Headless Torsos

No, I do not write gruesome suspense novels, only light contemporaries and historicals, rarely gory. Recently, I participated in a discussion on another blog about the tendency for romance covers to feature only the torso of a deliciously muscular male, always shirtless and headless, usually legless, too. In fact, both my sports novels, Goals for a Sinner and Wish for a Sinner, have such in your face, eye-attracting covers. I admit, the first one shocked me as I considered my story to be light and funny, not hot and heavy. A meek protest to the publisher resulted in the standard reply, "Honey, this is what sells." Of course, the second cover was pretty much the same, and I guess when Kicks for a Sinner comes out it will feature a beautiful headless torso,too, or maybe just a pair of really great male legs.

I've learned to live with my covers by joking about them, telling folks that is my much younger husband and such. I do worry that readers seeking a really hot read will be disappointed, though there are certainly some sex scenes when the plot calls for them. I am also concerned that women who might enjoy the story are too embarrassed to pick up the book. A supportive cousin who works at a library, bless her heart, offers readers book covers for my works. I even looked into getting some plain brown wrappers with just the titles and my name embossed on them. Afterall, Goals for a Sinner could be mistaken for a religious tome as well. Still looking into that.