Got it Covered?

I have to admit something here... I cannot stand it when book covers show actual people.  Let me phrase it this way - when they show the faces of actual people!  I have a very vivid imagination and when I read I want to be drawn into the story that's created through the authors words, not because they showed me on the cover what the heroine looked like.

Am I alone in this?  

It's just that, once an image is formed, it's hard for me to get past it, especially if the girl or guy on the cover isn't what I'd imagined them to be. I don't mind a little bit of imagination sparking, a beautiful gown, a handsome man in the background, maybe a nice landscape or bit of architecture that relates to the story, but when you show everything, it limits the mind. 

With that all said, what constitutes a good cover? Personally, I'm not completely sure.  To me, it's just something that sticks out to me or something that turns me off from the book.  I do think that book covers really can make or break the book though.  You hear "don't judge a book by it's cover" and I fully agree with that statement but sometimes, as a reader, its extremely hard to get past the cover.  If it depicts something in a way that you don't like, what's to make you push past that an actually read the book?

I came up with a few things that would push me to read a book despite its cover:

• Author - if it's by a certain author that I like, no matter the cover, I'll still probably give it a read.  
• Recommendations - If someone recommended a book to me (and I know they enjoy reading what I do) I'll give it a read no matter what.
• Back blurb or first few pages - If I happen to pick up a book (even if I dislike the cover) and I read the back blurb or the first few pages and like the style or am intrigued by a plot twist, I'll push past the cover in hopes of finding a diamond in the ruff. 

What about you?  Why do you chose the books that you do? How is your opinion swayed by a cover (if at all)? 

Day 30 | Changes & Succeses

Day 30 and I've made it!!  I hit 50,015 words at 12:58pm today and am super happy with the novels progress so far.  I've gone through some suspenseful situations, a little bit of romance, and I'm almost to the big action scene I'm wondering how I'm going to write (#writerproblems right??).

I am super excited to keep up as much of the momentum as I can in order to finish this book by the end of December.  I think it's completely possible and, for once, I'm not burnt out at from NaNoWriMo.  For some reason, this year has gone more smoothly than the last 4 years and I feel like I've been even busier this month than any previous.  I guess the sayings are true - if you want something done, give it to a busy person ;)

In addition to all of this, maybe you've noticed my blog changing from day to day?  I apologize for that! I had decided to "freshen" it up a bit and made the necessary change but then suddenly the formatting was all off.  I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for it (more than likely having to do with my lack of true tech skills...) but I decided, rather than fight it, I'd change it again.  Hopefully it hasn't thrown many of you off.

Thank you all for coming with me on this amazing journey through National Novel Writing Month and I hope that next year some of you will join me?  I'll leave you with the cover that I created for this years novel - it's just something I whipped up for fund but I thought I'd share anyway!  Be on the look out for more about this book and some fun character sketches too!  Have a wonderful weekend :)