Hi Kelley Armstrong’s Cover Designers!

Bitchin' Blog Posts

by SB Sarah | by SB Sarah | October 06, 2010 | Wednesday at 10:18 am | 60 Comments

How you doing? I hope you’re having a pretty swell day. It might not be swell by the end of this but if the coffee was good this morning, that’s a win.

I’m writing to talk to you about Kelley Armstrong’s book covers.

First, this comparison was sent in by alert reader Ashley-Anne, who found them separately and had to send me the cover images.

Oh, my my.

It’s happened before, and I understand, obviously, that there are only 35 stock images to go around. Look at the pink legs that were everywhere. And yes, the tulle-wrapped legs are evocative of the first Bitten cover, which I can’t find a pic of right now (WTF?)

Problem is, Bree Despain has a total look going for her books, and the tulle-and-pale-legs thing is on her other book, too:

It happens. I totally get it.

But as I noodled around (yes, that’s a verb, and a very good cover image, since you’re not asking but I’m telling you anyway) Amazon, I noticed something truly heartbreaking.

Armstrong’s covers are straying deeply in to the Realm of the Twilight-Knockoff.

And what, by the way, goddam hell is this?!

This just has to stop. It’s Kelley Mother Fucking Armstrong! She wrote the werewolf book that rocked my world! She is the awesome! Stop making her books look like Twiwannabes and get on with the original images!

I’m not saying we have to go back to Stirring the Mist Naked with Man Hands covers but at least have SOMETHING original to do with the cover art.

Not everything is Twilight. Some things are really, really good. Like these books. Stop making everything paranormal homogenized black, red and white crap, please!

And for the love of God, NOBODY buy those checkered tights and then sit like that, ok? Ok.

Surely there is more to be done with cover art depicting strong women than making the images a low-fi knockoff of Twilight. I can only hope, anyway. Otherwise, this is just sad and embarrassing.

Hoping for something else soon,

Sarah

p.s. That font needs to stop appearing everywhere. I look at it, and I think, “Oh. It’s the Kresley Cole font.” Do you want me to think Kresley Cole when I look at someone else’s book? Of course not. That typeface is waaaaay tired. It’s like the Hoobastank of fonts. Make it stop now.

Filed: General Bitching, Ranty McRant

Tagged: wtfery, twilight, paranormal, make the burning stop, kelley armstrong, cover snark, cover makeovers, cover copycats, cover comparisons

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Cassie said on 10.06.10 at 11:14 AM • [link]

Speaking of Twilightising (or Twilightizing, for those in the States), have you seen the classics they’ve been bringing out with Twilight-esque covers?

Exhibit A: Wuthering Heights

They’ve also dipped Pride and Prej, Jane Eyre and Romeo and Juliet into this mess.

I am not happy. Not because they’re comparing Wuthering Heights to Twilight—-which, on a purely fucked-up-ness level, is a pretty fair comparison—-but because I am afraid readers of Twilight are going to consume Cathy and Heathcliff’s ‘love story’ as uncritically as they have Edward and Bella’s.

NEITHER ARE FUCKING LOVE STORIES.

At least, not any love story I would want myself or anyone I cared about to be involved in.
Sarah W said on 10.06.10 at 01:00 PM • [link]

Not everything is Twilight. Some things are really, really good.

I snerked so hard I woke the cat.

After a second or to of blinking at the checkered tights cover, I had an overwhleming vision of a Kansas farmhouse falling on the book.

Now that would be a Wizard of Oz re-cover—-except in stripes and red sparkly Choos, of course.
Lisa said on 10.06.10 at 01:42 PM • [link]

Wow. What’s with the cheap shot Twilight jokes? Especially because this cover phenomenon has absolutely nothing to do with the content or quality of Twilight, and everything to do with making your book catch the eye of people who bought a branded bestseller.

I didn’t much care for the Twilight books myself, but I actually think the covers are really nice.
DS said on 10.06.10 at 02:33 PM • [link]

Did you get far enough into The Diva Ate Her to find the bit where the author was complaining about not being allowed to use the images from her bosses book covers on her web site in any way except book covers. The publisher wouldn’t allow her to remove the lettering and use them as graphics because the publisher didn’t own the underlying images.

