Authors as Cover Models on Their Own Novels

Publisher’s Weekly recently interviewed young adult author Lois Duncan about the reissue of her long out-of-print young adult title Debutante Hill. I took particular notice, because I read several of Duncan’s books as a youngster. She’s known best for I Know What You Did Last Summer, but her supernatural books appealed most to me. I rapidly tore through A Gift of Magic and The Third Eye. (As an adult, I translated her Hotel for Dogs into French, but that’s a tale for another time.)

While the story of Debutante Hill and its history since 1957 is interesting (she originally submitted it to Seventeen as a short story), what really got my attention was a revelation about the cover of the new edition. That’s a young Lois Duncan herself, pouting petulantly in the passenger seat of the blue Jeep. The photo was taken by her father, pro photographer Joseph Janney Steinmetz, at a local drive-thru. 

That's Lois Duncan, sulking in the foreground.

“All the cars are jammed together,” Duncan said, “and I’m in the picture at age 16, sitting in my blue Jeep sulking because I let some creepy boy drive my beautiful blue Jeep.” PW asked if “the creepy boy” knows he’s on a book cover, but the author hasn’t a clue: “I have no idea who he even is! I can’t remember. I had a car. It was easy to attract boys back then if you had your own car.”

Lois Duncan’s appearance as a cover model on her own book got me to wondering if other authors have appeared on their novels. Sure, lots of writers appear on their own non-fiction works, but what about fiction? Anybody else using themselves to represent a character?

The first person I thought of was Kinky Friedman, who’s in the unique position of being both the author and the main character of his mystery novels. The Kinky Friedman in the novels is a whiskey-swilling, cigar-smoking Texan who pals around with people like Willie Nelson, and wrote a song called “They Don’t Make Jews Like Jesus Anymore” with Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys. The real-life Kinky Friedman is a whiskey-swilling, cigar-smoking Texan who pals around with people like Willie Nelson, and wrote a song called … well, you get the idea. (He’s worth a read, if you haven’t read him. He’s a pretty entertaining narcissist. Elvis, Jesus & Coca-Cola is a hoot-and-a-half.)

The Kinkster, as both author and main character.

And then there’s Stephen King, who, while not quite on the cover of Misery, appears inside the paperback edition on a faux cover for Misery’s Return, the book Annie Wilkes forces Paul Sheldon to write while captive. King is depicted in full-blown Fabio mode, tongue firmly in cheek.

Stephen King, ripper of bodices.

Speaking of Fabio, as a cover-model-turned author, it only makes sense that he appeared on the covers when he started writing his own books. While his titles are said to be “collaborations” with more experienced authors, I’m guessing that he contributed about as many words as he contributed to his I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! commercials. 

The pen may be mightier, but (ahem) author Fabio is more comfortable with a sword.

If we’re going to talk about ghostwriting, then there are a whole pile of celebrities with novels that bear their name, if not their actual writing. Because the books’ publishers know that the only reason the books will be bought in the first place is because of the celebrity name on the cover, the cover model is always the star-turned-fake-writer, whether it's Snooki or Nicole Richie. In the case of Pamela Anderson, her debut novel Star (about a men’s mag model who lands a role on a TV show in a segment called Hammer Time) has a cover that unfolds to reveal a splayed and nearly-naked Anderson printed on the reverse. 

To see more of Pamela Anderson's work, read the book -- or just unfold the cover.

Maybe every author should follow suit. Perhaps Philip Roth should publish his next hardcover novel with a fold-out centerfold. Joyce Carol Oates could don a wig and a white halter dress for a new edition of Blonde. It would be interesting to see if George R. R. Martin could sell another gazillion books by appearing on his fantasy covers in leather armor. He’s already got the beard. I’ve always believed we should treat writers more like rock stars (which is why I got such a big kick out of Jeffrey Eugenides’ billboard). Bring it on, I say.

Can you think of any other authors who appear on his or her fiction covers? Are there any authors you picture as the characters in their books?

10 Best Calendars for Book Lovers

What happened to book-themed calendars? They certainly used to exist. Somehow, between the bizarre calendars, the popularity of Goats in Trees, and the umpteenth iteration of Thorazined kittens in a basket, calendars featuring great authors seem to have quietly disappeared.
   
The thing to keep in mind is that calendar publishing is exactly that -- publishing. Just as quality literature is less likely to be published these days in favor of books that will sell in crazily-high numbers (What Would Dummies Read? or Chicken Soup for the Twilight Fan’s Soul), calendar themes tend toward the trendy.

