Wednesday, February 24. 2010
Romancing With Fido and Fluffy!
I think I've figured out one of the minor new trends in romance covers. I am always searching the web looking for great covers to nominate in the cover contest. Recently, I noticed that there was an addition to, or total substitution of, the traditional hero and heroine on some of the current covers. According to APPA - the American Pet Products Association, 62% of U.S. households own a pet, which translates to 71.4 million homes. I know that pet owners are PASSIONATE about their pets and consider them to be part of the family. Can you guess what the added cover component is on covers?
The added ingredient is a cute pet to catch the reader's eye. What better method than a cute dog or cat to makes us stop and smile at a cover. Of course, the danger is that soon every cover will have a pet and then the trend becomes annoying. I hope I never see a pet look up adoringly at the hero and heroine while they are in the midst of a passionate encounter. Publishers just say no to that concept, please! What is your opinion about putting a cute Fido or Fluffy on your romance covers? Thumbs up or Thumbs down?
Publisher information available on mouse-over.
Please make sure to fill in the Anti-Spam CAPTCHA code below the comment box before submitting your comment. Thanks!
Return to Cover Cafe's Main Page
Comments
Display comments as
(Linear | Threaded)
I like to see animals on the cover. Apparently they are not in danger of having their heads cut off. 
I did notice that the hero and heroine were missing their heads but that the pets were all safe and sound. 
I like a sweet pet on the cover but not to much. Let's say that this year it's oké but next year we don't do that anymore.
Only Jenny Crusie can always have a pet on the cover.
Only Jenny Crusie can always have a pet on the cover.
Really, it's not a factor for me either way. I focus much more on the people and the overall composition of the cover. But it isn't a dealbreaker, either.
Cute pet covers grab my attention and I don't notice the overall composition because I only notice the pet.
I agree that occasionally a cute pet can add to a cover. But like the first blog said, everything that newly appears on covers gets so overused that they become trite and annoying. Attractive people in compromising (but plausible) positions never go out of style.
I'm sure the pets will become overused and annoying, but meanwhile, let's enjoy the cute! The only thing that bugs me is that many of seem generically cute in a very plastic way, while I prefer pets (and humans, for that matter) who actually look real.
Animals really attract me to the stories! I like it when the hero or heroine have pets that are like an extra character, ie. 'with character'.
Add Comment
Tracked: Feb 25, 13:57