By the end of the 1990s, the clinch cover was not the only option for romance books. For the week of Monday, September 26, 2022, to Sunday, October 2, our Covers of the Week features plain romance covers without couples or clinches.
Jon Paul Ferrara is one of the most talented artists/photographers in the industry. His covers appear regularly in the most select novels, particularly romance. For our Covers of the Week for Monday, August 1, 2022, to Sunday, August 7, 2022, we’re highlighting the early romance covers by Jon Paul Ferrara.
For the week of Monday, September 5 to Sunday, September 11, 2022, our Covers of the Week highlights some romance covers featuring the mercurially handsome model Steve Sandalis.
Did you know about the romance illustrator who hid his wife’s name in his signature? It was artist Walter Popp. This was because, for many years, he and his wife Marie painted the covers together!
Judy York has been a book cover illustrator for nearly thirty years. She produced artwork for many publishers, including Ballantine, Berkley, Dorchester, Harlequin, and Zebra.
For the week of Monday, July 11, 2022, to Sunday, July 17, 2022, here are some romance covers designed by artist Charles Gehm.
This week, we’re posting images of books that include American flags to celebrate this nation’s official day of inception. For Monday, July 4, 2022, to Sunday, July 10, 2022, our Covers of the Week spotlights Old Glory on romance covers.
It’s June and what would June be without a rainbow? The rainbow is a symbol of the Divine, hope, and of love. This week we’ve got romance covers with rainbows!
We’re wrapping up our month-long feature on weddings and brides on covers. For the week of Monday, June 20 to Sunday, June 26, 2022, let’s hear it for historical brides!
This week from Monday, June 13, 2022, to Sunday, June 19, 2022, we’re celebrating weddings. Here are some Regency-era romance covers featuring brides and grooms.
Gordon Merrick created the legendary Peter & Charlie gay romance series. The trilogy portrayed the first mainstream love story between two men that concluded happily ever after. Another milestone in gay fiction occurred when they were reprinted in the 1980s. A young artist named Victor Gadino illustrated the iconic clinch covers. Never before had two men been pictured so intimately on romance novels.
For the week of Monday, June 6, 2022, to Sunday, June 12, 2022, we’re highlighting contemporary series romance covers with beautiful June brides.
Bruce Emmett is a Canadian-born artist whose romance covers are marked by a naturalistic aspect. For the week of Monday, May 30, 2022, to Sunday, June 4, 2022, we’re displaying some stunning Bruce Emmett covers for you to marvel at.
For the week of Monday, May 23, 2022, to Sunday, May 29, 2022, let’s enjoy the beauty of the merry month of May with a floral tribute. These romance covers are blooming with beauty and love!
For the week of Monday, May 16, to Sunday, May 22, 2022, we’re trying not to laugh at these heroes who are attempting to put the moves on their heroines who aren’t having any of it!
Before they were famous, their faces were on book covers. While these celebrities appeared in various genres, we’re limiting our focus to romance. It’s always fun to track the career of the rich and famous to their humble beginnings, especially if they posed for clinches!
For the week of Monday, May 9, 2022, to Sunday, May 15, 2022, here are some gorgeous romance covers illustrated by Gordon Johnson.
Heidi Oberheide’s covers express a soft sensuality, often displaying a glorious abundance of bright flowers. From Monday, May 1, 2022, to Sunday, May 6, 2022, Covers of the Week spotlights the romantic illustrations of Heidi Oberheide.
Like bodice rippers and vintage romances of yesteryear, model Fabio Lanzoni has been unfairly maligned and mocked by many modern-day romance readers.
There’s a sentiment of contempt displayed at the old-school clinch covers, with some people going as far as declaring that Fabio represented a low point in the genre.
How mean-spirited and wrong these detractors are.
Romance novel enthusiasts may recognize Mike O’Hearn’s form–or face–as one of the cover models for Topaz books back in the mid to late 1990s. Fabio was the most famous of them all, but even his muscular physique seems slight when compared to O’ Hearn’s massive proportions.