With some serious searching, I turned up a few, and the best are listed here. The list has some gaping holes in it, though. While it’s easy enough to turn up calendars featuring skimpily-attired women in fishing waders, naked dudes with puppies, or the cast of Jersey Shore, there’s not a single 2013 calendar dedicated to female writers, for example.

Are you listening, calendar makers? And while I’m at it, some writers seem lastingly famous enough to warrant their own calendars. Where are they?

Some currently non-existent book-related calendars I’d like to see:

• Women writers
• Southern writers
• Beautiful libraries (seriously, this would be an amazing calendar)
• Antique books
• Oscar Wilde? Dorothy Parker? Jules Verne? The list goes on.
• Mystery writers other than Arthur Conan Doyle, for a change
• P. G. Wodehouse (for the Empress of Blandings alone)
• Just downright lovely pictures of lovely books with gilt edges and leather covers and provocative titles that have lost their original meaning after 100 years or so.

Here are 10 of the best book calendars around, though the pool is sadly more shallow than it ought to be. Click the links for purchasing information.

2013 John Coulthart Cthulhu Calendar

Artist and designer John Coulthart created all of the illustrations for this calendar featuring most everyone’s favorite Lovecraft monster (Sorry, shoggoth fans; you’ll have to make your own calendar). These prints are absolutely stunning, and the styles range from what you could swear were vintage illustrations to cool, sleek, modern designs. Pick this up even if you’re lukewarm on Lovecraft, but you like fantasy, horror, or just plain ol’ good design. It’s a beaut.

There She Blows: A 2013 Hark! A Vagrant Literary Calendar

If you don’t know Kate Beaton’s hilariously literate web comic series Hark! A Vagrant, then hie thee to the website. Beaton handles history and literature deftly, skewering everything from Wuthering Heights to Lord Nelson to Edward Gorey’s cover illustrations for Anchor paperbacks. The calendar collects some of the best and funniest (with appearances by Robinson Crusoe and Mr. Rochester), and includes new material not found on the site.


The Reading Woman 2013 Wall Calendar

 There may be a dearth of female authors in the calendar world this year, but at least publishers recognize women as readers (and good thing too, since more women read fiction than men, anyway). The cover painting by Frédéric Soulacroix is a real stunner, and the other choices are no slouches, either.

2013 Vintage Sci-Fi Calendar

 

This calendar features covers from vintage pulp science fiction magazines from the ‘20s through the ‘50s, with plenty of appearances from notable authors before they made a name for themselves. (“The Concrete Mixer” by Ray Bradbury, anyone?)

2013 Sherlock Holmes Calendar

 Those with an appreciation for the real Holmes and Watson will appreciate this homage to the most popular detective of all time, with ephemera collected by The Strand magazine. Neither Holmes nor Watson are depicted as a robot, a Jack Russell Terrier, or Lucy Liu.

2013 Literary Pin-Up Calendar

Artist Lee Moyer pays tribute to the book characters of twelve fantasy writers, all of whom signed off on the project --including Ray Bradbury, who agreed before his death. Authors featured include Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, and Neil Gaiman, whose wife Amanda Scott served as the model for his homage. All proceeds go to Heifer International.

Museum of London’s Dickens and London Calendar 2013

It’s refreshing to see a calendar devoted to one single author (that doesn’t have a current TV or movie tie-in). This Dickens calendar is based on last year’s popular exhibit, which explored the connection between the author and the city that inspired him. Images of ephemera include George Cruikshank’s character illustrations and a toy theater with an Oliver Twist theme.

2013 Authors Are My Rock Stars Calendar

At last, writers being treated like they ought to be treated (something I’ve argued in favor of since Jeffrey Eugenides was trying to look sexy on a billboard). Kerouac, Plath, Twain and other authors are ready for the groupies to get their paws on this one.

Pulp Attack 2013 Calendar

A collection of artwork from both pulp fiction and film, and because pulp always goes big, this is a sixteen-month calendar.

Pulp Romance 2013 Vintage Calendar

Where the pulp attack calendar is rough around the edges, the pulp romance calendar is adorably sweet. The covers are from vintage romance mags, featuring stories like “Unwanted Husband,” “Too Much Passion,” and “Framed by Fate.”

Bonus: Desk Calendars for Book Lovers

If you spend more time at your desk than looking at your wall, then you might need a desk calendar (you might also be a writer). Workman’s Book Lover’s Page-a-Day Calendar is crammed with 365 days of bookish stuff. More of a horror nut? Stephen King has a desk calendar out this year, and it celebrates King stories that hit memorable milestones this year.

Still need another bookish way to keep up with things this year? Subscribe to Book Dirt. You can become a follower, subscribe to the RSS feed, or follow on Facebook.