One or two of my publishers abroad use the same covers as my U.S. editions. For the most part, however, the various publishers go their own way. Titles change, and the cover art shows a wide variety of aesthetics. Some covers are steamier than others. Some look more modern, some go for a period look, in an array of time periods. Though all my recent books have been set in the 1830s, cover heroes and heroines have been dressed in clothing from the 1700s to the present day. This is the case for my U.S. covers as well, where the clothing is more modern.
I provide as historically accurate a story as I can inside, but the cover needs to appeal to the majority of readers. Many people would not find the actual clothing of my chosen historical period even slightly attractive, let alone sexy. You probably have to be a major fashion history nerd to love it and what it tells us about people of the time. And not all fashion history nerds are crazy about it, either.
But that’s history nerds and the inside of the books. Publishers everywhere are out there to sell books, and international publishers see their job the same way my U.S. publishers do: What’s going to appeal to their readers?
Here we have the Japanese edition of Dukes Prefer Blondes, and the Romanian edition of Don’t Tempt Me.* For comparison, below are other international editions of these books.
*Special thanks to Cristina Radu, for sending the cover art for the Romanian edition of Don’t Tempt Me. Ms. Radu has translated this book as well as Not Quite a Lady and Scandal Wears Satin into Romanian.
Top Row: (Brazil) Dukes Prefer Blondes, (Germany) Dukes Prefer Blondes, (France) Don’t Tempt Me, (Italy) Don’t Tempt Me, (Spain) Don’t Tempt Me