This is the original cover for my sexy novella, Lady Em’s Indiscretion. I think it’s lovely, as are all my covers from Kim Killion. However, it turns out to have been an error in branding.
After publishing it, I learned that some readers do not read book descriptions before buying. There were complaints that it was too short and too sexy. My guess is the cover and title were too much like the cover and title of Lady Dearing’s Masquerade and misled some people into thinking Lady Em’s Indiscretion would be another long historical, sexy but with many other story elements. This, even though the description included the words “sexy” and “novella”.
Anyway, there’s no point in blaming readers. So after a while, I asked Kim Killion to do a different cover, one that would make the heat level more obvious. Here’s what she came up with. Although I’m sad the folly had to go, since the switch reviews have been consistently positive. I only wish I’d done it sooner. Live and learn.
What readers are saying now:
“What a great story. A sweet romance of hope everlasting and the power of physical attraction. I really enjoyed the read, quick and very fun.”
“I don’t think the bad reviewers were really paying attention to what they were buying. This is a SHORT and sensual story, well worth the 99 cents I paid for it. It is well-written and sexy, and the author has a good sense of the time period.”
Lady Em’s Indiscretion is free on Amazon today through February 4. Just please do NOT download if you are looking for a sweet traditional Regency!
Which cover do you like best? What sorts of covers signal sexy to you?
Elena
www.elenagreene.com
I love both of the covers and while I guess they depict different aspects of Regency romance I never assume anything simply from a cover. I always read the back cover blurb and often reviews and synopses on Amazon before I buy.
Louisa, I think you may be the exception.
It’s also just me confusing readers, since I started out writing sweet traditional Regencies (the first two, anyway) and have gotten more sensual from book to book. So now I’m trying to at least make the sensuality more clear with my covers.
The trouble with sexy historical covers is that rarely do the two coincide, so you have to settle (usually) for the sexy and ignore the wrong hairstyles, lingerie straps, nail polish and so on. I think this one does the job, Elena, and let’s hope for many downloads (I just grabbed one!)
Thanks, Janet! And I agree, it’s tricky finding the right images. In this case, simple seemed best and having a single-image cover versus the split image cover may be helping to differentiate it from my full length titles.
Thank you for the lagniappe! Can’t wait to dive into Lady Em’s Indiscretion.
I hope you enjoy it, Lenore!