Generally speaking, we don’t host a lot of cover reveals. Then I received an email from Lyrical asking if I’d like to do a reveal for a very unique contemporary cover. I was all set to politely decline, and then…
There it was.
HELLO THERE.
I shared the image with the others in our Slack channel:
Sarah: Everyone, please meet Why Did It Have to Be You? by Allyson Charles.
RedHeadedGirl: Um. I mean, it’s a VERY cute goat.
Sarah: I think his name is Tohtes.
RHG: Of course it is.
Carrie: I don’t understand what’s happening here and I’m pretty sure a baby goat is not going to be conducive to romance.
Sarah: Hey, square pupil eyeballs are tohtes sexxay.
RHG: You don’t keep them in the bedroom!
Sarah: … you don’t??
RHG: No. You keep them in the horse pasture to eat the underbrush. And your idiot dressage horse occasionally becomes concerned they are horse eating monsters so he runs away. Thus getting cardio even when not being ridden.
And then when you’re at the pasture gate the four of them crowd around looking for horn and butt skritches.
Sarah: So maybe it’s the dressage horse asking, “Why did it have to be you?”
RHG: Maybe!
Carrie: Unless it’s an orphan baby goat which has to be bottle fed, in which case it will be time consuming.
RHG: Late night feedings leading to late night conversations over a sneepin’ goat babby, romance blossoms.
Sarah: I’d read that.
Now, that isn’t the plot of this here book. At least, I don’t think there are bottle fed goat babby scenes. Here’s the cover copy:
Connie Wilkerson has worked her butt off to go from heartbroken paralegal with a drinking problem to becoming Pineville, Michigan’s fiercest new lawyer. But she’s still short on luck. Exhibit A: her very first case is against bad-boy contractor David Carelli.
Carelli has been a thorn in Connie’s side since high school, getting away with whatever he dreams up. He’s blond, handsome, and he dresses like a model. But everyone in town knows he cuts corners. Just the way he looks at her really gets Connie’s goat. She’s going to get him into chambers and settle the smug right out of him.
There’s just one problem. Exhibit B: Their supposedly hostile negotiations are turning hot instead. Now the jury is out on whether a second chance is recommended…
It sounds like a second-chance (sort of) enemies-to-lovers story. With goats. Tohtes goats!
So to make this fun for everyone, how about some Name That Baby Goat shenanigans?
Drop your suggested name in the comments, and you’re entered to win a $25 gift card to Amazon. We will select the winner at random on Friday 21 October around noon ET.
Standard disclaimers apply: void where prohibited. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. Must be over 18 and willing to feed the goats at odd hours. Sturdy boots are advisable. Photography and squeeing over baby goats is permitted during posted times. You may pick pumpkins, but not baby goats. Mind the gap, and also the small, smelly piles.
So, what would you name that goat?
UPDATE: The winner is Heather M. with Goaty McGoatface, which I find to be hilarious given the Boaty McBoatface hype earlier this year!
Tiddlywinks
Snickers 🙂
Fabio
Percival the Brave
Cappy, short for Caprine which means “related to goats” (similar to how Equine is “related to horses”).
Lovey, it’s briefly appropriate but will make people think I’m insane when it’s all grown up.
Goatus Interruptus
Why does the baby goat only have three legs? Are the humans standing like that to help it stay upright?
Peggy.
Snowball
Fatima
Bah-Bah O’Tongue
Billy. Of course.
Since Billy is too obvious, I will go with Georgie.
Kiddo.
Cosmo.
Clovis.
Goaty McGoatface.
Kid Cuti. (Instead of Kid Cudi.)
I didn’t see it at first but now I don’t see how I missed it: Moses (supposes his toeses are roses).
(Because there are toes and rose petals on the cover… get it? get it?)
Herman, who was “my very favorite mountain goat.” (It’s a story my mom used to tell.)
Thanks for the great giveaway!
William. Of course.
Charlie.
Mr Tumnus.
Pippin, after the goat I had on my grandparents farm.
Grogan (after the song Bill Grogan’s Goat).
I think the cover’s cute but I am so confused by it and the blurb. Is the goat just metaphorical or are there actual goats in the book?
This is not an entry, and I’m sorry for interrupting, but I’m exploding with this missed opportunity.
If it had been sheep rather than goats, the name of the book could have been Why Did It Have To Be Ewe?
Okay. I feel better now. As you were.
PS (pronounced as piss). Short for photoshopped
Glossy. For its luxurious coat and aggressive tongue.
Shub-Niggurath, because I love nothing more than juxtaposing adorable baby animals with powerful Lovecraftian horrors.
Either Mower or Tort
Greg (short for Greg the Gregarious Goat)
Ghoti. (Pronounced Fish.)
My husband would suggest Beelzebub, but I like the name Mort.
The heroine in the Regency I read last night had a pet goat. In the house. In London.
For a romance novel goat, I like the name Duchess. Or Duke, as the case may be.
Merlin
Totes.
Looks like a Winston to me
I don’t know about the name but, years ago, my husband wrote a story about our attempt to keep a goat he found wandering in the wilderness. The title of the story was The (Es)Scape Goat. And, yes, from personal experience, goats should not be kept in your bedroom.
Maguffin?
Totesma, as in Totes-ma-goats. Also with a typical Dutch name ending in reference to the book’s setting, Michigan, and its Dutch heritage. (There’s a great goat park in Holland, MI, if you ever find yourself there.)