I love cover reveals. I do. Especially when I know the author doing it and I trust them to “deliver the goods,” so to speak. And also when I’m the one doing the reveal.
In the #romanceclass community, we have a project called #romanceclasscovers where we (or actually, our resident photographer, Chi Yu Rodriguez) takes photos of Filipino models (sometimes they’re actors, sometimes they’re friends of friends!) and we put these photos on the covers of our books. It doesn’t sound quite revolutionary when you think about it, but it’s a statement. It says, loudly, that we want to see Filipinos on the covers of our books. We want to see not just faces, but faces with real emotion. Poses that entice and tickle the imagination. The whole she-bang.
It’s a representation thing. It’s an aesthetic thing. It’s a choice.
My choice for my upcoming book, What If We Fall In Love?, is a playful, happy photo of Gab Pangilinan and Gio Gahol taken way back in 2017, when we still did regular studio shoots for #romanceclass covers. It’s been hidden away for so long, I’ve just being waiting and waiting and waiting to see where I could use it, and the opportunity presented itself after deciding on releasing a romance anthology.
And here it is—the cover of What If We Fall In Love?:
How very Star Cinema 90’s rom-com, right? I always say this when I do cover reveals, but I am so in love with this one. I think the KDrama fan in me is just loving the piggyback ride aspect of it (LOL), and I don’t know…the photo just screams happiness and love to me.
What If We Fall In Love? is a short story collection coming out in December. It’s about “What ifs” that get answered, “What ifs” that end in Happy Ever After. Please make sure to follow me on my socials (Twitter, Instagram) for updates, coming very soon!