You would think that someone as big as Bantam would be able to spend a bit on original art for Kelley Armstrong.

Wasn’t Armstrong’s first book the one with the cover that showed soft focus cropped pale female body? I seem to remember a discussion somewhere about if the woman on the cover appeared dead or not. But it was an effective cover.
CaroleM said on 10.06.10 at 02:36 PM • [link]

They are meant to catch the eye and remind the buyer of Twilight, unfortunately, that makes me glance at them and think: Oh it’s like Twilight. And then keep right on going. Wonder how many good books I’ve missed cause the publisher wanted me to identify them with a book I may or may not have liked?

think82: I’m thinking of 82 other books I’d buy before I bought Twilight or a Twilight clone.
Daz said on 10.06.10 at 02:38 PM • [link]

I wouldn’t buy those books based on those covers and that’s a shame because I know they are good books.
Patrice said on 10.06.10 at 03:05 PM • [link]

I’m right with ya on “copying” images from a trend. (especially Twilight esh) Why not copy Harry Potter covers next? Although I imagine that’s already been done. lol

I do like the idea of changing covers on reissues and using a theme for the series, it’s easier for me to not repeat purchases! I wish publishers would make the images and theme actually relate to the content of the books! But I have the same complaint with some “first” covers. Some publishers seem to get it and some, tragically do not.
Jennifer Armintrout said on 10.06.10 at 03:09 PM • [link]

I understand why they would go the Twilight route. For some reason, in publishing, they look at what sells and go, “Oh, that sold. It must be exactly what all readers in every genre want. Let’s do that.” They do this without any consideration for what readers in a particular genre might actually want.

I mean, look at the covers for P.C. Cast’s reprints of the Partholon books. Goddess of the Rose, which was one of the sweetest, most wonderful romances I have ever read, ended up with an Ellora’s Cave-esque erotica cover, and Elphame’s Choice suddenly got packaged like a young adult novel, as did Divine by Mistake, Divine by Choice, etc.
DS said on 10.06.10 at 03:14 PM • [link]

The latest Deanna Raybourn is channeling Twilight also. It took me a bit to figure out why I was so put off by the cover, when I’ve enjoyed her first two mysteries. Subconsciously, I should be going new Raybourn, yay, instead of, there’s something a bit off putting with that cover.

Maybe the publishers are making sales to people who respond favorably to the images, but to me it’s like when I used to listen to music radio and the FM stations would play a song until I hated it.
Mama Nice said on 10.06.10 at 03:16 PM • [link]

“Hoobastank” of fonts” bwah-ha-ha!

With the all black cover background and crisp white font I was getting that Twi-la-vu feeling even before you showed me the copycats below the fold.

It’s a pretty obvious marketing gimmick, and unfair to the author, if she’s as good as you say - she deserves to stand on her own (well, every author does, I just mean if she’s notably talented she doesn’t need the crutch of “BUY ME I’M LIKE THOSE OTHER BOOKS YOU LIKE” to peddle her books to buyers. )

I shall buy those checkered tights, I am always looking for ways to make my thighs seem fatter, and you never know when a need for an impromptu chess board will pop up.
Grace said on 10.06.10 at 03:28 PM • [link]

I don’t mind the black/red/white combination. I just don’t like that I now associate it with Twilight (of which I only made it through 3 chapters of book 1). Logically, I know better, but now each time I see a Twilight-esque cover I automatically think “Pass. Crappy writing,” and move on to something else.

