The Lure of A Good Book Cover

I’m tidying up my novel closet before I dive into the next project, and am about to reacquaint myself with some of my early books. I have three stories yet to polish for republication by Belgrave House/Regency Reads: two set in the Gold Rush American West, El Dorado and Desperado (which was originally published as — ack! — Outlaw Love), released in 1981 and 1985 respectively; and a third, Caprice, set in Regency England and released in 1980.

Caprice was my attempt at writing a melodramatic bodice-ripper. Those were the days of Kathleen Woodiwiss and Rosemary Rogers (who famously said she understood the big emotions), and I devoured their novels along with a great many other fascinated females. Caprice is straight melodrama, written to formula. El Dorado is a combination of melodrama and humor. By the time I got to Desperado, there was very little melodrama involved.  When it comes to writing, the big emotions aren’t my cup of tea.

I’ve been putting off delving into these books because of my compulsion to rewrite them, which would involve a huge amount of work: the books I wrote then aren’t the books I would write today.  Last night I decided to just check the manuscripts for scanning errors and let them go. They are what they are and I liked them very much once upon a time.

Except for Caprice. 

Caprice is my least favorite of my books. It’s also the book that sold the most. Maybe because it has one of the best covers, by Elaine Gignilliat.

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Like the book or no, I loved the cover. The artwork is hanging in my hall.