The price of pretty covers.

This is gorgeous:

I ripped it from the Little Black Dress website.

This one is from Jennifer Cruise's blog, and it speaks about the process (the very scary and horrible process for a designer IMO) of designing the cover for this book. And wow, those in the art department are really, really saints. Give them a million dollars.

Actually, I was kinda traumatised when I read that post. I remember when I was still in design school, there were a few times when a lecturer will want me to change a certain design of mine for my assignment because he/she didn't approve of it. All I could think of during those times is ripping somebody's head off. Preferbly the certain lecturer.

Anyway, I've changed (snort). Seriously, I'm more patient now that I'm in the working world and understood that it's better to always listen to the client and give them what they want because they're the ones who gave me the means to own a treasure trove of books.

I've been thinking about jobs related to books: an author, editor, publisher-- well, not very feasible jobs in Singapore. I had been told by my friends that I could try being a designer for book covers, but like I said, not feasible in Singapore. It's not that anyone will want me as an author, editor, publisher or art director anyway. But it'd be really cool though. Being a bookshop keeper or librarian is great too, but the working hours wouldn't allow me to read as much books I can with a normal office-hours job.

Why can't there be a professional reader job? Being paid to read? Please?

Josh.

I just finished reading Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy by HelenKay Dimon. Love it.

Unless I miss something, the heroine, Annie seems to be the only active woman in the book. By active I mean, talking, doing something and being in action blah blah blah, and not just being mentioned in conversations.

If not for the strong character that Annie is, I think I'd be, to borrow her words, suffering from an overload of testosterone. There're just so many male characters, but then I'm not really complaining.

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I love it whenever Kane and Annie start their interrogation of each other, it's just so healthy for them. And very fun for me.

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And now to the guy who made my headline today: Josh.

I've always been intrigued by secondary characters. And for most secondary characters to have their own story coming out later is no surprise. But still, it's nice to be reassured at Helenkay Dimon's blog, that my baby Josh will have his own story. Yes, my baby Josh. I've appropriated him since his entry in the book:

One, blond and light, with the scruffy start of a beard along his jawline...

Sounds like the start of something promising.

... and bright blue eyes ...

I like blue eyes. Kinda reminds me of the heroine Sophia in Jill Barnett's Wicked, the way she stares into the hero's blue eyes and sliently concludes that it's her favorite colour even though she hates the hero like shit. Well, they did of course admit that they love each other in the end, but I digress.

... close in color to his aqua tie.

Tie? Oh, I love men in suits + tie. All men look good in them. It just bursts the hot meter of already good-looking men. And plus, it'd be fun to loosen the tie and unbutton that shirt.

... this one had a rough-hewn look about him.

Wait till 2009? I'd expire.

Amended book covers...

Saw the cover for the mass market of Jill Shalvis' Get a Clue at her website:

I liked it~ I've yet read the book, so maybe I just might get the mass market version...

But then after a search at Amazon...

The bottom part is blurred out, that's kinda disappointing. Which reminds me of the cover for P.J. Mellor's Pleasure Beach:

The more censored version on the right in the above pic is what I got. Maybe the cover on the left (ripped from Amazon) is the initial cover design... I definately didn't see it at any bookstore. I would have like to have the cover that shows more bod though. It does make the book feel more sexy.

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And here's something I've been dying to post:

Come As You Are by Amy J. Fetzer, coming this November. Seeing the mass market for Get a Clue reminds me of this. Love it!

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Back on the topic of cover changes....

This cover for Vivi Anna's Inferno is what I see everywhere on the web before the book was released. I was so excited, and also after reading the excerpts at the author's website, I couldn't wait for it to be released.

But to my extreme disppointment, the cover changed:

I don't reeeeally like the new cover one bit.

I have already decided to get this book a long time ago, but with the cover change, it just kinda lessen my enthusiasm to buy it so quickly. Yea I'm shallow like that... So, maybe later... when I get a pay raise or something...

Anyway, I'm just lucky to have saved a copy of bigger image file of the cartoon cover, (I think I got it from Amazon, a 590 x 390 pixel image heh) Yay! It's for a keepsake, I really liked that cartoon cover. Hades had a nice package and I love Kat's hair~