Anne here, and today I’m going to tell you a little about how I came to write THE ACCIDENTAL WEDDING. My excuse for this is that it’s about to come out in audio on the 3rd Feb. But the other reason is that this book — the story and the cover — changed the trajectory of my career.
THE ACCIDENTAL WEDDING is the 4th book in My DevilRiders’ series but it was an unplanned-for book. Not in the contract. I was supposed to be writing the book that became Bride By Mistake (Luke & Bella’s story.) But my mum was dying, which of course I found very difficult, and Bride By Mistake was becoming darker and darker, and I just couldn’t go on with it.
But deadlines must be met. So I wrote to my editor, told her my problem, and said I had a gentler story in mind, but that I didn’t want to drop my story for Luke & Bella. Could I write an extra story with one of Gabriel’s brothers? She said yes.
So I did. The hero was Nash, a brother of Gabriel Renfrew, who was the hero of the first book. (He’s also Marcus’s brother.) He was a diplomat, home on leave for a short time. Riding across country to inspect a property he’d just inherited, he put his horse at a fence, the horse slipped in a mud slide, and Nash went crashing into the stone wall.
Maddy Woodville, a young woman living in a nearby cottage is raising her half-siblings. She discovered Nash’s unconscious body and gets him into her cottage using a wheelbarrow. When he eventually comes around, several days later, he has no memory. It soon returns but by then, Nash is intrigued and continues pretending to have amnesia. So that’s the set-up in a nut-shell.
It’s a gentle story, fairly domestic with most of the action happening in and around the cottage. Maddy is in hiding from a ruthless guardian, and doing her best to keep herself and the children by growing vegetables and keeping bees. (Mum and Dad kept bees — Mum’s family has for generations.) But despite the lack of derring-do, readers really liked it. And I dedicated the story to my parents. 
Here’s part of a review from All About Romance (who gave it Desert Island Keeper status.) “There’s a lot to love about this book, but what I appreciate the most about The Accidental Wedding is the way that Gracie takes conventions of the romance novel that have been done to death—amnesia, injured hero, heroine who does too much—and turns them into a story that is fresh and new and interesting. That takes talent. And this, plus two charming main characters, a suspenseful subplot, and some delightful love scenes, makes for a near-perfect read.”
You can read another review, by Janga, on The Romance Dish, here.
And now we come to the cover.
The year before THE ACCIDENTAL WEDDING came out, when I was visiting the USA and attending an RWA conference, I met my publisher. (Up to that point I thought a publisher was a company. It is, but it’s also a person.)
It was before the start of a Berkley signing. The authors were sitting at tables, with their books ready to sign, and she was going from author to author, meeting them.
We chatted briefly — “Is that an English accent?” “No, it’s Australian.” “You’ve come a long way.” “Yes, I have.” And when she asked if I was happy with everything — expecting a yes thank you answer, I hesitated and said, “Well, not really.”
She gave me A Look, so I pointed to the cover of my new book — To Catch a Bride — and asked her, “What does that tell you about the story?” She just looked at me, so I said, “That’s my chick-in-pants, heroine-in-disguise story partly set in Egypt. Apart from a reluctant bride and a runaway groom, there’s crocodiles, slavers, pirates, cats and more.” But they gave it that cover — that’s it above. (I had argued against that cover from the start, to no avail. My editor didn’t want to show that it was a book set mostly in Egypt.)
The publisher didn’t say a thing, but picked up a copy of the book, tucked it under her arm and said with cool politeness, “So nice to meet you,” and walked on to meet the next author. (The authors on either side of me told me I’d just wrecked my career! I hadn’t planned to complain, but she asked me and I answered truthfully.)
When it came out, To Catch a Bride was given some excellent reviews and made two important lists, including Library Journal (USA) Best Books of 2009. But it sold dismally — mostly because of the uninspiring cover, I’m sure. My sales plummeted.