Are we sure those are tights? To me, those checkerboards look like they’re painted on her legs.
Nadia said on 10.06.10 at 03:48 PM • [link]

The first time I saw the Twilight books was at a school book fair. I had no idea what they were about, but thought to myself “Damn, those are some seriously excellent book covers.” Have never read the books, so cannot comment on the percentage of craptastic between the covers. But here’s the thing - good or bad writing, the covers are a trademark of that series, and anything else does look like a knockoff. And if the stellar covers couldn’t entice me into the original series (not much interest in teen protagonists here) then I’m not likely to even pick up a bandwagon-hopper to see what it’s even about. However, the Twilight books sold like hell yeah, so maybe enough tween and teen girls (and thirty/fortysomething suburban moms, I think I’m the only one I know who didn’t devour the books) looking for their next series will latch on to those covers. I’m sure that’s what the publishers are hoping, it’s just such an obvious ploy.
Marie said on 10.06.10 at 03:54 PM • [link]

Actually, the ‘Frost Bitten’ cover reminds me of the “True Blood, Season 2” promo poster, which at the time, I thought was totally awesome. And I can’t say I’m a fan of Charlaine Harris’ bookcovers either.

I don’t mind the black, red and white so much. What I do mind is the same image being used for 2 different authors. That to me is insulting.
Literary Slut Kilian said on 10.06.10 at 04:10 PM • [link]

A friend lent me some Sookie Stackhouse novels while I was laid up in bed after surgery. Loved them and beat feet to the library to pick up the ones she didn’t lend me. I remember being befuzzled by the cover art on some of them - all gothic black/white/red, while the others were cute.

I don’t have a TV, so was completely unaware of the True Blood HBO series, and I remember telling the librarian that the covers were so at odds with contents that people who were attracted to the covers wouldn’t like the books, and people who would like the books would be put off by the covers. I didn’t realize they were trying to lure in the TV fans with misleading covers. The whimsical covers match the books’ contents, the Gothic not so much.

Kinuko Craft is the only cover artist that will sell me a book without question. If she’s done the cover, I buy the book. I’ve never been disappointed
Gina said on 10.06.10 at 04:14 PM • [link]

I don’t really mind the copying as long as the knock-off is better than the original. But the Bree Despain covers are gorgeous and the knock-off is… not. Shame, because the Women of the Otherworld series is so fantastic.
Lady T said on 10.06.10 at 04:17 PM • [link]

That last cover reminds me of that Tom Petty video for “Don’t Come Around Here(No More)” with it’s creepy Alice in Wonderland theme and the backup singers in the black and white checked unitards:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0JvF9vpqx8
Hannah said on 10.06.10 at 04:27 PM • [link]

I think the Twilight and Twilight-esque covers are amazing, though I’m not a big fan of the series (I couldn’t even finish book 1). I also think they’re fab on classics like Wuthering Heights.
Kristina said on 10.06.10 at 05:00 PM • [link]

OMG Lady T that is exactly the song that started running through my head when I saw that cover. I just kept picturing them slicing up the Alice cake and her screaming. lmao!

Anyway, back to my original comment…....

Ahhhhh I’ve been away for awhile cuz it got busy at work and I just didn’t have time to read or comment. (it’s still busy but I’m being a slacker right now) BUT, please stop reissuing series books with new covers!!!! You’re messing me up publishers! I’m like 8-10 books into this dang series and I have serious OCD about my series books matching cover themes. Seriously, I’m twitching right now as I suppress the urge to go wishlist the new covers on Amazon.

*twitch*
Rima said on 10.06.10 at 05:06 PM • [link]

Is it just me, or are those legs really, REALLY skinny? Like anorexic skinny? Ew. Not very romantic, if you ask me.

I do agree, however, that the Twilight covers rock. Half the battle is getting someone to notice the book, and that cover did it for me. The writing? Not so much.
SB Sarah said on 10.06.10 at 05:32 PM • [link]

When the Twilight covers came out, they were amazing. After so many images of Too Much Going On, they were spare and evocative. I saw them from across a bookstore and literally said, out loud, “Holy shit.”

But now that everything from Wuthering Heights to Bob’s Guide to Plumbing are being reissued with Twilight-esque covers, it’s done. It’s jumped the sparkly shark. I was in Barnes & Noble (where “barnes” is for “books” and “noble” apparently is for “toys”) and a good 2/3 of the YA section was black covers with white/red accents, like a hose of Twilight was sprayed all over each book.

