It goes without saying that choosing a cover for your book or your CD is crucial… you can’t judge a book by its cover, or a CD by its sleeve maybe, but people do all the same. I know I do! I was drawn to the book I’m reading now, The Watchers by Stephen Alford, by its cover.
I struggle over the covers for my books, as I self-publish I have to choose and design them myself. I want to say so much in what I choose, and have to appeal to people I do not know, with imagination to read all sorts of things into the picture, style, even the font! Yes, some people cannot abide comic sans, and are prejudiced against Helvetica!
‘What a crying Shame’ is an instantly recognizable song (in the UK anyway) and the CD has an amazing ten other songs on it.
- There Goes My Heart
- Pretend
- I Should Have Been True
- The Things You Said To Me
- Just A Memory
- All That Heaven Will Allow
- Neon Blue
- O What A Thrill
- The Losing Side Of Me
There has been a recent post on Facebook about this cover, by fans, it has to be said, who comment such things as “I just realized that Robert is turned away from the camera and you can’t see his face and that Nick is the only one facing the camera”, “This was the first CD that I heard and I instantly fell in love with the Mavericks. I love every song on this CD!!!!”, “How telling is this cover?”, and “Very enigmatic… there’s a whole novel in that picture… and maybe I’m writing it!”… you can guess, maybe,who wrote the last comment.
What is the cover trying to say, and what do people looking at it understand? I read character, relationship, motivation into the way the four men have posed themselves (or been posed, but I feel it’s more likely to be them choosing the image) Their ages range from twenty-nine to forty, and this line-up lasted about eleven years; Raul is looking down at his almost linked hands, Paul has hands in pockets and is gazing at the ground, Nick stands squarely with arms folded staring at the camera, and Robert has turned away from the camera and the others, with his long hair flying. It is enigmatic indeed.
Lois Elsden 