A year later Bride By Mistake came out — but this time it had the most beeeyoutiful cover — this one.
My sales bounced back up, and I am convinced that that cover saved my career. Apparently the publisher had actually read To Catch a Bride and liked it, and from then on she sat in on my cover conferences. After that I got MUCH better covers. I am endlessly grateful to her for it.
Audible have been bringing out audio versions of all the Devil Riders’ books. The audio version of TO CATCH A BRIDE was released on 6th January, and THE ACCIDENTAL WEDDING will be released on February 3rd, I just noticed that on amazon, they have it listed for a pre-order price of just $5.70 (or Free if you join Audible) which is a bargain.
Click here and then scroll down.
So, that’s it — the story of a story. How influenced are you by covers? If you don’t know the author, would you pick up a book with a dreary generic cover? How do you choose a book?
I dislike it when I can’t tell anything by the cover, which is most of the time. I try to stick to authors I already know, like all of you Wenches. But titles are also unhelpful quite often, unless the book is part of an ongoing series and you have already caught on and are in the midst of – like The Summer/Winter/Spring/Fall Bride, for example. I often feel like I am being toyed with and that annoys me. I ordered a book yesterday, for example, with a more or less good title and an attractive couple on the cover, but it turned out to be un-fun, too sex-related, and I was irritated, even though I had rea the reviews and only spent $0.99! Bah.
Jeanette, yes, cover art is tricky. There are so many books out that it can become confusing, and often a publisher will just slap a generic cover on a book, to signal that a) it’s a romance and b) it’s historical. A lot of the time accuracy falls by the wayside. Often the title and the back cover blurb are decided on by an editor too. I did have some say in my back cover blurbs — my editor, agent and I would often collaborate in them, but often the title decision was sometimes out of my hands. I’m sorry you were confused by my seasonal bride series — The Autumn Bride was the first in the series, and that was my choice.
It’s a good idea to read reviews, and also to read the start which you can do online on amazon.
Anne, I didn’t know all this backstory of this book, but I love how being honest with a publisher helped your books get the recognition (and covers) they deserved! We’re in a odd business, aren’t we?!!
It is an odd business, Mary Jo. And after I’d spoken to that publisher, I was sure I’d ruined my career — the authors on either side of me were sure of it. But I was so lucky that she a) listened and b) read the book and then c) ensured I got better covers from then on.
I’ve not read this book, but it has jumped to the top of my TBR list. I like gentle love stories.
As for covers – they do catch the eye, and would inspire me to pick up a book if I wasn’t familiar with the author. I’m not a fan of the beefsteak/cheesecake bodice ripper type covers. I would be more likely to pick up a boring (?) cover than one of those. Looking at the books I have, most of them have very tasteful covers. Although one of my favorite series (Slightly) by Mary Balogh have very plain covers. But I was familiar with the author.
But it is the synopsis or perhaps a review that would be more meaningful in my decision to buy the book.
I enjoyed the backstory.
Thanks, Mary. Yes the “beefcake” and “bodice ripper” covers are a bit much, I agree. As for Mary Balogh, I suspect if her books came in a plain brown wrapper they would still sell, as long as her name was on the cover.
A good/intriguing title or cover nearly always makes me want to find out more, mainly because I think if a publisher has taken trouble with a cover, the book might be worth reading. But these days with self publishing, people have come up with so many stunning covers that it has forced traditional publishers to “up their game.”
Thank you for the intriguing history, Anne.
For me, it’s the author first, but covers help enormously to catch my attention. I have a list of upcoming books and make sure I follow the date to order it.
Thanks, Patricia. I love pre-ordering books/ I mostly read on kindle these days and it’s so nice when a book pops up unexpectedly. I’d ordered it months earlier and totally forgotten about it.
I also follow authors I like on BookBub, and that way I get alerts when a new book is about to come out — or an older one is on special. It’s very convenient.