This makes me irritated because it not only demonstrates a lack of creative thinking except OH LOOK BANDWAGON LET US JUMP, but it sends a message that These Books Are All the Same and are All Comparable To One Another. No creative thinking involved, really - they’re all Twi-clones, packaged like such.

And oh holy night they are SO NOT. I am well aware that there are many people who adored the Twilight series. If you liked it, go on with your bad self. I did not. I gave it a D if I recall. Sorry - a D+. I disliked it so much, I had to wank on for a few thousand words about how Edward was a throwback to alpha male heroes and how Bella’s worldview and her identity was so quickly subsumed into his. The entire courtship and portrayal of adolescent love in the series gave me the squicks on many levels. Did it work for you? That’s cool. Did it work for me? Not so much. I’ve been pretty up front about that.

So when I see every other YA book that might possibly feature a romance, or maybe a paranormal element, or maybe frequent and enduring use of the letter S packaged to look like Twilight, which was a phenomenon (good or bad) unto itself, I’m insulted as a consumer and irritated as a reader. Not every book is the same. Not every YA book is the same. Not every portrayal of courtship, vampire or not, is the same. But that homogenized message remains and is spreading into books outside the YA genre, like Armstrong’s as detailed above, and it just needs to stop.

Especially those checkered tights. Those absolutely need to stop.
Suze said on 10.06.10 at 05:42 PM • [link]

Isn’t it frustrating that such mediocre books won the cover lottery? I’m an e-book shopper now, but the covers still catch my eye, and I go surfing right on past uninteresting covers.

Bitten was indeed teh awesome. The rest of the women of the underworld have been kind of hit or miss for me, but Elena and Clayton are mesmerizing every time they show up.

I like the covers for Lara Adrian’s vampire series. I also like the covers for Carolyn Jewel’s demon series, but I’m starting to see copycats of it, which is frustrating me. Oooh! New Demon book! Oh, no, this is something else (toss away without even considering it). Whoever the copycat cover’s author is, she’s getting screwed.
Jill Sorenson said on 10.06.10 at 05:57 PM • [link]

I like the Armstrong covers. Love the checkered tights. The chess pieces are a bit much, but whatever. It doesn’t register as a Twilight ripoff for me.

What I don’t like are those freaky ghost legs! AAAACKKKKK!!! Double-jointed corpses are not sexy.
Jill Sorenson said on 10.06.10 at 06:02 PM • [link]

Okay, wait. I just looked at the Twilight covers (I’ve never studied them in detail) and I take it back. Chess pieces, red ribbon, check check.
Rima said on 10.06.10 at 06:15 PM • [link]

For the record, Sarah, I totally agree about the Twilight knock-off covers. Nothing keeps me from buying a book more than a Twilight wannabe.

Hire a graphic designer and get a fresh idea, for God’s sake.
JaneyD said on 10.06.10 at 06:17 PM • [link]

Hey—I once put on checkered stockings and posed my legs like that.

I had a charlie horse. a BAD one.

Clearly the stockings were to blame.

And YES-OH-YES! Kelley deserves better covers!

I’ve had some bad covers in my career and another is on its way.
When it comes to the point where I can do better myself, it is a BAD cover.

I have my embarrassed face on standby with the, “Sorry, I have no control over it, and I don’t know what drugs the art and marketing department are on, but I want some.”

My editor was sooooo proud of it and took my aghast silence for happy awe.

You can figure our writer/editor relationship is also seriously flawed.
Lora said on 10.06.10 at 06:36 PM • [link]

Alas my freakishly pale legs—they are drowning in fluffy fabric, again! Save me hot vampire boy save me.

Oh, wait…are they not all the same book? I’m new here. I’m sick of seeing red on black covers. Hello, yes the twi cover with the flower was pretty. Can we move past that, please? For moi?

And those friggin tights—circus, perhaps. Surely the stretchy checks would be unflattering to any nonsticklike legs.
SB Sarah said on 10.06.10 at 06:46 PM • [link]

There is a side of me that wants to ask the folks from What Not To Wear how I look in those tights. Just to see the expressions on their faces.
joanne said on 10.06.10 at 07:33 PM • [link]

The model on the Despain covers got pregnant?
http://tiny.cc/890h2

( if that link works I’m going to be doing some really bad happy dance)
It’s the Time magazine cover for October 4, 2010.

