I apologize for the Austin Powers reference. Truly, I do. Ahem…
Hi, Monsters!! Welcome back to the lair. I have a bit of a mind wander to expound upon today. I hope it makes you laugh as much as it did me, and maybe you can help the world of romance novels out a little by answering a question at the end. But first, lets go back a step and talk about…
Spiky Books? Whaaat???
Okay, okay, let me explain the backstory behind this new term that’s got me snickering. It comes from an incident involving my daughter and her boyfriend. The way it was told to me, they were on a date at Barnes & Noble… Stop right there! As the parent, do I approve of this kid? Well, agreeing to a bookstore date speaks very highly of him, I gotta say.
Anyway, my daughter is a fantasy reader (go figure) and so they found themselves strolling down that aisle—her looking for books, him just happy to be along for the adventure—when I guess a book cover with thorns and roses on it (you know the kind) caught his eye. He pointed it out, saying, “These are the ones that aren’t safe for work, right? The ones with the spikes?”
My daughter gave him a look. (The same dubious look my face likes to make. She gets it from me.)
“Spikes?” She repeated, smirking. (Again, same as mine.)
He shrugged. “Yeah. That’s how you know, right? They have the thorns and stuff on them.”
Whuhhh? Lol!
Of course this all got back to me, her romance author mom, and we had a good chuckle over it. But it’s got me thinking…
If you’re a lover of steam, like I am, what initially tips you off to the spice factor when you’re book shopping? Cuz back in the bodice ripper days these things were pretty obvious, but it can be harder to discern now. When you’re going by covers and looking for schmexy writing, what catches your eye?
I’ve seen a lot of discussion on book cover preferences, and heard a lot of talk about whether character images or object images are the hottest trend among readers. So what do you think, Monsters? Do you like book covers that portray the story’s main characters or are you more attracted to scrolling artwork and fantastical fonts with swords, roses, and dare I say, “spikes”?
I say we take a poll!
Here’s a banner I made with a few of my favorite book covers of late:
Well, my beautiful book-reading beasts, that’s all from me for now. As usual, be sure to let us here in the lair know about any great fantasy books or shows you’re enjoying down in the comments section. Till next time,
Stay in the magic!
Amanda V Shane
P.S. I’ve been having fun trying out the new Notes feature on Substack. Feel free to join in on the conversation and discover new writers over there with me. You can check out my posts by looking through my archives. Here’s my latest Note.
I also will be sure to put some more quotes up in our Inspiration Den, and will be adding book mentions to My Mystical Mood Reads shortly, so be on the lookout for all of that.
Ooh, I love a spiky book! That's great :-) As far as book covers, I like something that gives a sense of the story while still letting me use my imagination when it comes to characters, etc. I always think of how disconcerting it can be to envision characters one way when reading a book and then see how differently they are cast in the movie version...
Spikes - funny. But I'm still trying to understand what he meant by - "These are the ones that aren’t safe for work." Huh? what work is he talking about? 🧐
Then on book covers, I tend to like artsy and illustrated covers more then ones that are photo-realistic. But that's just my personal preference. 🤓