Henry the Gorgeous Well-Groomed Dog (and book covers, sigh)

Yesterday after work, I went for a walk with Henry. This is Henry, right after his first grooming.

Isn't he adorable?

The days when authors didn’t have to do promo are long gone. I’m not complaining; learning to promote my book has been good for me. It’s sometimes overwhelming, though, and the last thing I felt like doing last night was writing another blog about my new release, Sunrise in a Garden of Love and Evil. So I took Henry and my tired brain for a walk in the hope of finding something to say.

There’s no doubt about it, Georgia’s beautiful in the springtime. Ornamental trees are flowering their hearts out. My camellia bush is bowed down with crimson blossoms, and petals are piling up on the grass around it. Violets and daffodils are everywhere. I skirted a neighbor’s lawn which was dotted with dandelions -- some still in bloom, some puffballs. I admit to a childish urge to cavort when I see a lawn covered with those cheerful yellow flowers.

I love trees and flowers, but I’m no gardener. It was a kind of wishful thinking when I made my vampire heroine a landscaper. (She’s a hereditary, living, breathing vampire, so sun isn’t a problem.) I suppose her profession and the southern setting (Bayou Gavotte, a funky little imaginary town just north of New Orleans) are what inspired the artist to put that gorgeous magnolia on the cover.

But setting the story aside for a minute, if you saw that cover in a bookstore, what would you think was in the story? What does it conjure up for you?

Covers these days are supposed to conjure something up, but it wasn’t always like that. Last fall, I visited the Merril Collection of the Toronto Public Library. It’s a non-circulating collection of sci-fi, speculative fiction, fantasy, and related non-fiction. They have some pretty cool books there. My friend Mary showed me (if memory serves me accurately) a first edition, second printing of Dracula. The cover (again, hopefully my memory serves) is a sort of dull mustardy color. There's no artwork at all. Maybe it was a little brighter when it first came out, but regardless, the cover gives no hint at all of what’s inside. OMG. What a great surprise for the person who opened it up and began to read!

Do you like surprises, or do you prefer covers that give you a very good idea what’s inside?

(Incidentally... One person who comments will win a signed copy of Sunrise in a Garden of Love and Evil. Also, every single commenter will be entered in the month-long contest I'm holding on my website, with signed books and other stuff  as prizes. Check out the Contact page at www.BarbaraMonajem.com for details.)