I’ve almost stopped looking at covers. Or the genre label on the spine. I absolutely go by author or trope and nothing else and still if it’s a new to me author I might get burnt.

Books that are labeled romance often aren’t and books that are erotica aren’t always labeled erotica and etc, etc, etc. And why is a
RandomRanter said on 10.06.10 at 07:54 PM • [link]

I secretly love those tights also. And the Wuthering Heights reissue is particularly hilarious because Bella and Edward make fun of WH in the third book I think (which is also funny, bec ause their relationship is at least as disfunctional and they are quoting the love bits to each other while making fun).
Teri C said on 10.06.10 at 08:34 PM • [link]

Whoa that is like book cover blasphemy!
Dang! and Bree Despains book rocked.
Hey what is the next summer book club pick while I am thinking about it ?
;)
Alley said on 10.06.10 at 09:03 PM • [link]

Heh, I have those tights (well, close enough to them; mine aren’t thigh-highs). They were part of a Halloween costume I wore one year.

I love that they’ve branded Wuthering Heights with a Twilight-esque cover! I like to think it’s some snarky person at the design house, laughingly pointing out that the relationships in both books are absolutely horrifying.
Brandi said on 10.06.10 at 09:58 PM • [link]

Not romance-novel related—not even book-related—but here’s the funniest Twilight copycat cover I’ve seen yet:

http://bluemoviereviews.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/near-dark-dvd.jpg

I would love to see the reactions of Twifans who picked this up based on the cover…
Dayle said on 10.06.10 at 11:47 PM • [link]

I actually like the tights a lot. But then, I’m an unabashed child of the 80s (okay, teen of the 80s), and they evoke Tom Petty’s awesome (like, totally) video for “Don’t Come Around Here No More.” :-)
Deb said on 10.06.10 at 11:51 PM • [link]

At the most recent junior high school book fair, I noticed at least seven different YA books with apples on the cover (red, green, peeled, bitten, etc.). Oh, TWILIGHT, what hath thou wrought?
Bea said on 10.07.10 at 12:12 AM • [link]

I hate, hate, HATE the new covers for Kelley’s books. The contents of the books are awesome but the covers; I think the designers must have been drunk when they designed them. If I ha dnever read Kelley’s books and saw those covers, I would not even waste my time looking at the book; I’d move on to some one else.
Lisa said on 10.07.10 at 01:17 AM • [link]

I think what I like best about these covers is that they color coordinate the toe nail polish with the tulle so nicely. That totally makes it for me.
Judy said on 10.07.10 at 01:23 AM • [link]

So NOT into those covers. If I see one, I pass it right by….
Myriantha Fatalis said on 10.07.10 at 01:26 AM • [link]

I think those tights would make an awesome cover for Bella-in-Wonderland crossover erotica. (Which I might buy.) But then I also spent the mid-80s wearing hot pink fishnets as often as I possibly could, so my taste might be slightly suspect.
Talei Loto said on 10.07.10 at 01:31 AM • [link]

Wow, I really love these covers! Makes me want to go out and buy a whole lot of tulle!

For the record, I loved the Twilight covers. It’s all the other covers that copied its formula that look silly.
megalith said on 10.07.10 at 01:38 AM • [link]

Speaking of strange covers, have you seen the cover for Anne Stuart’s Ruthless? Definitely what Photoshop Disasters would label “baroque anatomy.” Or should that be “broke” anatomy?

I just started reading the book, and I’m enjoying it so far, but the poor girl on the cover makes me go Ouch.

In other news, the Twi-covers are so over. Loved them when they first appeared, but…please stop it, overworked designers. It’s entering the realms of caricature at this point.
Minna said on 10.07.10 at 01:51 AM • [link]

Nothing against the twilight type covers, but have the publishers thought that some of us readers out there really didn’t like twilight and will actively avoid anything twilightesque? I love paranormal romance, but teen angst I’m not so fond of. I remember one of my friends tried to convince me to love twilight as much as she does by showing me how “clever” it was that when Edward was gone the pages just had the months because of course Bella’s life was a void without him. Thinking about this makes me vomit in my mouth.
Jennifer said on 10.07.10 at 01:53 AM • [link]

I bet Kelley Armstrong wanted to cry when she saw those checkered tights. I cannot remotely imagine anyone in that series wearing such a thing. EW.

