said:

yes, sugar packet is the best. But does it illustrate what the story is about...not sure.

Ditto.

The cook and the waitress are selling drugs in sugar packets.

The green cover is a photo of the restaurant - the actual restaurant that the story is about.

The Menu is my favorite - but I can't find the file with the meta-data so I can't change the font.

I love the sugar packet cover - but some people hate it.

I DO like the cover with the woman and the chefs. I would like to find a cheezy shot of a man's chest, wearing in chef's whites. I'll look for one later in the week.

[antheal]

I like Mark's take on it. Overall, people on book covers are more interesting I think than static images. Even if it IS the featured restaurant. I think that with each of these covers, it wouldn't hurt to make the title BIGGER than the author's name. And, after all that, I do like the sugar packet, too, though I'd vote for brighter/warmer colors in the surround.

[angiepenrose]

I agree that you need at least one character on the cover, particularly if you're going for a pulp feel. The restaurant, the menu, the sugar packets -- they're relevant to the story but they feel mundane to me, not at all romantic.

Basically, you have to plotlines here -- the save-the-restaurant plot which is all about the restaurant itself, the messed up menu, the drug sales in sugar packets; and the romantic plot which is all about Lindsey trying to figure out which of two guys she should trust and fall for. Your covers are emphasizing the more mundane restaurant plot without even hinting at the romantic plot. It should be the other way around if your book is primarily a romance.

Angie