Happy April Fools Day! For this Covers of the Week, Sweet Savage Flame is showing off some parody clinch covers.
Theme: April Fool’s Day Covers
April Fools! It’s Saturday, April 1, so we’re releasing a special edition of Covers of the Week a little bit early. These aren’t real romance novels; they’re parody covers!
Are These Parody Covers or Real Romance?
These “mock” bodice ripper covers are the real thing, coming from real books. Okay, in one case, it’s a special-edition VHS cover for a movie. But it’s Divine and Tab Hunter in a passionate embrace. Who could resist that?
The Misery cover was a special “stepback” edition. I have not yet figured out who the talented artist was who painted Stephen King in a chesty embrace. Roseanne and Jenny McCarthy were glammed up for photo shots for their autobiography covers.
And the wonderful Jon Waters has the stars of Polyester, his seminal film in schlock and romance, pose for the stunning cover of its VHS release.
Have you seen this movie? You should it’s gloriously awful! Divine plays a dejected housewife, Francine Fishpaw, who gets swept away by passion for hunky Tab Hunter as Todd Tomorrow.
You can stream it from Vudu or Amazon. Alas, viewers won’t be able to smell it in “Odor-ama” as oiginal movie goers did forty years ago. But you can make you own stinky smells at home!
Covers
This makes for a unique Covers of the Week as it doesn’t feature real old school covers. For April Fool’s, we’re showing four lusty clinch covers that were used for non-romance books–and one Criterion Collection video cassette!
We got an early start, so you can admire these covers a little longer. For April 3 to April 8, 2023, our theme is APRIL FOOL!
From Left to Right, Top to Bottom
- Misery/ “Misery’s Return,” Stephen King/ Paul Sheldon, Viking, 1987
- My Lives, Roseanne Arnold, Ballantine, 1994
- Love, Lust, and Faking It, Jenny McCarthy, Harper Collins, 2010
- Polyester, Jon Waters, Criterion Collection, 1981
Your Opinion?
What do you think of this week’s April Fool’s theme of parody romance covers? Do any of the covers stand out to you as a favorite?
Do you have a recommendation for a future Covers of the Week theme? Let us know, and we’ll try it out.
As always, please drop a comment, and let’s talk romance.