Judging a book by its cover…

For the past half an hour I have been sitting here browsing through the Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) And I suddenly noticed something that I was doing without even realising it. I was refusing to look at books whose covers didn’t catch my eye.

Now, I don’t think I am necessarily judging a book by its cover… no – it more that I refuse to even read into the book unless the cover stimulates my mind. So for the past few minutes I have been pondering the notion of why that is. Why is it that I am not interested unless it catches my eye?

Because I am a visual person.

My mind needs visual stimulation to engage. (Go figure that one!) But the fact of the matter is – about a third of the world’s population are ‘visual’ people. And if a third of the world’s population are visual, and if they are anything like me and refuse to look at a book unless it engages my visual mind – then the authors who wrote those books are missing out on a massive readership. The books could be bloody fantastic for all I know. But since they aren’t capturing my attention, then I’m not looking at them. No… I’m off looking at some other book with a pretty cover – maybe even a book that could possibly be the crappiest read I have ever picked up.

I wrote a post back in January on Sexy Designer Covers. And I still stand by my thoughts and opinions in that post. But in that post – I showed everyone gorgeous covers that all had ‘cover girls’. (Possibly because the majority market the authors are aiming at are female.) But there are many more covers out there that are different and unusual that will capture my eye.

I don’t care what market you are aiming for, as long as you show me something I like. Give me something smart… something different… something that tells me a little about the book without me even having to make the effort of picking it up. If you can do that, then you have halfway sold me the book before I even read the back cover blurb.

Be ‘cover-smart’.

So – I’m going to show you some more covers of books I have read that have most definitely caught my attention. These books are a few series that come as highly recommended reads from me as well. If they ‘look’ like your cup of tea – then pick them up for a read.

THE GRAVEYARD QUEEN series: Not only are the covers unusual and engaging – these books are thrilling and compelling reads from an extremely talented writer – Amanda Stevens. If you like ghost stories, anything paranormal, or just a damn good read that you seriously can’t put down – then pick these books up. They will keep you up through the night reading, and you won’t regret the experience.

THE MATCHED TRILOGY: I know that YA dystopian fiction is a really hot topic at the moment, but this is a fantastic series. (I must admit – I haven’t read the third book yet – but I can’t wait to get my hands on it.) I would never ever have bothered to pick these books up if it weren’t for the covers. There was just something that drew me to the girl who was trapped in a glass bubble.

THE BLACK MAGICIAN TRILOGY: How amazing are these covers? They are so different from anything else in the fantasy genre at the moment, yet they are also very balanced.  If you enjoy fantasy books – then definitely pick up this series as a nice introduction to how Trudi Canavan writes.

 

Inspirational creativity

There are some incredible artists out there. Some that are so inspiring, that you just can’t help but get a little creative yourself when you see or hear their work.

Incredible wall sculpture by Nicholson Blown Glass. This image will take you to their website.

Some of those artists are musicians, painters, sculptors, writers, poets, graphic artists, etc, etc. My favourite historical sculptor and painter is Michelangelo. He once said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” I have this inspiring quote in the signature of my work email. I love this quote, and I adore Michelangelo’s work, whether it was paintings or sculptures. This quote consistently makes me want to try harder… work harder… and become better over time. After all, Michelangelo didn’t carve the angel in one day, did he? He was not an overnight success, and nor do I believe I will be either.

Once upon a time when I used to paint a lot, as soon as I started painting for the day – I would to listen to U2′s Elevation. I always found that this song would clear the rubbish from my head, and allow me to get amped up for a days worth of painting for 7-8 hours. These days I still use music to amp me up for writing. But I don’t just use it for writing. I use it for any sort of work to help motivate me. Exercise, writing, house work, not to mention my Evil Day Job.

There are writers and authors around the world that inspire me every single day. These are the people I look to help me keep going. Some of these people are my peers, and some I love from afar. But all of them inspire me to stick to my game plan and keep going. Often my close friends say to me, “I don’t understand how you can be so motivated? You work a forty hour week, and then your spare time, you dedicate all those hours to writing as well.” Yes. Yes I do. Why? Because I am passionate about literature. Once upon a time I wrote for my eyes only. Now I have slightly bigger goals in that department.

And with bigger goals comes a bigger responsibility. More time dedicated to perfecting your craft… more support and understanding required from your friends and family… more of yourself. But no matter what is going on, I can always turn to those that inspire me to keep me motivated to reach my goals and dreams.

One day I hope to inspire other creatives out there… just like me.