I loathe the “sexy bare legs” covers, period, though. Also, who are they supposed to appeal to? I’m guessing (at least with the het romances) they are trying to market to straight women, who probably don’t want to boink those legs. Do not comprehend.

Though I did put a protest in with a review I did of a mystery series I liked: the first five or so books had adorable, distinctive covers, and book six was replaced with Sexy Bare Legs and I complained about it in the review. By book seven, the cute covers were back. Maybe we all need to post more things like this to get the cloning to stop?
Dragoness Eclectic said on 10.07.10 at 02:03 AM • [link]

“Near Dark” with a Twilight-esque DVD cover? Whoa! That movie seriously rocked, and it does have a romance element, but Twilight it ain’t!

Has “Lost Boys” gotten a Twi-cover yet? There’s a romantic element in it, too. ;-)
Berni said on 10.07.10 at 03:32 AM • [link]

Those Armstrong covers are surprising. I’ve read all those books and seen none of those covers. The original pb edition for Industrial Magic was a shot of legs in normal hose with an arm dangling a pentacle on a chain, or something similar to that. That cover caught my eye and made me pick up the book. These new covers don’t—why mess with a good thing?
Heather said on 10.07.10 at 05:09 AM • [link]

Aren’t the covers on Armstrong’s hardcovers still fairly nice. I didn’t buy it because I don’t buy Armstrong in hardcover, but Waking the Witch was non-twilightly, more like the wonderful penticle covers. Wasn’t it, or am I remembering wrong? I love the penticle covers, they are on the bookself with Bitten and Stolen which have wolves on them. Frostbitten, which I didn’t want to buy because of the truely crap-tastic cover is lost in the the TBR pile that ate the house.

Heather
Maria said on 10.07.10 at 06:02 AM • [link]

I don’t like the purple tulle one. Her legs are too thin, and the angle makes it look like she’s about to snap that twig she calls a leg.
Juls said on 10.07.10 at 06:02 AM • [link]

When I first saw the new cover for Industrial Magic I was all “oh look those tights would look really cool at roller derby practice, I wonder where I can find some”. I’m so happy I have all the originals cause I sure as shit wouldn’t pick them up now with those on the front. I die a little bit inside everyday when a preteen comes in looking for them. I really wish the publishing companies would wake the hell up when it comes to cover flaps.
Alpha Lyra said on 10.07.10 at 06:10 AM • [link]

Let me see if I can turn off the italics.

I love the Twilight covers.

Hate the books.

I won’t buy any book that has a Twilight-knockoff-cover, because it will make me think of Twilight and all the squicky feelings associated with it.
Ceilidh said on 10.07.10 at 03:31 PM • [link]

Despain’s novel was so unoriginal and derivative of everything currently in the paranormal YA genre so I can see why it got a Twilight style cover (hey, you’ve got a cash cow, go effing milk it!) I’m still not over seeing a Twilighized cover of Jane Eyre. *sob*
LauraGr said on 10.07.10 at 07:18 PM • [link]

Yeah. I don’t believe Kelley has any ( as in zero) input on the covers.

It seems like a publisher grab for the Twilight niche buyers; which is a freaking big niche that spends $$$.

Since Kelley also has a YA series, the publishers want to ride that wagon as far as it will take them.
Samantha said on 10.07.10 at 10:17 PM • [link]

I love twilight as much as the next teenage girl, but I do have to admit that people are wanting some the Meyer magic to rub off on them…Just let he woman get some glory and leave her alone. *Though I amshocked at the Withering Heights cover*
Shanna said on 10.07.10 at 10:40 PM • [link]

I did a double take when I saw the checkered legs cover at Barnes and Noble. The original covers weren’t terrible but these are too generic copy-catish. They don’t do justice to the awesome stories that are inside.

