06 June 2010

Well, now, that's sexy

When I showed off the cover for my upcoming book ENTHRALLED the other night, comments ranged from "Well now, that's sexy" to "steamy!"


Seeing the cover for the first time is alway a thrill, and while the characters depicted are never quite like I pictured them, I've decided that's a good thing.


For instance, is it me, or does my hero look a little bit like Bradley James, who plays Arthur in the BBC show Merlin?


As cute as Bradley is, he's not quite how I pictured William, my hero. So my first thought when seeing the cover art was: But he doesn't have the Norman haircut that I gave him in the book.


On second look, I decided that was a good thing. After all, have you seen a Norman haircut? 


It's not pretty, and I've always wondered if the knights of old looked at the Bayeux Tapestry ten years later and wondered, "What was I thinking?" 


So why did I give my hero that kind of style?


Well, not only was it styling in the 12th century to look like you put a too-small bowl on your head and cut around it, but my hero also needed to look the part more than most.


William of Ravenglas is Saxon. To get ahead, he not only has to be a superior knight, but he needs to blend in. Of course, with a sister like Ami, blending in his impossible. But that's a story for another blog.






ENTHRALLED will be released Oct. 22. 


To claim her, he must abandon home, duty, and honor—or reveal the secret of her Sidhe heritage and risk losing her forever to dark magic…


William of Ravenglas wants only one woman—his foster sister, Ami—but she is promised to another, a fate sealed by his father’s recklessness. Resolved to her forfeiture, he forges a dangerous path to bring stability to the house of Ravenglas, balancing the secret demands of the queen against loyalty to the king.


Ami, true sister to Aedan ap Owen the minstrel, refuses her fate. She wants William. But when his kiss awakens her dormant magic, it triggers cascading events that sweep her into the queen’s fiendish web and threaten William’s life. Now Ami must learn to control her fey powers or watch William die. But with a mystery lover in his past, even if she succeeds will he truly be hers?

14 comments:

Blythe Gifford said...

Beautiful cover! And trust me. It IS a good thing. Medieval men's haircuts, not so sexy. I fudged my hero's in IN THE MASTER'S BED. He would have had a tonsure in real life. Even I was not so enthralled with medieval accuracy to insist on that!

Bernadette said...

He may not look like William, but I think the cover artist chose perfectly in casting Ami. Her eyes definitely have a brooding and powerful magic in them. And I love your back cover copy. Looking forward to release day!

Francesca Prescott said...

That's a lovely cover, Keena. And as much as I admire and adore Rowan Atkinson, I'm kind of glad they didn't pick him as your cover model!! (it is Rowan in the little photo, right?). I'm with Bernadette regarding the back cover copy; it makes me want to read your book.

Congratulations on another release! How exciting!

Keena Kincaid said...

IMO, the Norman bowl cut was the Bieber of its day, Blythe. I couldn't bring myself to actually describe what William's hair looked like, but I do have a scene in which the heroine is thinking about how awful it is. :-)

Keena Kincaid said...

Hi, Bernie and Francesca. Thanks for your comments on the back cover copy. I like it, too.

And when I asked if the cover artist could correct the eye color, the change was actually made--and Ami ended up looking much like I pictured her.

And that is Rowan Atkinson, Francesca. I'm sure there were a few men who could pull off the bowl cut, but Rowan isn't one of them. This is an image from his BBC series Blackadder, which is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen (and oddly historical accurate despite the way the writers play fast and loose with history).

Jeffe Kennedy said...

Congratulations! Oh come on, Rowan in the Norman cut isn't sexy?!?

Keena Kincaid said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
F. D. Davis said...

Hey Kenna,


Very nice cover. I love it. and of course they can never get inside our heads to find our characters. I wonder if it would be scary or nice if they did. Still I think you're going to get a lot of positive feedback on the cover and on the story.

Dyanne

Nancy Lee Badger said...

I love the cover and glad your cover artist did NOT resurrect the 'bowl' cut. And your guy is much hotter than that 'merlin' chap. Of course, I prefer blonds so I liked to watch Prince Arthur.

Keena Kincaid said...

Thanks, Nancy. The bowl cut probably wouldn't have done much to help sales. Prince Arthur on Merlin is kinda cute, but could the writers have made him any more oblivious? Geez.

Lilly Gayle said...

Love the cover and the brief description of your story.

Susan Macatee said...

Great cover, Keena!!

Stephanie Burkhart said...

Keena, a norman haircut? Yikes! I love the cover - it's very sensual. Congrats. You can bet I'm there on 22 Oct! hehe.

Smiles
Steph

Maggie Toussaint said...

I love your cover, Keena. Its quite riveting. You and I share a release date. If you want a chat buddy around release time, let me know. I'll be making the rounds of all the loops to promote my Oct 22 release as well.