Once again, I stuck gold at my local supermarket’s bargain book table. I stood transfixed at this one:
Maybe it was the long day at work, but it raised a host of questions for me.
1. What do you suppose is the “miracle” of the title? Is it that she is able to climb trees barefoot and coatless in mid winter?
2. How does someone wearing what appears to be a straight jacket climb a tree, anyway? And why? Does it have something to do with the fact that her name is “Ariel” and the cover copy describes her as “magic and moonbeams”?
3. How do you think the hero intends to talk Ariel down from her perch? I’m guessing something like “Honey, I found your matching tie dyed shirt. Now you can attend the Woodstock reunion in style.” will do the trick.
4. What is the best way to explain how the hero can easily reach her?
(a) stilts
(b) levitation (he’s all mavericky, I mean magicky, too)
(c) That yellow background does look kind of end-of-days-ish. Maybe he’s sitting on one of the four horses of the apocalypse?
Luckily the author more than survived this brush with cover suicide. You can find her book list (with each of her 5 pseudonyms, whew!) at Romantic Times. Ella March Chase is the name she uses now: she has a new historical fiction book coming out this winter).
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#1 by JenB on October 31, 2008 - 11:04 am
Not to mention she appears to have a broken neck but is still smiling…
#2 by carolyn jean on October 31, 2008 - 11:10 am
Fun post. LOL to you. These are some very astute observations and questions. #4 in particular. She seems to need help to get down; levitation would explain things. But if the hero is standing on the ground, then perhaps she is merely intoxicated.
However, I want to challenge you on your reading of the background structure. If you look closely, you might notice they don’t look like trees at all. Trees do not grow tiny limbs on big ones. It appears that these being dwell in the vascular system. I daresay they are viruses of some kind, cavorting in somebody’s bloodstream. The miracle is that they are so small but will soon take over the world from the mightiest beings. Hence, the four horsemen, which you clearly intuited, but did not run far enough with.
Please, I hope you will be reviewing this!
#3 by KristieJ on October 31, 2008 - 12:25 pm
LOL – the cover may be the pits – but the inside is pretty good! Yep – I’ve got and read this one – along with a few other of her Kim Cates books. And for Harlequins, they are actually quite enjoyable. Another good one (included with scary cover) is Uncertain Angel.
#4 by MoJo on October 31, 2008 - 10:33 pm
I’m still kinda freaking that your supermarket has a bargain book table.
#5 by Jessica on October 31, 2008 - 10:55 pm
Mojo,
It’s FANTASTIC, and I can excuse the expense because I’m helping charity (paperbacks are 50 cents, hardback $1.00. Recipients vary each month.).
I actually didn’t buy this one, so maybe, based on Kirstie’s rec, I’ll have to go back and see if it’s still there. And I do absolutely agree, Kristie, that some of the Harlequin’s are terrific. Some of my favorite books of 2008 are actually Harlequin Spices.
Carolyn Jean, that is too funny. I should definitely have gone with organic monster allegory, it being Halloween and all.