Behold, the Professional Division entries for The Big Kahuna Contest! Click on the thumbnails for the full-sized versions of the covers. As with the Amateur Division entries, email your vote for the Amateur division to candy @ smartbitchestrashybooks.com and sarah @ smartbitchestrashybooks.com- by July 30, midnight PDT.








Wow—all the covers are great—professional & amateur. I knew I was out of my league when I decided not to enter.
Is it snarky of me to say that I actually liked the amateur covers better?
I hope that’s not too snarky, because I was thinking the same thing myself.
Those are the professional? I think the amateurs will be getting some calls for work if those are wht the professionals did.
Wow, and that’s the stuff Candy and Sarah got for free. Tell me again about the e-book companies being unable to afford non-Sim-sex covers?
I like the Savage City one…
Well the Amateurs were funnier, although Strange Savage Love kinda gives me the giggles.
So hard to choose just one darnit!
Wow. How to choose! The fonts on Savage City are gorgeous, and it has a very nice “ghosting” effect, too. Savage Destiny has that neat, funky Oil Painting look going on. And Savage Secrets is really pretty, too. Love the colors & ghosting on that one, too.
Hmm.
*ponders*
Nice as these are, I think some of our amateurs have new career options.
Great submittals in both groups. Most of these are better than some published covers. Once again SB leads the way to enlightenment!
But frankly, if a publisher wants to know what cover gets me to pick up a book for consideration to purchase…look in the amateur submittals. And then hire Luridly Savage to write the cover blurbs!
I liked these a lot, especially the first. However, my favorite remains “Savage Amnesia” from the amateur division. That one really made me laugh.
I liked the amateur division entries better, but I love Savage City. Very cool.
I really liked the Savage City cover, but at the same time was uncomfortably reminded of the faded wolf designs in the Alice Borchardt series. I guess it’s hard not to have overlaps in the artwork when you’re dealing with wolf books.
I don’t think the pros needed their own category. Slick, pretty, but not as lively as the amateur division. (I did like Savage Cinderella’s jacket-points for originality.) And I may be mistaken, but the bare-shouldered figure in Savage Destiny looks like a virgin cowboy in drag to me.
Some publishers really ought to talk to a few of those amateurs…
I’ll vote for Strange, Savage Love, but I agree with the others: the amateurs were a lot funnier and had every bit as much style, if not more.
Is that Nicole Kidman modeling on the cover of Savage Secrets? Who knew she needed the work?!? ;-P