Good for you, Anne, in telling tge truth about your book covers. If you hadn’t nothing would have changed. As Mary T said, i bypass all the beefcake, bodice ripper type covers.
The author cones first, if course. If i know and like the author, i am likely to pick up the book regardless of the cover, If the author is a new one, I read the blurb and the first few pages to see if it appeals to me. The old saying of judging a book by its cover is, unfortunately, what gets someone to pick up an unknown author in the first place. If one is repelled by the cover, one will not even get to find out if one woukd like the book or not.
On the other hand if the cover and blurb are misleading that could be a disappointment.
I am much more in favor if either a neutral cover or one that represents tge story. At least that way there is no surprise as to what one gets when one reads the book, Of course a catchy title wll definitely attract me to a book and ger me to pick it up and read the blurb, etc.
Thanks, Jane. I had no plan to complain about the cover — it would never have occurred to me, only she asked me.
Sadly, with traditional publishers, it’s often hard to get a cover that represents the story — marketing and other departments have their own ideas about what will sell. I reached the stage where as long as the cover was pretty and looked appealing, I was okay with it, even if the heroine looked nothing like mine and the setting on the cover was quite misleading.
Covers are so important to me!! A thing I love to do is go to the bookshop, scan the shelves and see what jumps out at me. Then if I like what I read I buy, then go back and go over the shelves properly.
I agree that cover is very uninspiring and I wouldn’t have given it a second glance. I love the sound of The Accidental Wedding and I’m off to purchase it now!
Thanks, Teresa. Sadly bookshops here (Australia) rarely stock romance novels, so I don’t often get the chance to see covers “in the flesh” so to speak. And covers on line need to be able to stand out in thumbnail size. Some books I’ve bought on line as e-books have covers I can barely read without enlarging them
I hope you enjoy the Accidental Wedding.
Thanks for the background story Anne. I think covers are important for marketing and suspect that AI might do a pretty good job in the future. I’m amazed that the author has so little significant input at present …….. a good reason to try self publishing!
For fiction, I exclusively use audio books where Audible has all of them on display. I use recommendations from the readers here and the daily bookbub offers list before checking out the audios. I also have a list of favourite authors. I think titles catch my eye more than covers so wouldn’t necessarily lose interest when a cover is dreary. Your comments about publishers reinforce that view! If the synopsis interests me I look at star ratings and reviews by listeners. When still interested I listen to the sample and check the local public library before buying.
Thanks for the link to Janga’s review. I used to interact with her online before she died. A sad loss. If Janga thought it was good it is a must listen for me!
Surpise! I agree with wverything you said about buying audio books(and applies to physical ones aa well. ) If the library has it, then i tKe a look before even considering the audio(unless it is n author I like). Of course, the reader makes a big difference…if indin’t glike the reader, i won’t listen to the audiobook, so the reader is key! I have come across some great readers and some duds. Monotone delivery in fiction is an instant turnoff as is speed reading. The best ones are ht ereaders who do difference voices.
“Surprise! I agree with everything you said about buying audio books” phew !😇😉
Jane, my local library has an online audio book section. The selection is not great but it is very convenient to download mp3 books. I agree that narrators are vital. I think I prefer soft female voices for romance, like Rosalyn Landor who reads most of the Mary Balogh books.
Oh yes, I like Rosalyn Landor a lot. I mostly like British readers, male or female. Simon Vance is also very good as is Alex Wyndham. James Cameron does a good job with Andrea’s books. Lur public library also has a good selection lf dkwnloadable audo books!
Janga was wonderful — a thoughtful, intelligent reader and reviewer — and is sadly missed. She used to write to me in the early days and point out things I did that I had no idea I’d done — especially themes etc. that I’d unconsciously explored.
I think your method of shopping for good books is an excellent one. I also use BookBub to keep me up to date with new books by favourite authors, as well as specials. I keep meaning to read the previews of the first chapter or so on line, but often I forget to, and I’ll be halfway (or less) into a book and wonder why on earth I bought it.
