Okay, so I am willing to admit that this cover has absolutely nothing what-so-ever to do with Gothic romance. But, the way I see it, there is no better way to say "Sorry for missing Valentine's Day." than with a shirtless cop in a compromising position with young a child.
Yep, "A Place To Call Home" is quite honestly the most wonderfully frightening cover I have seen in a good while, and at the same time it is also the best argument for garage sales EVER.
What makes this piece of garage sale GOLD even better that it is apparently just one book in a "Men In Blue" series. (Makes you want to go out and find the rest doesn't it?!)
Now, I personally have no issue with our men in blue, not even the shirtless variety, but this cover makes we want to call, well, the cops, or at the very least Chris Hansen. I'm not exactly certain who this cover was supposed to appeal to. Perhaps my grandmother as it seems to have taken place in her house circa 1988.
It makes me think of a Curves gym I had been a member of few years back. The manager was in her mid-twenties and had an obsession with firemen. She started taping up pictures from some kind of shirtless firemen calendar all over the gym. It was like a middle school girl's locker room.
The taped up pictures eventually devolved to include magazine images of any man she found remotely attractive. I assure you, there is nothing that makes you want to hurry through your workout more than having to stare at a picture of Will Ferrell taped to the ceiling. Of course I WAS working out 4 and 5 days a week so perhaps I was subconsciously drawn to Will Ferrell and just didn't know it.
Okay, so I want to clue you into a great blog. I have recently spoken Susannah who runs a blog called Vintage Nurse Romance Novels. The site is awesome and features some great cover art. (And hey, what man doesn't like a nurse's uniform?) She is actually dedicated enough to read the book and post her reviews which are great.
Susannah has been kind enough to share a fabulous Nurse Running from a Castle cover, here. And what I like to think is a Nurse Running from a Trailer Park, here.
Make sure to check her out!
I just discovered your awesome blog this past weekend -- then got all dismayed when I noticed your most recent post was from way back in November -- so I'm delighted to see you posting new stuff today!
ReplyDeleteBut, uh -- shirtless cops? Really? Have we run out of Gothics?
I've taken the liberty of identifying some of the unnamed artists here:
"The Family at Tammerton" is by Robert Maguire (and I'm pretty sure "Loch Sinister", which you have listed as by Harry Bennett, is a Maguire too.)
"The Inheritance" and "Ravenswood" are by McGinnis
"Chateau Chaumand" is by Charles Copeland
The two Rineharts, "This Strange Adventure" and "Alibi for Isabel" are by George Zeil --see my comments on "Strange Adventure" for more info on this mysterious artist
Pretty sure "Bellwood" and 'The Jackal's Head" are by Hector Garrido
Hope this helps -- and keep up the great work!
Your post gave me a chuckle! What was the publisher thinking??
ReplyDeleteAdd 15-20 years to each of their ages and you have a typical Hollywood Romance. How's that for creepy?
ReplyDelete~Cheers!
Spectergirl: Perhaps in a more innocent time this cover wouldn't set of alarms; but I don't know. "In the circle of her arms." Jesus.
ReplyDeleteMykal: I'm guessing no. I mean just look at that conveniently placed box with the author and book title. We don't even know with any certanty if he is actually wearing pants.
ReplyDeletePrison Babes!
ReplyDelete