BTW, at my house, “Stirring the Mist Naked with Man Hands” was been dubbed “Satan’s Chili Supper”.
orangehands said on 10.08.10 at 12:07 AM • [link]

Well, I like the checkered tights, but not for that book (or series); I’m definitely also getting the Wonderland feel from them. And while I like the Bree covers (though they remind me of promos for Big Love, a season or so ago), they do not match the writing style or stories of Armstrong’s series, besides being a copy-cat. I really liked the clean look of the Twilight books, so if they’d just do a different color scheme so it won’t be as strongly associated, and drop the apple, chess piece, etc item choice, we’d be good to go.

Why not copy Harry Potter covers next? Although I imagine that’s already been done. lol

Well I can’t say I love the looks of the HP covers, I give the cover designer a lot of credit for making something that strongly touches on the book. (I’m talking about what I think was the original British or American covers, like this.) Harry, doing something that somewhat relates to the book, in a very specific and not always usual (the green, the orange) color scheme. It seems like it would be hard to copy those because they are so specific to the book. (Though I have no clue what the unicorn in the background is doing on that first cover.)
lilywhite said on 10.08.10 at 03:26 AM • [link]

Hey, Sarah - what werewolf book?
--E said on 10.08.10 at 07:21 AM • [link]

The worst things about that font are:

1. It’s called Manson Family. Seriously.

2. It’s been around at least 17 years. (The date on my copy of it is 1993, but it could be older.)

I’ve been sick of that stupid font for at least a decade. It got played out in the 90s.
Seanna Lea said on 10.08.10 at 11:25 PM • [link]

The problem with the Twilight covers is that they are essentially a blank slate. Much like Bella, the covers have no content to them yet are instantly recognizable. It makes them an easy target for copying. The same cannot be said for at least the Harry Potter books I have. There is so much going on in each cover that a publisher would have to be crazy trying to replicate the look for their unrelated books.
ashley said on 10.09.10 at 10:27 PM • [link]

yes!
Ok that thing with the Kresley Cole font drives me bonkies. EVERYONE does it now. Also, I have to agree that the twilightesque covers really turn me off of books. I just automatically assume they are going to be like twilight and avoid them (I know someone already said that but I wanted to chime in with my Here Here!)

You know what the said thing is? when I first saw the twilight covers, because twilight became teen madness, I thought they were artsy mature covers. I really liked them. Now whenever I read a large black hardcover on the bus I make sure that the title is in full view, so people don’t think I’m reading Twilight.

Oh, and the Wuthering Heights thing? Apparently that is because Meyer mentions Wuthering heights, Pride and Prejudice, and Romeo and Juliet. So they wanted to release copies of those books that would create a link for twilight fans. To broaden their horizons I guess
rosieechan said on 10.10.10 at 01:28 AM • [link]

Ahh, that’s so sad. D: Honestly, if I were to see book covers that look like Twilight, I’d probably skip them.

I saw this one book Wuthering Heights, I think (I haven’t read it), and the cover looked SO similar to Twilight…the worst bit of all—it wrote in Twilight font “Edward and Bella’s favorite book!” right near the title. Vomit. >.>
Natalie said on 10.10.10 at 03:44 AM • [link]

I hate, hate, hate when they re-issue a book with a new cover. I have to admit to being like Kristina with this one. When I am buying a series of books, they all need to have the same cover. I place them on my bookshelves together obviously and I like the uniformity the same covers give. When I have a book with a different cover, it just looks plain wrong and I also have to prevent myself from buying the other books in the new cover so they all match. I don’t have that kind of money.

I am not a huge fan of the Twilight covers, but I hate this copying of it. Harry Potter was just as popular, but you don’t see those covers being copied left, right, and center. Yes, black, white, and red are great colors and make eye-catching covers, but enough already! I want to see other things. Plus, as people said, they hated Twilight and would skip an otherwise great novel because of the cover.
Tiffany sale said on 10.11.10 at 06:00 AM • [link]

Armstrong’s covers are straying deeply in to the Realm of the Twilight-