I once had a professional reviewer send me a quick note about Sons of Avalon Merlin's Prophecy. His first sentence was..."I loved the cover design."

I was afraid to read the rest of his review (which turned out to be very positive).

It sure felt like a kiss of death, considering the cover was the first thing that he liked about the book :]

Hey Dee, good question. As a graphic designer, I'm always attracted to good book covers. The last book I bought mostly because of its cover was "Sons of God." This book reads more like a YA and I can't get through it, but I love its cover. I also like the Finn covers, and it's much more my kind of story.

An exception to this rule is Chip Kidd's designs which are usually hideous but some of his designs "grace" the covers of Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy, one of my favorite authors. Actually, these covers are not so bad. Thank you Knopf--I think.

I agree. A good cover helps sell the book, your book. I think the cover for Haunted Richmond, Virginia has helped it a lot. Same for Shifting Desires, that I have a novella in as Sapphire Phelan. I their covers have sold both books very well. When the cover is super, it jumps out among others and you just have to pick it up.
Though a fantastic cover doesn't always mean a great story inside. One book I got long ago because of the cover that had a good SF story inside was the Pastel City. This was in 1970s, so doubt it's any longer in print.

Oh, my that is a nice cover. Thanks for sharing Rai :]

Hi Dee,

I agree with you, the cover for "Secret Speakers..." is beautiful! I really like covers where the colors jump out at you, I like colorful things generally... :)

Rai

Great topic! I am a very visual person, so a great cover will always catch my eye. I won't buy a book just for the cover, but I do find that a well-done cover that specifically conveys aspects of the subject matter of the book will grab me like a magnet. Savvy designers who understand the book's target market can work wonders. If I like the cover & like the sounds of the book, it's a done deal. I actually became a James Rollins fan via the cover for his book, Map of Bones:

Map of Bones on Goodreads

I was walking by, the shiny gold cover caught my eye, I really liked the sounds of the story, bought it, loved it, & now I am a huge fan of his & own every book he has put out :)

Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands

Another cover that is "drop dead beautiful"...is your book's cover Gina. Utamaro Revealed.

Oh that is a lovely cover. I can see why you could not resist.

On of my favorite covers belongs to a book that is not yet released. But the cover is so striking that I had to pre-order the book :]

Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador's Gate by K.S.R. Kingworth (aka Karey Shane)...the cover is mesmerizing..

I recently bought this book because of the cover - The Old Man Mad About Drawing A Tale of Hokusai. It's a book for young readers over the age of nine, but it looked so nice I bought it anyway... I have no children by the way. It's a lovely book (it arrived a couple of days ago) and the interior is so nicely put together.

I put together an Amazon wish list so my mother could choose Christmas presents, and I knew before I gave it to her that she would choose the book that looked the nicest.

Ugly books are a travesty. Although, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Have you ever picked up a book JUST because of its cover?

We can all learn by that lesson...share your favorite covers of books by an author other than yourself.