As for AI and covers — self publishers have already had a huge effect on covers. So many indie (ie self-published) authors came up with outstanding covers—even without AI— that traditional publishers were forced to up their cover game, as they were being totally outclassed. It’s also given a lot of cover artists new opportunities.
Wow! It was a surprise to learn that authors don’t always have a say in the cover art for their books. I will almost always buy books from known authors, as long as the synopsis intrigues me. If it is a new-to me-author, the cover art and title are what first attract me, but it is the synopsis that determines whether or not I purchase the book. This is true even when I purchase the e- version. I do find it disturbing, however, when the cover art has no bearing on the story at all, or if the cover art depicts the characters in ways that differ from their written description. I also find it very jarring when characters utter expressions that were not in use during the time period. As with everything else, the cost of buying books and books online have gone up, so I try to buy those which I think that I will read again and again. If it turns out not to be so, the books get donated, and the online books get deleted.
expressions
Patricia, almost 20 years ago now, I went to a NINC (Novelists Inc) conference in San Diego, where I met Pat and Mary Jo and Jo Beverley for the first time. All the people at that conference were multi-published authors (you need to have at least 2 books published to join NINC) but many of them had been dropped by their publishers (to my amazement.) What struck me then was how many of them had picked themselves up and were either reinventing themselves (eg changing genres or pseudonyms ) or embarking on self-publishing. I guess you can’t keep a good writer down.
As time went on, more and more were self publishing and a common thread in their posts and on-line conversations was how much they enjoyed having full control over their titles, their covers and their back cover blurbs — for the first time in their multi-published lives.
That was an awful cover. I read the book anyway, because at that point you were already on my auto read list. If I am familiar with an author, I’ll pick up the book no matter how bad the cover is. But if I was browsing in a bookstore(which fewer and fewer people do nowadays), the wrong cover might cause me to pass something over. A great cover would definitely catch my eye. For instance, I had never read Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels, which is iconic historical romance, and considered one of the greatest, because the original cover looked like real cheesy bodice ripper stuff. It wasn’t until many years later, when I started frequenting romance blogs, that I heard people talking about it and finally picked it up.
Also many years ago, I bought a Jayne Ann Krentz sci-fi fantasy book because the heroine on the cover had a long dress and I thought it was historical romance. At the time, I was reading pretty much historicals only, but it turned out to be a great book!
Karin, thank you so much for buying the book with the awful cover. The one before it wasn’t much better as well. I hadn’t been happy with that one, either.
I’m with you on the wrong cover that gives the wrong impression. It took me a long time to buy and read Lord of Scoundrels too, mainly because the cheesy cover gave me a mistaken impression of the book. But so many people loved it I eventually succumbed.
And you can never go wrong with Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick/Jane Castle, I agree, no matter what the subgenre.
Thank you for your post, Anne, and for sharing some of your own story.
I’m trying to think how I pick books. An author I already like gets bonus points as do books about which I’ve heard good things. The cover does play a role, but if I’m online looking at a book it’s likely I went in search of it before seeing it.
Thanks, Kareni — yes, I mainly search on-line these days after I’ve heard someone talk about it. The end-of the month Wench What We’re reading posts has a big influence too. We don’t do promo for that so they really are books we’ve read and enjoyed.
I really enjoy your books but have to say I’m not keen on Alison Larkin as,a narrator (I have the Spring,Summer,Autumn and Winter Brides series) and a fantastic narrator makes a huge difference. Mary Jane Wells is absolutely wonderful and it irks me that only one of Lisa Kleypas’ Ravenels series narrated by her is available on Audible here in the UK.
Thanks, Lynne. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the Larkin narration — a lot of people liked her. It’s rather a personal taste thing, isn’t it , narration? As for what (or who) you can get in the UK, it’s frustrating, I agree. These geographical restrictions for things like e-books and audio, which are sent via the web, are very frustrating too. Sadly the author has no control over it.