It Can't be Impossible

A good cover can make all the difference in whether or not a reader buys a book or passes it over.  Sometimes a good title is enough, but most readers will be drawn to the cover.  

I’m a writer. That’s the limit of my artistic talent. While I usually have an idea of what I’d like for the cover of my books, I don’t create them on my own. Someone else does that for me. I tell the artist what I want, and he makes it happen.

As many of you know, I’ve been working on a new four book contemporary romance series.  The first book, This Time, is currently in the process of being edited and will soon be ready for release. With the release of the novel so near, I’ve been thinking about what I’d like to see on its cover. Since the female protagonist is a plus sized woman, I wanted to a feature a full figured woman in the arms of a muscled man.

With my vision decided, I set out in search of a picture that would suit my needs. In this day and age a number of websites offer royalty free photos for little to no money. That means writers are free to use the photos for their stories without having to break the bank in paying a graphic artist or photographers and live models. The only downside to this is that any writer can use any of these pictures for their cover art, which means you’re likely to see the same cover on different books.

Since setting out on this search a week ago, I’m dismayed to say I’ve come up empty handed so far. I can find plenty of pictures of beautiful plus sized woman by themselves. There’s no shortage of pictures of gorgeous guys with rippling muscles and dazzling smiles. I just can’t find any pictures of these individuals being part of the same couple. In fact, I have yet to find any pictures of plus sized woman who are paired with physically fit, great looking guys. Most of the pictures of couples that I have found are of the impossibly beautiful and quite possibly air brushed.

I can’t tell you how disappointed I am. My female protagonist is a size eighteen and I want to show her off on my cover. I don’t want to have to hide her like I’m as ashamed of her as society seems to be of plus sized women. In this character, I’ve created someone that I believe is relatable and likable and realistic and I want that character showcased on my cover.

Not everyone feels the same way. I get it, but you know what I think? I think that more people are going to embrace this voluptuous woman with her drive and determination and are going to be more interested in her voracious sexual appetite than finding out what she had for dinner.

So, the search for the right cover art continues. I’m not giving up without a fight. I don’t think it’s so far fetched that a good-looking, physically fit man would fall for a full figured woman. I daresay it’s more common than we think, and I want to celebrate that damn it! It can’t be impossible to find what I want. Can it?